This came my way several weeks ago, but I ran across it again while hacking my way through my inbox and I thought it was worth sharing, particularly in light of the long list of endorsements. It comes from the Sustainable Energy Network, “a network of 450+ organizations, businesses, and individual advocates promoting aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies as a strategy for phasing-out nuclear power, eliminating energy imports, and making deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.”

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The following statement outlines an ambitious but doable strategy for dramatically reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, phasing out nuclear power, and ending energy imports while simultaneously creating new domestic jobs and businesses, improving energy, homeland, and national security and the economy, and enhancing the environment and public health.

Objectives:

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The three primary, longer-term objectives for the nation’s energy policy should be:

  1. reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level consistent with a world-wide goal of global climate stabilization (assumes curbing U.S. CO2 emissions by 60-80% from current levels by mid-century);
  2. eliminate U.S. energy imports (i.e., oil and natural gas – now 58% and 15% respectively), while reducing overall use of oil and natural gas;
  3. phase out the current generation of nuclear power while substantially curbing the production and consumption of fossil fuels, by increasing the use of energy efficiency and making a transition to sustainable, environmentally safer renewable energy sources.

Targets:

The following targets approximate what is technically and economically feasible given the necessary policy support and leadership as well as what would likely be necessary if the above-listed objectives are to be achieved.

By 2025:

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  1. reduce total energy consumption by at least one percent/year from 2005 levels, through efficiency improvements in housing, manufacturing, vehicles, airplanes, government facilities, and businesses, so that by 2025, U.S. energy use totals no more than about 80 quads.
  2. increase from 2005 levels, production of renewable energy from biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydropower (and other water power sources), solar, and wind plus renewably-based hydrogen – in an environmentally responsible manner – by about 0.5 quads/year so that by 2025 renewables provide at least 17 quads.
  3. phase out the current generation of nuclear power plants by not relicensing currently existing reactors and not building new ones.
  4. reduce oil consumption by at least one percent/year below 2005 levels so that by 2025, U.S. oil imports are no more than one-third of total petroleum use.
  5. reduce natural gas consumption by one percent/year below 2005 levels so that by 2025, the U.S. will no longer be importing any natural gas.
  6. reduce coal consumption by at least one percent/year below 2005 levels
  7. reduce carbon dioxide and other GHG emissions by at least one percent/year so that by 2025 they are at least 20% below current levels.

By 2050:

  1. continue to reduce total energy consumption by at least one percent/year below 2005 levels through efficiency improvements so that by 2050, total U.S. energy use is no more than 60 quads.
  2. continue to expand use of renewable energy sources by at least 0.5 quads per year from 2005 levels so that by 2050, renewables contribute at least 30 quads to the nation’s energy supply.
  3. continue to reduce oil consumption by at least two percent/year below 2005 levels so that by 2050, oil imports will be eliminated and total oil use is no more than one-fifth of today’s levels.
  4. continue to reduce coal consumption by at least one percent/year below 2005 levels and phase out all single-cycle pulverized coal power plants, so that by 2050, coal consumption is no more than one-third of today’s levels.
  5. continue to reduce natural gas consumption by about one percent/year below 2005 levels so that by 2050, natural gas consumption is one-third below today’s levels.
  6. continue to reduce carbon dioxide emissions so that by 2050, they are no more than one-third of current levels.

Tables:

The following table provides an estimate of what the nation’s energy mix would be if the above-listed targets are realized.

  2005 Energy Consumption (quadrillion BTUs) 2025 Energy Consumption (quadrillion BTUs) 2050 Energy Consumption (quadrillion BTUs)
Coal 23.0 18.0 8.0
Oil (Domestic) 16.5 15.5 8.0
Oil (Imports) 23.0 11.5 0.0
Natural Gas (Domestic) 19.0 18.0 14.0
Natural Gas (Imports) 3.5 0.0 0.0
Nuclear 8.0 1.0 0.0
Renewables 7.0 17.0 30.0
Total 100.0 81.0 60.0
CO2 Emissions 6,000 million metric tons <4,800 million metric tons 2,000 million metric tons

Proposed Policy Initiatives:

The following policy initiatives are not exhaustive but are illustrative of the type necessary to realize the targets and objectives outlined above.

