Sarah Booth

How Engineers Can Work Together For A Clean Energy Future

By Sarah Booth

Energy. Everyone uses it everyday. You would think that when we use energy, like turning on a light, it wouldn’t do anything except light a room. But what people don’t think about is that it adds to the problem of polluting the world and emitting greenhouse gasses.

To add that all and the energy needed to run personal electronics (ipods, cell phones, PCs, video games), appliances, gas guzzling cars and the businesses we depend on everyday, and you realize the problem is really a lot worse. That is why we are counting on engineers to solve this dilemma by uncovering different types of clean, renewable and environmentally safe energy sources. I believe engineers need to work together in the following ways to get the job done.

First, form alliances with all kinds of engineers everywhere to work toward the same clean energy goals. For instance, energy engineers should work closely with architectural, industrial, structural and even civil engineers to make all the different projects they work on are earth-friendly, whether they are building huge office buildings or airplanes. By working together, they can share important information and knowledge to generate a big range of ideas, and make sure they are used! Many engineers are working on solutions, but how come many are not being put to good use? A company called Veranium (in Massachusetts) has just been awarded a grant from the Department of Energy to come up with “improved” and “cost effective” enzymes to use in the production of ethanol, a gas substitute made from organic materials.[1] This would be very important for car and transportation companies especially, because their products and services use a lot of gasoline (which is not renewable), and cause a great deal of pollution. So, these companies need to be “clued in” to this technology, and redesign their machines to make them compatible with this new fuel. So, when Apple creates a new ipod, or if Dell makes another paper-thin laptop, they need to make them in a way that does not add to the environmental damage further, or use as much energy. Engineers need to help us (consumers) pressure companies to change how they operate, so they can help us stop the cycle.

There is also old technology that is not being used. Geothermal power has been in use for decades, according to Thomas R. Blakeslee, president of The Clearlight Foundation, a non-profit organization that invests in renewable energy. He wrote in an article, “The first geothermal plant was built in Larderello, Italy in 1911. It is still producing enough power for a million homes today. Geothermal power already supplies 26% of electrical power in Iceland and the Philippines and 5% of California’s at prices that are competitive with coal power. …. They require no fuel and produce no pollution.”[2] Engineers can help convince our governments that there are ways to generate energy that will power our world without polluting it.

Next, engineers should use the knowledge they have, and the inventions they create to educate and convince the average citizen to change their energy-use habits. If you can change your habits, you can change the world! Engineers have already come up with products that reduce the use of energy, like compact fluorescent light bulbs. According to EnergyStar, these light bulbs can save the average homeowner $30 or more on their energy bill, produce 75% less heat, last 10 times longer and reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses the power plants produce to keep them on. EnergyStar says that if “every American home replaced one light bulb with an energy-saving light bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equal to the exhaust of more than 800,000 cars.” [3] We need engineers to show us where even little changes can make a big difference. They can work with schools and community groups, do energy studies of public buildings, and show everyone where they can improve their habits. Start early in schools to train kids to live in energy conserving ways!

Finally, engineers need to work closely with local and national governments to help people put these ideas to use in their homes, business, and communities by making them affordable and easy to use. Engineers need to become our voice and our guides. Together we have the power to save our environment.