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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
The Overall Goal
The Overall Goal
Around 90% of humanity has access to electricity. Roughly 30% of global power is already renewable, so we need to keep pushing down the 80% that is made from fossil fuels that both heat and pollute our planet.
How Reduction Factors into the Overall Goal
How Reduction Factors into the Overall Goal
While progress is definitely being made, scientists have advised that reducing energy use will help speed up our transition to renewables and a sustainable society. When we think of energy production and use as similar to water filling a bathtub from multiple spigots while draining to multiple sectors, we have to acknowledge that the current trend of increased energy use, is threatening our ability to divest from polluting energy sources.
What You Might Find On This Page
What You Might Find On This Page
This page focuses on the various ways we can reduce our energy demand via simple, and cost effective solutions such as repairing what we already have (instead of mining for, process, and shipping endless new products); heating, cooling and lighting with passive technologies or designs; encouraging active transport over public transport and public transport over the current trends of increasing private car or truck ownership.
Ambient Energy Sources
Ambient Energy Sources
In addition to the energy sources listed on our Energy page here are some energy sources we can use.
Transforming renewables into electricity always comes with some energy loss and inefficiencies, though these are less severe and costly to the environment than the same phenomena associated with fossil fuels in energy production. One way to help eliminate this energy loss and inefficiency, is simply to harness the energy source directly.
These are currently listed alphabetically:
Geothermal Energy - around the world geothermal energy heats hot spring water which can be used to provide hot water for bathing, home and office heating, allowing greenhouses to produce "out of season" or exotic foods, heat for industrial purposes.
Heat Energy Recovery - this is a form of recycling, where waste energy (generally from industrial production processes) is capture for other uses instead of letting it escape and then needing more energy for other purposes.
Solar Energy This can be used to heat water directly instead of via electricity production before water heating, which results in more energy loss than direct heating. Solar energy can be used along with passive design to heat homes in cooler weather, without overheating during warmer weather (this may include electric fans, ventilation, and the use of shutters or plants to help switch the direction of energy). Solar drying and cooking can help farmers, businesses, and home cooks without access to electricity.
Wind Energy - This can be used more wisely by the air-travel industry (especially with blimps and long-distance flights), while also providing free fuel for the shipping industry which is already pivoting back to traditional and more modern designed of sail use for their ships. Air flow can be used for drying and temperature regulation in buildings and elsewhere.
Solar
Solar
Wind
Wind
Wind power is one of our oldest power sources. From drying our clothes to sailing, we moved on to wind mills which ground grains countries like Iran, Persia, China, Greece, and the Netherlands. Now the cost of generating electricity with wind power keeps dropping as manufacturers find increasingly efficient designs. Wind power can pose a danger to flying animals, but is otherwise among the safest types of energy production allowing for grazing and cropping in the open spaces beneath the blades. Fortunately scientists have been finding ways to improve safety for birds who are statistically more likely to die from habitat loss, or being disoriented by urban lights and crashing into windows. Turbine speed changes or even switching to bladeless wind generation are among the methods used.
To help ensure adequate energy despite the ups and downs of wind energy, a hybrid system may be optimal.
Sailing and air drying laundry are even more obviously wildlife friendly options, as line drying reduces emissions instead of blasting hot air outside through a vent. Sailing reduces both noise pollution, and reduces the chance of a fatal collision with species like whales or manatees. Rowing and sailing should be considered the best options for use in wildlife preserves, protected areas, and migratory routes to avoid serious harm.
Geothermal
Geothermal
Heat Pumps
Heat Pumps
We haven't found a comparison of safety or efficiency for these yet rank this option relative to the others listed here, but here's what we have found!
Sectors to Focus On
Sectors to Focus On
The following information is listed approximately from greatest to least in both impact and scope. Solutions are also rated higher based on their affordability and efficiency within humanity's systems.
Energy & Production
Energy & Production
A significant amount of energy goes into (and pollution out from) the very act of production, both energy production and products for consumption. Simply by scaling back in general production/consumption we can help ensure enough resources for everyone to live a happy, healthy life, without overheating or polluting our planet
Simple solutions include (in order from more to less sustainable):
Reduce/Refuse
Reuse
Repair
Refurbish
Recycle
Reduce > Reuse > Recycle Resources
Reduce > Reuse > Recycle Resources
The following promote one or more of the 3 Rs
Energy Production
Energy Production
All energy production modes require at least some amount of energy to create. First we start with mining for materials, shipping them to factories, factory production uses energy as do the people who go to work and need light or other amenities, packaging and shipping even set up uses energy. Luckily solutions such as wind and solar only need these once, then they work (for the most part) without additional energy.