  1. By 2025, fuel economy standards for cars and trucks should be at least double what they are today, beginning with a 50% increase in fuel economy for new vehicles by the year 2015.
  2. By 2025, total annual person-miles traveled by automobile and truck should be back to levels no higher than today through expansion of mass transit, better land use planning, telecommuting, etc.
  3. By 2025, no less than 25 percent of the nation’s liquid transportation fuels should be provided, or displaced, by renewable sources, including renewably-generated hydrogen.
  4. By 2025, no less than 25 percent of the nation’s electricity should be mandated to be generated by renewable energy sources and increased by at least one percent/year thereafter.
  5. By 2025, state and/or federal standards should mandate that the energy efficiency of appliances, motors, and lighting should be improved by no less than 20 percent as measured on a total fuel cycle basis.
  6. By 2025, state and/or federal standards should mandate that 20 percent of all new buildings must be zero energy buildings (moving twoards a goal of all new buildings being zero energy by 2050), using a combination of efficient design and clean on-site energy production;
  7. By 2025, energy use in the electricity sector should be reduced by at least 10 percent through the use of clean distributed generation such as combined heat & power, district energy, fuel cells, and improved energy storage and transmission technologies.
  8. Energy efficiency resource standards for electric and gas utilities should be established with a target savings of at least one percent of annual sales each year, on an incremental basis, such that savings build on previous years’ impacts.
  9. Expansion of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean distributed generation technologies should be promoted through national interconnection standards i.e., (net metering and transmission access reforms), production and investment tax incentives, government procurement, updated resource assessment, and state and local planning programs.
  10. Annual federal funding for the research, development, and deployment of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies should be at least doubled over the next five years and expanded to no less than five times current levels by 2025.
  11. Funding to support sustainable energy budget outlays and tax incentives, as well as to alleviate low-income consumer impacts, should be drawn from a mix of gradually increased dedicated taxes on carbon-based fuels, energy imports, and fossil fuel leases on federal lands.
  12. Any new coal-based power plants should be required to achieve energy efficiency and environmental performance equal to, or better than, the best-available Integrated Combined Cycle Coal Gasification technology, and must include full and permanent carbon capture and sequestration.
  13. Unless all of the following conditions are satisfied, licenses for existing nuclear power plants should not be renewed or extended and federal nuclear funds should be directed towards plant decommissioning and waste clean-up, storage and disposal:
    1. greenhouse gas emissions from the nuclear fuel cycle are reduced by 60 percent;
    2. designs are developed for passively-safe reactors that cannot melt down, explode, or release radioactivity, under any conditions, including direct hits from bombs, aircraft impacts, earthquakes, floods, or terrorist acts;
    3. radiation exposure standards are established that ensure no radiation exposure hazards to workers or the public;
    4. waste handling and disposal technologies are developed that preclude the need for long-distance waste transport or long-term storage;
    5. fuel cycle and waste handling technologies are developed that preclude any risk of nuclear weapons proliferation or theft of potentially fissionable materials; and
    6. private liability per nuclear power plant under the Price-Anderson Act is increased to no less than $50 billion.

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ENDORSEMENTS TO DATE:

ARIZONA

Airwaterearth Org.
Frank C. Subjeck

Ecosa Institute
William Ozier, Operations Manager

High Performance Building Team
Tom Kociemba

North East Arizona Energy Services Company
Larry E. Bell, President

Solar Institute
Paul Huddy, Director

Sustainable Arizona
John F. Neville, President

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Renewable Energy Association
William Ball

CALIFORNIA

Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
Rochelle Becker, Executive Director

American Association for Fuel Cells
Thomas Dickerman

American Society of International Law – International Environmental Law Group
Dr. Wil Burns, Co-Chair

Atomic Mirror
Pamela S. Meidell, Director

California Communities Against Toxics
Jane Williams, Executive Director

Chong Partners Architecture
William Randolph Pearson, AIA

Community Environmental Council
Tam Hunt

Donald Aiken Associates
Donald Aitken, Ph.D., Principal
Barbara Harwood, Co-Principal

Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo
Morgan Rafferty, Executive Director

