Energy Optimization is where the New Earth path meets the building down the street. It is the most concrete wedge, and the one where REgenerating America is most specific. The decision to lead differently has to show up on the utility bill.
The new energy economy
We described a series of economies after World War II: industrial, technology, information, and now a new energy economy. The days of cheap energy are over. Subsidies hide the true cost of fossil fuels. A report we cited from the Center for Investigative Reporting put the real cost of gasoline near fifteen dollars a gallon once externalities were counted. Seeing that cost is another form of awareness, and awareness is where the fork begins.
Conserve first, then generate
Our guiding rule was simple. Audit bills and buildings, conserve through efficiency, then generate with solar and wind, and finally finance and promote the work. The portfolio included bill audits, tax audits, energy and water audits, energy management systems, cooling tower monitoring and solar. Buildings are the target because owners can find, save and make money, and because lifetime cost, not first cost, tells the true story. Pay me now or pay me later.
Water and energy are linked
Only about 2.5 percent of Earth’s water is fresh, and moving and treating water takes energy. Hurricane Sandy showed us how fragile the grid and the fuel lines can be. Sun, wind and water are infinite sources, and they match the 5D idea that the supply of possibility is not limited.
Energy in people, too
New Earth leaders optimize their own energy as carefully as their buildings. Calm, healthy, purposeful people use less effort for more result. The wheel keeps both together.
Next, we look at the tools that can extend that effort without replacing the human at the center: artificial intelligence.