By contrast the oil, gas, and coal industries need constant supplies of their fuel to be shipped to different plants or machines, so that those fossil-fuels can continue to be burned.
In other words, we need to use more energy to keep the fossil fuel industries powered and running, vs the smaller amounts of energy to scale up the green revolution and maintain or replace units over time.
Transit
Transit
Transit and Energy Production use a significant amount of the world's energy, so focusing on these can make a big dent in energy use.
Click the Transit & Energy link to learn about how renewable energy and transit will complement on one another. We have tried to follow the principles of Reduce > Reuse > Recycle is a valuable guidelines when considering these topics. For this reason we also offer a selection of Electricity-Free solutions for practical needs.
Energy Use in Buildings
Energy Use in Buildings
Home Use
Home Use
Water Pumping
Water Pumping
The pumping of water takes a larger amount than many people realize. Pumping ground water for agricultural, industry, or public use, moving it between facilities, etc. all require energy since water is a fairly heavy substance.
STEEP "is a free Excel-based reference guide that can be used to make system assessments and identify potential areas for energy use savings in existing or planned water supply and wastewater facility projects."
Legislation to Reduce Energy Use
Legislation to Reduce Energy Use
There are a variety of laws already going into effect around the world that can help protect us from various types of pollution by reducing energy waste, whole promoting basic human rights and welfare.
The following haven't yet been organized by expected impact, but are listed by topic, alphabetically.
Buy Out Programs
Buy Out Programs
This would fall under Preventative Measures or Reduce/Refuse.
Instead of homeowners and businesses being stuck in a never-ending cycle of repair and rebuild, having found themselves in fire- or flood-prone zones, government programs can help prevent future loss of lives, properties, money or increases in pollution from the cycle of destruction and rebuilding.
Human Rights & Waste Reduction
Human Rights & Waste Reduction
Right to Repair
Right to Repair
We've been repairing things so long we didn't realize it was a right till certain greedy corporations and industries began conspiring to strip those rights away from us. Repair is a vital step in a circular economy, as well as for general reduction of waste. For this reason organizations and governments around the world are beginning to enshrine the right into law, in order to protect tinkerers, self-reliant farmers, and small repair shops aren't unfairly punished simply for taking care of or improving paid-for possessions.
This option falls under Reuse/Repair/Refurbish.
Zoning Codes & Ordinances
Zoning Codes & Ordinances
Ordinances and codes that focus on boosting local and active mobility (such as safe sidewalks and protected bike lanes) can significantly reduce air and noise pollution, while opening up better economic opportunities for communities. Around the world civic activists and leaders are finding safe, affordable ways to turn their car-centric infrastructure into healthier communities.
This falls under Reduce.
Dark Sky Ordinances
Dark Sky Ordinances
"DarkSky estimates that least 30 percent of all outdoor lighting in the U.S. alone is wasted, mostly by lights that aren’t shielded. That adds up to $3.3 billion and the release of 21 million tons of carbon dioxide per year! To offset all that carbon dioxide, we’d have to plant 875 million trees annually."
Activism
Activism
There are various types of activism that can help with these issues including:
Energy Transition by Region
Energy Transition by Region
Africa
Africa
How Power is Finally Coming to Rural Africa
How Power is Finally Coming to Rural Africa
9:21 minute video focuses on bringing sustainable electricity to people who live far from any stable energy grids. The aim is to help bring them out of poverty without harming the environment.
The main focus of this video is on Kenya, but this idea that revolves around microgrids can be scaled up anywhere with sufficient sunlight. Ending the need to chop trees for cooking energy, expanding people's income opportinities, and greening transport as fuel-powered bikes can be converted to electric to save people money.
Europe
Europe
Rewiring America: Track Your Local Pace of Progress "These projections from Rewiring America worked backwards from the emissions targets for 2050, and forward from current sales of machines for cooking, water heating, space heating, transportation, and rooftop solar to set a number of new clean electric machines that must be sold each year to reduce emissions from fossil-fueled machines. Type your city, county, or state into the search bar to get those numbers broken down for your area, by each machine category.
While creating this tool, one of things we found is that some individual communities and states are leading the way: their goals are bolder than the rest of the country and so don’t match the path laid out in our data. That’s a great problem to have. So our tool should not be considered the only source of its kind -- but one that reflects only one of the possible paths to decarbonization."
