Download or read book Hidden Costs of Energy written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-05-26 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the many benefits of energy, most of which are reflected in energy market prices, the production, distribution, and use of energy causes negative effects. Many of these negative effects are not reflected in energy market prices. When market failures like this occur, there may be a case for government interventions in the form of regulations, taxes, fees, tradable permits, or other instruments that will motivate recognition of these external or hidden costs. The Hidden Costs of Energy defines and evaluates key external costs and benefits that are associated with the production, distribution, and use of energy, but are not reflected in market prices. The damage estimates presented are substantial and reflect damages from air pollution associated with electricity generation, motor vehicle transportation, and heat generation. The book also considers other effects not quantified in dollar amounts, such as damages from climate change, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security. While not a comprehensive guide to policy, this analysis indicates that major initiatives to further reduce other emissions, improve energy efficiency, or shift to a cleaner electricity generating mix could substantially reduce the damages of external effects. A first step in minimizing the adverse consequences of new energy technologies is to better understand these external effects and damages. The Hidden Costs of Energy will therefore be a vital informational tool for government policy makers, scientists, and economists in even the earliest stages of research and development on energy technologies.

Download or read book Externalities of transportation fuels written by Dileep K. Birur and published by RTI Press. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research report examines the economic and environmental externalities associated with the US transportation sector. The United States currently accounts for about 25 percent of world oil consumption, about 50 percent of which is imported. Achieving energy security by reducing dependence on imported oil has been the foremost challenge of several major energy-importing countries, including the United States. In this study, we explored the costs associated with energy security/cost of dependence on oil and estimated the environmental externalities associated with different types of transportation fuels based on a set of economic, environmental, and life-cycle analysis models. Our assessment of estimations on oil dependence costs indicates that several elements constitute the true cost of oil and not many studies have attempted to include all of these costs for various reasons. For analyzing the environmental externalities, we used a life-cycle analysis model; the FASOM-GHG model of agriculture and forestry; APEEP—an integrated assessment model to calculate the marginal damage of emissions; GTAP-BIO—a computable general equilibrium model to estimate land use changes; and the OSIRIS model to estimate the species extinctions based on deforestation. This study on assessing the externalities could provide a quantitative basis for policy initiatives pertaining to America’s future transportation infrastructure. This study suggests that there is a need to consider economic, environmental, and other societal costs within a holistic framework to assess relative costs and benefits and suitability of alternative transportation fuels that could play a role in meeting our future energy needs.

Download or read book America s Energy Future written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For multi-user PDF licensing, please contact customer service. Energy touches our lives in countless ways and its costs are felt when we fill up at the gas pump, pay our home heating bills, and keep businesses both large and small running. There are long-term costs as well: to the environment, as natural resources are depleted and pollution contributes to global climate change, and to national security and independence, as many of the world's current energy sources are increasingly concentrated in geopolitically unstable regions. The country's challenge is to develop an energy portfolio that addresses these concerns while still providing sufficient, affordable energy reserves for the nation. The United States has enormous resources to put behind solutions to this energy challenge; the dilemma is to identify which solutions are the right ones. Before deciding which energy technologies to develop, and on what timeline, we need to understand them better. America's Energy Future analyzes the potential of a wide range of technologies for generation, distribution, and conservation of energy. This book considers technologies to increase energy efficiency, coal-fired power generation, nuclear power, renewable energy, oil and natural gas, and alternative transportation fuels. It offers a detailed assessment of the associated impacts and projected costs of implementing each technology and categorizes them into three time frames for implementation.

Download or read book Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy Duty Vehicles written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-07-30 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit buses, and work trucks. The book also recommends approaches that federal agencies could use to regulate these vehicles' fuel consumption. Currently there are no fuel consumption standards for such vehicles, which account for about 26 percent of the transportation fuel used in the U.S. The miles-per-gallon measure used to regulate the fuel economy of passenger cars. is not appropriate for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which are designed above all to carry loads efficiently. Instead, any regulation of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles should use a metric that reflects the efficiency with which a vehicle moves goods or passengers, such as gallons per ton-mile, a unit that reflects the amount of fuel a vehicle would use to carry a ton of goods one mile. This is called load-specific fuel consumption (LSFC). The book estimates the improvements that various technologies could achieve over the next decade in seven vehicle types. For example, using advanced diesel engines in tractor-trailers could lower their fuel consumption by up to 20 percent by 2020, and improved aerodynamics could yield an 11 percent reduction. Hybrid powertrains could lower the fuel consumption of vehicles that stop frequently, such as garbage trucks and transit buses, by as much 35 percent in the same time frame.

