For Climate Change, Elizabeth Warren missed commercial LED lighting, air conditioning optimization and other solutions

GREENandSAVE Staff

Posted on Monday 9th September 2019

Climate Change: On September 4, 2019, CNN ran seven hours of Climate Change Town Hall programming with ten of the Democratic Presidential Candidates, focused on the Climate Crisis. The intentions of the candidates are admirable, but their lack of knowledge on the details of cost-effective solutions is apparent based on their repeated focus on solar, wind, and electric cars over energy efficiency measures for commercial buildings. Saving electricity for existing buildings is much more cost-effective than trying to make electricity through renewable power. Key points not covered by the candidates included:

  • America uses 25% of the world’s energy with less than 5% of the population.
  • Buildings account for 40% of America's energy use.
  • Air Conditioning and Lighting typically use over half of a building’s energy (Over 25% each for AC and lighting)
  • The private sector has financing in place, so that building owners pay ZERO upfront and there is ZERO cost to taxpayers - a Win/Win with a cooler planet as a result.

 

Here is the “Score Card” from all 10 candidates and the 60,748 words in the combined transcripts from their CNN Climate Change Town Hall appearances:

 

  • Wind power references: 42
  • Solar power references: 37
  • Light bulbs (for homes) references: 16
  • Electric Cars references: 14

 

Here is what the candidates should have referenced, but failed to do so, given that they had long format segments vs the shorter debate “sound bites” time limits:

 

  • Commercial Lighting references: 0
  • Commercial Air Conditioning and/or HVAC references: 0
  • Indoor or Vertical Farming references: 0
  • Waste to Fuel (e.g. Hyrothermal Carbonization) references: 0

 

While some candidates spoke generally about building efficiency, they only scratched the surface rather than giving examples and reinforcing the fact that proven technology is at hand to take a massive bite out of American energy consumption and create millions of jobs along the way.

 

Here is key information on four cost-effective and proven clean technologies that the candidates and elected officials across the US need to know about to help guide America toward PRACTICAL sustainability and job creation:

#1: Climate Change Solution - Commercial Light-emitting Diode (LED) Lighting

Savings Potential: 50% or more energy savings over traditional lighting

Climate Change Highlights: Lighting is the “low hanging” fruit of energy savings, and it is typically the second largest consumer of electricity in buildings, accounting for over 20% of kilowatt use. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are proven to save over half of the operating cost and last more than five times as long as traditional lights. With over 3 billion square feet of federal real estate, the savings is over $1 billion per year, not to mention the other 87 billion square feet of private sector non-residential real estate.

Climate Change Return on Investment (ROI): Payback in 2 years or less

Climate Change Sample Applications: Hospitals, Hotels, Office Buildings, Data Centers, Shopping Malls, etc.

Website for more information: Made in USA LED Lighting + Sample LED Lighting Case Studies

 

#2: Climate Change Solution - Commercial Air Conditioning Optimization

Savings Potential: 15% to 40% energy savings for central cooling systems

Climate Change Highlights: Air Conditioning (AC) is typically the largest consumer of electricity in buildings, accounting for over 30% of kilowatt use. AC optimization focuses on “tuning” air conditioning systems through advanced algorithm, without changing any of the cooling equipment, without impacting thermostat settings, and without generating any downtime or upfront costs.

Climate Change Return on Investment (ROI): Payback in 2 years or less

Climate Change Sample Applications: Hospitals, Hotels, Office Buildings, Data Centers, Shopping Malls, etc.

Website for more information: Air Conditioning Optimization (with Download to One Page Data Sheet)

Sample market traction: Energy Saving AC Case Studies

 

#3: Climate Change Solution - Indoor Farming - Controlled Environment Agriculture

Savings Potential: 90% less water and 30% energy savings over traditional food production

Highlights: Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) “Indoor Farming” is now economically viable due to the efficiency of LED Grow Lights. Indoor Farming reduces transportation costs of moving vegetables from Farm to Table, increases health with pesticide-free production, and increases flavor and nutrition. Fresh local produce is the Future of Food.

Climate Change Return on Investment (ROI): Payback in 2 years or less

Climate Change Sample Applications: Conversion of vacant commercial and industrial properties as well as new greenhouse construction.

Website for more information: LED Grow Lights

 

Bonus:  K-12 Schools are increasingly focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education. Sample STEM Education - See the content for classroom programs starting on page #55 with sample curriculum.

 

#4: Waste to Fuel - Hydrothermal Carbonization

Savings Potential: The US could reduce 10% or more of its dependency on fossil fuels.

Climate Change Highlights: Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) cost-effectively converts bio waste, such as food and human waste, into electricity for buildings, fertilizer for agriculture, and hydrogen for next-generation transportation. The HTC reactors use heat (approx 200° C “pizza oven” heat at 400° F) and pressure (approx 20,000 pascals “scuba tank” pressure 3,000 lbs/sq in) to create hydrochar within an hour, while the earth has taken over 100 million years to create fossil fuels. The HTC reactors are approximately the size of 40 ft shipping containers.

Climate Change Return on Investment (ROI): Payback in 3 years or less

Climate Change Sample Applications: Municipalities, University Campuses, Office Parks, Shopping Malls, etc.