Resources
Resources
North America
North America
USA
USA
Tools & Apps
Tools & Apps
Climate Change
Climate Change
En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator "is a fast, powerful climate solutions scenario tool for understanding how we can achieve our climate goals through changes in energy, land use, consumption, agriculture, and other policies. The simulator focuses on how changes in global GDP, energy efficiency, technological innovation, and carbon price influence carbon emissions, global temperature, and other factors. It is designed to provide a synthesis of the best available science on climate solutions and put it at the fingertips of groups in policy workshops and roleplaying games. These experiences enable people to explore the long-term climate impacts of global policy and investment decisions.
En-ROADS is being developed by Climate Interactive, Ventana Systems, UML Climate Change Initiative, and MIT Sloan.
This guide provides background on the dynamics of En-ROADS, tips for using the simulator, general descriptions, real-world examples, slider settings, and model structure notes for the different sliders in En-ROADS."
Water Pumping
Water Pumping
The pumping of water takes a larger amount than many people realize. Pumping ground water for agricultural, industry, or public use, moving it between facilities, etc. all require energy since water is a fairly heavy substance.
STEEP "is a free Excel-based reference guide that can be used to make system assessments and identify potential areas for energy use savings in existing or planned water supply and wastewater facility projects."
North America
North America
USA
USA
Rewiring America: Track Your Local Pace of Progress "These projections from Rewiring America worked backwards from the emissions targets for 2050, and forward from current sales of machines for cooking, water heating, space heating, transportation, and rooftop solar to set a number of new clean electric machines that must be sold each year to reduce emissions from fossil-fueled machines. Type your city, county, or state into the search bar to get those numbers broken down for your area, by each machine category.
While creating this tool, one of things we found is that some individual communities and states are leading the way: their goals are bolder than the rest of the country and so don’t match the path laid out in our data. That’s a great problem to have. So our tool should not be considered the only source of its kind -- but one that reflects only one of the possible paths to decarbonization."
Education & Training Opportunities
Education & Training Opportunities
North America
North America
USA
USA
Climate Tech LaunchPad program helps Black and Latinx innovators and owners of climate tech businesses to overcome the barriers that stand in their way of growing and scaling climate and cleantech solutions, especially in disadvantaged communities."
Organizations
Organizations
International
International
Climate Defenders "is a multigenerational and multiracial action home rising up against the oil industry destroying our planet and our communities.
For generations, oil CEOs and the bank executives that finance them have prioritized profits over the well-being of our planet and its people. They pollute our air, poison our water, and dump toxins into our neighborhoods.
As Climate Defenders, we are fighting to end the fossil fuel industry and build a new future with good jobs, clean water, safe air, and a better future for our families. Join us!"
DeSmog "was founded in January 2006 to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science and solutions to climate change. Our team quickly became the world’s number one source for accurate, fact-based information regarding global warming misinformation campaigns.
DeSmog continues to expand our focus to other areas where misinformation has eroded public understanding and political action to address critical societal challenges, such as meeting the world’s energy needs, confronting environmental racism, and ensuring a just transition to a sustainable economic paradigm.
Through hard-hitting investigative journalism, in-depth research, and collaborations with other investigative outlets, DeSmog works tirelessly to provide climate accountability and serve as an antidote to science denial and disinformation. Supported by science and dedicated to equity, our team is helping to clear the way for clean energy solutions, environmental justice, and the preservation of democracy.
Now a global organization, with reporters and researchers spanning North and South America, the UK, Europe, Africa, and beyond, the DeSmog team works to expose corporate misinformation from major fossil fuel interests, including the likes of ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and others with a documented history of undermining climate science and action. We conduct original research and reporting on a range of issues in the broader energy policy dialogue. In many cases, we find the same tactics, and many of the same people, that DeSmog first began exposing in our early research into the climate denial industry, are now sitting alongside a new breed of lobbyist, downplaying potential solutions to climate change, and promoting questionable “silver-bullet” solutions.
Our research databases provide vital information on over 800 organizations and individuals responsible for spreading misinformation on a range of energy and science topics. We first started reporting on Koch Industries’ funding of climate denial in 2007, and continue to track Koch-linked groups and operatives in our Koch Network Database. In 2020, we added two new databases — the Air Pollution Lobbying Database and Agribusiness Database — showing how vested interests are working to slow action across multiple sectors."
Asia
Asia
The Asia Society Policy Institute "works with policymakers, scientists, economists, business leaders, and experts from other fields to enhance the regional and global fight against climate change through accelerating the transition to net zero emissions, carbon pricing, clean energy and climate diplomacy."
Livable Cities "... has three operational approaches or pillars: Improve coverage, quality efficiency, and reliability of services in urban areas; strengthen urban planning and financial sustainability of cities; and improve urban environment, climate resilience and disaster management of cities.
With 65% of people in Asia and the Pacific set to live in cities by 2050, we have gathered stories and lessons that will ensure cities in Asia and the Pacific are inclusive, competitive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient."