Environmental Priorities Network
Lillian Light, President

Geothermal Education Office
Marilyn Nemzer, Executive Director

Global Possibilities
Casey Coates Danson, President

Healing Ourselves & Mother Earth
Jennifer O. Viereck, Director

Loving Earth Gardens
Nicole Paul, Co-director

National VegOil Board
Cynthia Shelton, Director

Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Phil Tymon

organicARCHITECT
Eric Corey Freed, Architect – Principal,

Redwood Alliance
Michael Welch

San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
Jane Swanson, spokesperson

San Luis Sustainability Group
Kenneth Haggard, Principal

Sierra Solar Systems
Jonathan Hill, Solar Applications Engineer

Sustainable Energy Solutions
Bernhard O. Voelkelt

Tahoe Solar Designs
Leslie Ames

Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director

COLORADO

Colorado Energy Group
George Burmeister, President

EarthNest Institute
Nicole V. Langley, Director

Ecological Architecture P.C.
Sven Erik Alstrom AIA, President

Jews Of The Earth
Daniel Ziskin, PhD; President

Leonardi Executive Health Institute
David Leonardi, M.D., FA4M, CNS

StEPP Foundation
Bruce Dines

SunJuice Solar LLC
Alison Mason, Owner

CONNECTICUT

Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion, Inc.
Jane Latus

Citizens Awareness Network – CT chapter
Sal Mangiagli, Board Member

Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone
Nancy Burton, Director

Don’t Waste Connecticut, please.
Mitzi Bowman, Coordinator

Environmental Energy Solutions
Joel N. Gordes

Environmental Futurists of New Haven
Colin Bennett, Outreach Coordinator

Great Land Conservation Trust, Inc.
Colin Bennett, President

People’s Action for Clean energy
Judi Friedman, Chair

Sustainable Computing
Ben Rosenthal, Mac Guru

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Environmental Market Solutions
Ken Langer, President

Greenpeace U.S.A.
John Coequyt

New Uses Council
William Holmberg, Executive Director

Public Citizen’s Energy Program
Tyson Slocum, Director

The Stella Group, Ltd.
Scott Sklar, President

Throwplace.com/Throwplace Ltd.
Donna Lomangino, President

FLORIDA

Arkitektura Consulting+Design
(also Krystal Planet C+D in New York)
Ray Gecas

Elaine Nichols, Karen Lowman
NoNuke.org

Safe Earth Alliance
Dr. Dorthy K. Cinquemani, Chair

Space Coast Progressive Alliance
Cammie Donaldson, President

Windhunter Corporation
David Nicholson, President

GEORGIA

Nuclear Watch South
Glenn Carroll, Coordinator

Sterling Planet, Inc.
Alden Hathaway, Sr. VP – Business Development

IDAHO

Snake River Alliance
Jeremy Maxand, Executive Director

ILLINOIS

Chicago Media Watch
Margaret Nagel

Harmony Funding
Bob & Linda Babcock

New Community Project
David Radcliff, Director

No New Nukes
Carolyn Treadway

Nuclear Energy Information Service
Dave Kraft, Director

Organic Energy Works
Jim and Mary Maginel

INDIANA

Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
Grant Smith, Executive Director

Indiana’s Green Network for Innovative Technology and Enterprise, Inc.
Nicholas Harter, President

RenewNews
Mark Hayward

Save the Valley, Inc.
Richard Hill, President

KANSAS

Kansas Natural Resource Council
Robert Haughawout, President

Paradigm Design, LC
Michael Almon, co-owner

KENTUCKY

Coalition for Health Concern, Inc.
Corinne Whitehead

Earthhealing.info
Al Fritsch

Yggdrasil (project of Earth Island Institute)
Mary Davis, Director

LOUISIANA

Alliance for Affordable Energy
Micah Walker Parkin, Program Director
Karen Wimpelberg, Board President

Gulf Restoration Network
Cynthia Sarthou, Executive Director

Louisiana Solar Energy Society
Jeff Shaw, Director

MAINE

Cheaper, Safer Power
William S. Linnell, Spokesperson

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator

Maine Solar Energy Association
Richard Komp PhD, President

MARYLAND

American Contracting & Environmental Services, Inc.
Reggie Godin, Renewable Energy Specialist

