At times it is hard not to feel a sense of helplessness as we continue to watch the oil spew from the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Leak estimates are now ranging from 60,000 – 100,000 barrels of oil per day. As of now we’re on day 83 with no end in sight. To make matters worse, this spill isn’t out of the norm on a global scale. The United States imports 40% of its oil from the Nigerian Niger Delta[1], where it has been suggested that equally as much oil has spilled at sea, in the swamps and on land every single year as has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico thus far. Local communities around the globe are being destroyed both financially and environmentally by such disasters while U.S. and worldwide consumption and crude oil demand continues to rise.
While policy makers, politicians and oil companies battle over appropriate clean energy solutions and alternatives to fossil fuels, we must consider our responsibility and the actions we can take to ensure that another accident of this scale does not occur. So, what can we do? It is actually pretty simple; collectively we must reduce demand and become more efficient.
The built environment accounts for almost half of total annual U.S. energy consumption and 72% of U.S. electricity consumption[2]. Currently there are over 328 billion square feet of commercial and residential buildings in the United States[3]. Energy upgrades and retrofits, modified occupant behavior and appropriate maintenance and facility management practices can reduce energy demand greatly, and thereby reduce the need for oil drilling globally. Incremental change and small increases in efficiency are no longer enough.
As long as we construct and occupy inefficient buildings, we’re part of the problem. We’re setting ourselves up for reiterative environmental disasters. Let’s make sure that this never happens again and take responsibility for our future. Now is the time to make a substantial and fundamental change to our built environment. Net zero must be our goal not only for new construction, but also existing buildings, larger communities, and entire cities. Let’s take action now.
Caitlin
[1] Vidal, J. (2010, May 30th). Nigeria’s Agony Dwarfs the Gulf Oil Spill. The US and Europe ignore it. The Observer. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk.
[2] U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2008). EIA Annual Energy Outlook.
[3] U.S. Energy Information Administration. Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 2005 & Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/contents.html