North America
North America
USA
USA
The Clean Energy States Alliance "is a national, nonprofit coalition of public agencies and organizations working together to advance clean energy.
CESA works with state leaders, federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to develop clean energy programs and inclusive renewable energy markets. CESA members—mostly state agencies—include many of the most innovative, successful, and influential public funders of clean energy initiatives in the country."Rewiring America "is the leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities. We develop accessible, actionable data and tools, and build coalitions and partnerships to make going electric easier for households and communities. Rewiring America helps Americans save money, tackle nationwide emissions goals, improve health, and build the next generation of the clean energy workforce. We believe in an abundant, flourishing, climate-safe future, and know that, together, we can realize one."
Arizona
Navajo Power "is the leading developer that possesses the necessary combination of technical expertise, cultural and linguistic aptitude, and access to capital to successfully develop utility-scale clean energy projects on the Navajo Nation and across Indian Country"
Grants & Funding
Grants & Funding
Asia
Asia
Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:
Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
North America
North America
USA
USA
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program "provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants."
Power Forward Communities "is a coalition of some of the country’s most trusted housing, climate, and community investment groups dedicated to decarbonizing and transforming American housing. We’re saving homeowners and renters money, reinvesting in communities, and tackling the climate crisis."
Self-Help Credit Union "Our mission is creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, rural residents and low-wealth families and communities.
Self-Help Credit Union has branches in NC, SC, FL and VA, and we offer remote services like online and mobile banking to make joining us easy no matter where you live." "We're poised to use a major funding award from the EPA to help create a clean energy future for all."
Connecticut
The Connecticut Green Bank "is the nation’s first green bank"
Oceana
Oceana
Australia
Australia
ARENA: Funding "From research to large-scale deployment, our funding spans the entire innovation chain. We accelerate the affordability of new technologies and build investor confidence in renewable energy projects now and into the future."
Western Australia
The Sustainability Grants Program (in the City of Cockburn) "offers funding for projects related to six sustainability themes. Open to small businesses, schools, not-for-profits, and collective households, successful applicants can receive up to $4,000 for their project."
Maps
Maps
International
International
Aljazeera: How Much of Your Country's Electricity is Renewable (Interactive)
The Global Integrated Power Tracker (GIPT) (Interactive) is a multi-sector dataset of power stations and facilities worldwide. The tracker provides unit-level information on thermal power (coal, oil, gas, nuclear, geothermal, bioenergy) and renewables (solar, wind, hydro). The tracker includes data on unit capacity, status, ownership, fuel type, start year, retirement date, geolocation, and more. Each power facility is linked to a profile page, hosted on GEM.wiki, that provides further information.
Global Energy Monitor’s eight power sector trackers provide the source of underlying data: the Global Coal Plant Tracker, Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker, Global Solar Power Tracker, Global Wind Power Tracker, Global Hydropower Tracker, Global Geothermal Power Tracker, Global Bioenergy Power Tracker, Global Nuclear Power Tracker."
KFW: Interactive World Map of Renewable Energy Interactive map shows the solar, wind, and hydropower usage of each country. Just click a country on the map, or select the name via the dropdown. Data accurate as of (at least) 2017.
Our World In Data: Share of Primary Energy from Renewable Sources, 2021 "Renewable energy sources include hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, wave, and tidal. They don't include traditional biofuels, which can be a key energy source, especially in lower-income settings." Interactive maps shows current and historical renewables use with a pop up graph for each country.
Be careful with the pop up graphs on this page because they only go as high as the maximum current or historical percent level, meaning some graphs only go as high as 17% or 50% renewable energy in the grid mix, but will look much higher if you glance at them with the assumption each is set with a maximum of 100%.
Europe
Europe
Local Energy Solutions Map "This interactive map shows inspiring examples of how individuals, communities, cooperatives, municipalities, and businesses are successfully implementing energy transition solutions. From solar rooftops to wind farms, discover how diverse and impactful the journey to sustainability can be."
Nuclear Power Generation in 2020
Wind Energy Generation percent by country in 2021
North America
North America
Map of Power Generation in the Northwest interactive map allows you to see the types and sizes of projects 1898 to present (2023), and slide the timeline handles to see what types of energy production where built during which time periods.
Further Reading
Further Reading
We try to focus on available technology and solutions that are already in use, but if you want to read about emerging technologies on the horizon, or maybe even being tested somewhere near you, then the article Novel Renewable Technologies That Could Power the Future lists a number that we haven't heard about anywhere else.
You may also be interested in some of our other pages covering related topics.
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