Anacostia Watershed Society
Robert E. Boone, President

Beyond Nuclear
Paul Gunter

Chesapeake Solar LLC
Richard E. Deutschmann, PE, Chief Executive Officer

Henry S. Cole Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Henry S Cole, Ph.D., President

MD-DC-VA Solar Energy Industries Association
Peter Lowenthal, Director

Maryland United for Peace and Justice, Inc.
Paulette Hammond, Co-convenor

Nuclear Information & Resource Service
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director

SUN DAY Campaign
Ken Bossong, Executive Director

Standard Solar
Neville Williams, Chairman

MASSACHUSETTS

C-10 Foundation
Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director
Debbie Grinnell

Cape & Islands Self-Reliance
Richard Lawrence, Director of Special Projects & Education

Chris Fried Solar
Chris Fried, Principal

Citizens Awareness Network
Deb Katz

Flannery’s Green Guide
Peter M. Flannery, Designer

Green Decade Coalition/Newton
Ana Zarina Asuaje Solon, President

Northeast Organic Farming Association / Mass Chapter
Julie Rawson, Executive Director; Frank Albani, President

Solar Design Associates, Inc.
Steven and Marilyn Strong, Principals

Traprock Peace Center
Sunny Miller, Executive Director

MICHIGAN

Citizens’ Resistance at Fermi Two
Keith Gunter

Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes
Michael J. Keegan

Don’t Waste Michigan
Alice Hirt, Corrine Carey, Kathryn Barnes

Home for Peace and Justice
Joan McCoy, Co-ordinator

Institute for Global Education
Chuck Neller, Office Coordinator

Full Circle Service Center, LLC
Nancy Lee Bentley, Wholistic Health Expert

Michigan Environmental Council
Lana Pollack, President

MINNESOTA

Honor the Earth
Winona LaDuke, Executive Director

Mankato Area Environmentalists, (MAE)
Sister Gladys Schmitz, Coordinator

Prairie Island Coalition
Bruce A Drew, Steering Committee

MISSOURI

Farmergy, Inc.
Mark Green, CEO & Co-Founder

Missourians for Safe Energy
Mark Haim

MONTANA

Oasis Montana Inc.
Chris Daum

Sunelco, The Sun Electric Company, Inc.
Tom Bishop, President

NEBRASKA

Flatwater Chapter U.S.Green Building Council
Nicolette Amundson, AIA Chair

Western Nebraska Resources Council
Buffalo Bruce, Board Chair

NEVADA

Aqua Sun International
Greg Hanson, President

Nevada Conservation League
Scot Rutledge, Executive Director

Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Judy Treichel, Executive Director

NEW HAMPSHIRE

RenewableEnergyAccess.com
Jim Callihan, President & CoFounder

Roy Morrison & Associates, LCC
Roy Morrison

NEW JERSEY

Coalition for Global Warming Solutions
Carlos Rymer

Coalition for Peace and Justice
UNPLUG Salem Campaign
Norm Cohen, Director

NEW MEXICO

ABUZZ Media
Robert Andruszkiewicz

Citizens Nuclear Information Center
Lee Cheney, Founder

Eugene Duran – Solar, Wind & Efficient Energy Consultants
Eugene Duran, Owner

Partnership for Earth Spirituality
Joan Brown, osf, President – Ecology Ministry

Los Alamos Study Group
Greg Mello

Rainshine Unlimited LLC
Rain Lee

Sustainable World
James C. Wernicke, P.E., LEED AP; President

NEW YORK

Bright Power Inc.
Jeff Perlman, President

Cancer Awareness Coalition, Inc.
Rose Marie Williams, Pres.; Helena Baldyga, VP

Citizens Regional Transit Corporation
Gladys Gifford, President

Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy
Michel Lee, Esq.; Chairman

Grass Roots Action Center for the Environment
Jessie Carr

Law Offices of Stephen Filler
Stephen Filler

Motorworks Clean Vehicles, Inc.
Gary Birke

New York Solar Energy Industries Association
Christine Donovan, Executive Vice President

Renewable Energy Long Island
Gordian Raacke, Executive Director

Rochester Solar Technologies LLC
Shawn Lessord, President

Rockland Friends United for Safe Energy
Susan Shapiro, Esq.