Download or read book ITF Round Tables Oil Dependence written by Transport Research Centre and published by Org. for Economic Cooperation & Development. This book was released on 2008-06-13 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Assesses the policy instruments available to address oil security and climate change and examines their interaction with measures to manage congestion and mitigate local air pollution.

Download or read book Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods and Services written by Chris T. Hendrickson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental life cycle assessment is often thought of as cradle to grave and therefore as the most complete accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of a product or service. However, as anyone who has done an environmental life cycle assessment knows, existing tools have many problems: data is difficult to assemble and life cycle studies take months of effort. A truly comprehensive analysis is prohibitive, so analysts are often forced to simply ignore many facets of life cycle impacts. But the focus on one aspect of a product or service can result in misleading indications if that aspect is benign while other aspects pollute or are otherwise unsustainable. This book summarizes the EIO-LCA method, explains its use in relation to other life cycle assessment models, and provides sample applications and extensions of the model into novel areas. A final chapter explains the free, easy-to-use software tool available on a companion website. (www.eiolca.net) The software tool provides a wealth of data, summarizing the current U.S. economy in 500 sectors with information on energy and materials use, pollution and greenhouse gas discharges, and other attributes like associated occupational deaths and injuries. The joint project of twelve faculty members and over 20 students working together over the past ten years at the Green Design Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, the EIO-LCA has been applied to a wide range of products and services. It will prove useful for research, industry, and in economics, engineering, or interdisciplinary classes in green design.

Download or read book The Geography of Transport Systems written by Jean-Paul Rodrigue and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mobility is fundamental to economic and social activities such as commuting, manufacturing, or supplying energy. Each movement has an origin, a potential set of intermediate locations, a destination, and a nature which is linked with geographical attributes. Transport systems composed of infrastructures, modes and terminals are so embedded in the socio-economic life of individuals, institutions and corporations that they are often invisible to the consumer. This is paradoxical as the perceived invisibility of transportation is derived from its efficiency. Understanding how mobility is linked with geography is main the purpose of this book. The third edition of The Geography of Transport Systems has been revised and updated to provide an overview of the spatial aspects of transportation. This text provides greater discussion of security, energy, green logistics, as well as new and updated case studies, a revised content structure, and new figures. Each chapter covers a specific conceptual dimension including networks, modes, terminals, freight transportation, urban transportation and environmental impacts. A final chapter contains core methodologies linked with transport geography such as accessibility, spatial interactions, graph theory and Geographic Information Systems for transportation (GIS-T). This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the field, with a broad overview of its concepts, methods, and areas of application. The accompanying website for this text contains a useful additional material, including digital maps, PowerPoint slides, databases, and links to further reading and websites. The website can be accessed at: http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans This text is an essential resource for undergraduates studying transport geography, as well as those interest in economic and urban geography, transport planning and engineering.

Download or read book Handbook of Transport and the Environment written by David A. Hensher and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2003-11-19 with total page 864 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each chapter was specially commissioned from an acknowledged world expert on the topic.

Download or read book Environmental External Costs of Transport written by Rainer Friedrich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-09-25 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transport causes a wide range of damage to human health, ecosytems and materials which are not reflected in the prices for transport. Thus, the damage caused by cars, planes, ships and trains should be known and transformed into monetary values, so called external costs. Within this book, a method to estimate the external costs stemming from the emissions of atmospheric pollutants of transport, including damage from greenhouse gases, fine particles, ozone, nitrous oxides, benzene and other carcinogenic substances, is described and applied to calculate the external costs of a huge number of current and future transport techniques operating in different locations all over Europe. A number of case studies demonstrate how the results can be used to aid policy decisions. The book is an important basis for assessing transport techniques, discussing transport taxes and charges and implementing ecopolitical instruments.