Website for more information: Waste to Fuel

 

Support Information

Here is the link to the presentation file from Charlie Szoradi, CEO of Independence LED Lighting and the Energy Intelligence Center. He was invited by the Council of State Governments (CSG) to speak at the Easter Regional Conference on July 29, 2019. Contact: Charlie Szoradi 610-551-5224 or Charlie@IndependenceLED.com

 

Presentation slide show:

https://independenceled.com/pdfs/Council-of-State-Governments-Eastern-Regional-Conference-2019.07.29-Energy-and-Environment-Presentation-by-Charlie-Szoradi-FINAL.pdf

 

The presentation was specifically for CSG’s Energy and Environment Committee, and here is the link to the 12 minute video of the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqSuqHQbfBM&feature=youtu.be

 

CNN Climate Change Town Hall – Transcripts

For your convenience here is the beginning of the transcript, and click here for the full Climate Change transcripts for all 10 Democratic Presidential Candidates, who participated in the CNN Climate Change Town Hall

CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

Climate Crisis Town Hall with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Presidential Candidate. Aired 9:20-10p ET

Aired September 4, 2019 - 21:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[21:20:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN's town hall on the climate crisis. I'm Chris Cuomo, and we're here with the top 10 candidates for president of the United States. They're unveiling their plans to fight climate change, and as an audience, we will be testing their ideas.

Now, right now, Hurricane Dorian is hovering off of the East Coast of the United States. We're seeing storms that are intensifying, and that's just one sign of the dangerous world that scientists tell us we're entering if humans don't cut carbon pollution in half in the next 11 years, and then to net zero by 2050.

So let's deal with the instant circumstance with Dorian. Let's get the latest on the hurricane and go to CNN weather center with Jennifer Gray. Jennifer, what are we seeing now?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN: Well, Chris, the latest with the storm, it's almost a Category 3, just barely hanging on to that Category 2 status, with winds of 110 miles per hour, 111 would be a Category 3 with gusts of 130. Moving to the north at 8. Right now it's about 130 miles south of Charleston. They will be feeling the tropical-storm-force winds tonight and conditions will continue to deteriorate as we go through tomorrow, already getting those rain bands from South Carolina all the way down through Georgia, and even Florida still feeling it, as well.

Could be a Category 2, possibility fluctuating to a Category 3 sometime overnight tonight into tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see. But Charleston could get quite a bit of storm surge. That's going to be one of the main threats. And then as the storm races off to the north, North Carolina is in it just as much, Chris, with a lot of storm surge, wind and rain.

CUOMO: Right. And you have areas that aren't used to taking storm surge. We'll be staying on the coverage. We'll be needing your help. Jennifer, thank you very much.

And, of course, the idea of bigger and bigger hurricanes, more and more frequently, that's one of the things scientists worry about and point to as an indication of imminent climate change.

So what do you say? It's time to get some answers to voters' questions. Let's bring in Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. (APPLAUSE)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to see you. All right.

CUOMO: All right. Let's get right to the audience, what do you say, Senator?

WARREN: I'm ready!

CUOMO: Let's bring in Diana Krantz from Philadelphia. She's retired. She's working on her second novel. Diana, what's your question?

WARREN: Wow, Diana. What was the first one?

QUESTION: I'm not going to say.

WARREN: Oh, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

This was your big chance.

QUESTION: It's not related to the climate.

WARREN: I'm trying to help here, Diana. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: Anyway, thank you for this opportunity. Most economists believe that a carbon tax is the most efficient way to reduce carbon emissions. Would you push for such a tax? And if not, please explain why you don't favor that approach.

WARREN: So I think of this as what my mother taught me, and that is you got to clean up your own messes. And that means if you're going to be spewing carbon into the air and messing up the air for the rest of us, it's your responsibility to clean it up.

And we've been talking about this for a long time. We've actually started putting parts of this in place in New England and other regional areas. But, yes, we need to say that those who are throwing the carbon into the air that the rest of us have to breathe, that the rest of us have to deal with, are the ones who are responsible for paying for that. I'm there.

CUOMO: So yes to a carbon tax. How much? What kind of number do you got? If it's President Warren, what do you do?

WARREN: Actually, I -- what I want to do is -- I want to talk -- I'm glad you raised this. I want to talk about the ways we make change and how we think about change. We've been talking about a carbon tax for a very long time. And like I said, we've had some regional experiments, some different places, and it's been shown to have some good effects. But I actually have a more aggressive plan that I want to move to. I want to think about the three areas where we get the most carbon pollution in America right now. And what are they? They're in our buildings and homes, right, what we're burning. It's our cars and light-duty trucks that we drive. And it's the generation of electricity where we're still using a lot of carbon-based fuel to make that happen.

So you may remember that Governor Jay Inslee said let's get tough on this and let's put in place some real rules about this. So what I've adopted is, by 2028, we don't have any more new building that has any carbon footprint. By 2030, we do the same thing on vehicles, on our cars and light-duty trucks. And by 2035, we do the same thing on electric generation. That will cut 70 percent of the carbon that we are currently spewing into the air. That's how you make a real difference.

(APPLAUSE)

More: Click here for the full Climate Change transcripts for all 10 Democratic Presidential Candidates, who participated in the CNN Climate Change Town Hall

 

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