Salem Financial, Inc
J. Peter Lynch, President

Sierra Club – NYC Group
Dan Miner, energy committee chair

Solar and Wind FX Inc.
Chris Schaefer

SustainableBusiness.com
Rona Fried, President

Tristate Solar Inc
Douglas F Roether V.P.; N.Y.C. Licensed Master Electrician

Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo
Justin S. Booth MS

Westchester Citizens Awareness Network
Margo Schepart, Co-Founder

Western New York Sustainable Energy Association
Joan Bozer

Wind Action Group
Bill Nowak, Chair – Communication Committee

NORTH CAROLINA

Canary Coalition
Avram Friedman, Executive Director

Charlotte Area Green Party
North Carolina Green Party
Kathryn Kuppers, Clerk

Common Sense at the Nuclear Crossroads
Anne Craig, Campaign Felicitator

EnergyXchange
Sarah Hoyle

Long Branch Environmental Education Center
Art Horn, President – Board of Directors

North Carolina Citizens Research Group
Wells Eddleman, Staff Scientist

Physicians for Social Responsibility – Western North Carolina Chapter
Lewis E. Patrie, M. D., Chair

Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville
Jean Larson, Peace and Environment Team co-chair

OHIO

Farmers Green Power
Harvey Wasserman

Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy
Dave Rinebolt, Executive Director and Counsel

R.A.Energy International, Inc
Qadwi Bey

OKLAHOMA

Bergey Windpower Co.
Mike Bergey, President

OREGON

3EStrategies
Cylvia Hayes, Executive Director

PENNSYLVANIA

Alliance For A Clean Environment
Donna Cuthbert, Vice President

Citizen Power
David Hughes, Executive Director

Common Sense Energy
James Friar

Concern About Radiation In the Environment
Karen Prather

EFMR Monitoring Group
Eric Epstein, Coordinator

Radiation and Public Health Project
Ernest J. Sternglass, PhD., President
Joseph Mangano, Executive Director

Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Tom McCaney, Associate Director, Corporate Social Responsibility

SunPower Builders
Jon Costanza

Three Mile Island Alert, Inc.,
Kay Pickering and Bill Cologie

PUERTO RICO

Abruna & Musgrave, Arquitectos
Dr. Fernando Abruna, FAIA

Energtech
Dr A Colon Negron, CEO

RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island Solar Energy Association
Domenic Bucci, President

U.S.A. Nica Windpower, Inc.
Wm. Wharton Smith III

SOUTH CAROLINA

Carolina Peace Resource Center
Gerald Rudolph; Allison Peeler, Nuclear Issues Coordinator

TEXAS

Global Energy Designs, Inc.
Dewaine Nelson, Vice President

Solarcraft, Inc.
Kevin Conlin

SwitchingGears
Aaron "A.J." McCann – CEO

VERMONT

Sustainable Energy Resource Group
Bob Walker

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
Beth Sachs, Executive Director

Vermont Solar Energy Association
Clay Turnbull

VIRGINIA

Bob Lawrence & Associates
Bob Lawrence, President

The Carmel Group, LLC
Elizabeth C. Battocletti

Collaborations
Scott Denman

Precursor Systems, Inc.
Aviv Goldsmith, President

Sustainable Design Consulting, LLC
Sandra Leibowitz Earley, RA, CSI, LEED AP; Principal

WASHINGTON

American Elevator Corporation
Marc Vendetti, President

Black Mountain Technology
Susan Petty

eFormative Options
Heather Rhoads-Weaver, Owner and Development & Market Research Consultant
Meg Gluckman, Research and Community Development Consultant

Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development
Don André

Port Orchard United Methodist Church
Rev. C. Scott Harrison

Waste Action Project
Greg Wingard, Executive Director

WISCONSIN

Biodiversity Project
Peter Alexander, Executive Director

Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin
Charlie Higley, Executive Director

Great Northern Solar
Christopher LaForge

Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Tehri Parker, Executive Director

Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation
Janet Brandt, Executive Director