Download or read book Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-04-14 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005. This report examines the current capability and estimated future performance and costs for each vehicle type and non-petroleum-based fuel technology as options that could significantly contribute to these goals. By analyzing scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, the report also identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions. Several scenarios are promising, but strong, and effective policies such as research and development, subsidies, energy taxes, or regulations will be necessary to overcome barriers, such as cost and consumer choice.

Download or read book Automotive Fuel Economy written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-02-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents realistic estimates for the level of fuel economy that is achievable in the next decade for cars and light trucks made in the United States and Canada. A source of objective and comprehensive information on the topic, this book takes into account real-world factors such as the financial conditions in the automotive industry, costs and benefits to consumers, and marketability of high-efficiency vehicles. The committee is composed of experts from the fields of science, technology, finance, and regulation and offers practical evaluations of technological improvements that could contribute to increased fuel efficiency. The volume also examines potential barriers to improvement, such as high production costs, regulations on safety and emissions, and consumer preferences. This practical book is of considerable interest to car and light truck manufacturers, policymakers, federal and state agencies, and the public.

Download or read book Low Carbon Transition written by Valter Silva and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2018-10-03 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most leaders of developed nations recognize the importance of following policies and strategies to achieve a low-carbon economy based on new and innovative technologies that are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create new employment and growth. In the broad spectrum of the feasible decarbonisation pathways, the challenge for political and economic decision-makers is to weigh uncertain impact from different technologies and to build a comprehensive evidence-based framework for research, business, investment and policy decision-making. This book aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art technology in the Low Carbon Technology and Economy field, discussing a set of new technology approaches and environmental and economic implications.

Download or read book Global Energy Assessment written by GEA Writing Team and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-08-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy challenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is an invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments.

Download or read book Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reforms written by Jun Rentschler and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-27 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Countries around the world are spending up to $500 billion per year on subsidising fossil fuel consumption. By some estimates, the G20 countries alone are spending around another $450 billion on subsidising fossil fuel production. In addition, the indirect social welfare costs of these subsidies have been shown to be substantial – for instance due to air pollution, road congestion, climate change, and economic inefficiency, to name a few. Considering these numbers, there is no doubt that fossil fuel subsidies cause severe economic distortions that compromise countries’ prospects of achieving equitable and sustainable development. This book provides a guide to the complex challenge of designing, assessing, and implementing effective fossil fuel subsidy reforms. It shows that subsidy reform requires a careful balancing of complex economic and political trade-offs, as well as measures to mitigate adverse effects on vulnerable households and to assist firms with implementing efficiency enhancing measures. Going beyond the purely fiscal perspective, this book emphasises that smart subsidy reforms can contribute to all three dimensions of sustainable development – environment, society, and economy. Over the course of eight chapters, this book considers a wide range of agents and stakeholders, markets, and policy measures in order to distil the key principles of designing effective fossil fuel subsidy reforms. This book will be of great relevance to scholars and policy makers with an interest in energy economics and policy, climate change policy, and sustainable development more broadly.

Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-29 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, we have come to depend on plentiful and inexpensive energy to support our economy and lifestyles. In recent years, many questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of our current pattern of high consumption of nonrenewable energy and its environmental consequences. Further, because the United States imports about 55 percent of the nation's consumption of crude oil, there are additional concerns about the security of supply. Hence, efforts are being made to find alternatives to our current pathway, including greater energy efficiency and use of energy sources that could lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as nuclear and renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. The United States has a long history with biofuels and the nation is on a course charted to achieve a substantial increase in biofuels. Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate. Policy makers, investors, leaders in the transportation sector, and others with concerns for the environment, economy, and energy security can rely on the recommendations provided in this report.

Download or read book Changing Course written by Asian Development Bank and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most Asian cities have grown more congested, more sprawling, and less livable in recent years; and statistics suggest that this trend will continue. Rather than mitigate the problems, transport policies have often exacerbated them. In this book, the Asian Development Bank outlines a new paradigm for sustainable urban transport that gives Asian cities a workable, step-by-step blueprint for reversing the trend and moving toward safer, cleaner, more sustainable cities, and a better quality of urban life.

Download or read book Globalisation Transport and the Environment written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2010-01-12 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks in detail at how globalisation has affected activity levels in maritime shipping, aviation, and road and rail freight, and assesses the impact that changes in activity levels have had on the environment.