The American Physical Society has published a report encouraging the federal government to increase research and decrease barriers when dealing with energy efficiency. The report entitled “Energy Future: Think Efficiency” notes that the technology and resources exist today to improve fuel usage, reduce greenhouse emissions and maintain most of the comforts Americans are accustomed to. The society advocates for a large-scale increase in federal funding to research and development programs that will make these technologies available to the general public.
“Energy Future” is short on budgetary and policy specifics though it is bold in its call for stricter CAFE standards. The society wants every light-duty vehicle to achieve 50 miles per gallon by the year 2030 . While the American Physical Society cites CAFE standards as one way to improve efficiency, they also throw out financial incentives (or disincentives) as a possible solution.
The report indicates that some of the trendy auto technologies of the 21st century aren’t ready to step up as alternatives for the combustion engine. In the report’s vision of the transportation future, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles remain a niche transportation option due to the expense of durable cell construction. The promise of all-electric vehicles zooming from home to work throughout the United States would be unfulfilled due to poor infrastructure. “Energy Future” notes that electrical grids will need to be shored up and timed charging options will need to be incorporated to encourage phased charging throughout the day.
Advocates of hybrid vehicles will find the society’s repeated mentions of poor battery capacity slightly discouraging. The report notes accurately that the current generation of vehicle batteries are insufficient to warrant a large roll-out of plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles. “Energy Future” also states that there are no batteries in the marketplace that could power a standard sedan for 300 miles without resorting to gasoline power.
The conclusion of the society’s recent publication is that a broader research initiative at the federal level would mean better applicability of technologies for a greener economy. Two elements of the report are troubling for anyone who thinks that a sustainable economy will require a cultural sea change. The first problem with “Energy Future” is that physicists are putting on record that we could maintain our commuting and consumption habits if only for a few technological changes. The second problem is that the American Physical Society is encouraging a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn’t jive well with the inactivity on these issues from Congress and the White House.
In both cases, the solution is an approach involving both top-down and bottom-up solutions. While “Energy Future” offers great suggestions, local and state governments can go further to drive up demand for current technologies than federal mandates through the use of tax incentives. In turn, the federal government can provide funding and maintenance for large-scale infrastructure that is outside the scope of smaller government bodies.
