Re-Thinking Energy in Homes

Why buy green power?

Buying green goes a long way toward cutting heat-trapping emissions because clean energy sources emit little or no carbon dioxide (CO₂) pollution — a huge savings to the Earth and a way to slow global warming.

Green power can be slightly higher in price, but the benefits are many. Here are just a few examples. Using green energy:

• Reduces smog, soot, mercury and acid rain pollution.
• Reduces financial risks. Future regulations, caps on greenhouse gases and price fluctuations of fossil fuels could all increase the cost of energy. For example, natural gas prices have soared recently.
• Creates new jobs and generate income, because green power sources tend to rely on local labor, land and resources, especially in rural communities.

Green power arrives in a quiet revolution

Traditionally, utilities sold us just one "brand" of electricity, and unless you were one of the largest electric customers, you paid one price. No negotiations. No choice. Today's electricity landscape is different. We have options.

In 1998, some 30 million American utility customers began choosing their power suppliers. Customers in California and parts of New England could decide which company to buy their electricity from, which brand to buy, and what prices to pay. In other states, utilities offered "green pricing," allowing customers to direct some of their electric bill toward clean, renewable energy, like solar and wind power.

Today, about 75 million electricity customers in 42 states have the option to buy green power through their utility or an alternative power supplier, according to the government's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (To find out if green power is available in your area, visit the Department of Energy's green pricing page.)

Suddenly, we Americans have new responsibility and opportunity of choice, but not a lot of information. Unfortunately, reading our electric bills does not tell us where our electricity comes from, how much it really costs or how much pollution it causes. The green power revolution arrived quietly, without much education and preparation. It's time to get caught up.

What does it mean to buy green power?

Buying green power is less direct than buying recycled paper towels — you can't specify that only wind-generated electrons show up at your wall outlet. Imagine the electricity delivery system as a system of pipes delivering water to and from a lake. Power generators pour water into the lake, and electricity consumers take water out. By buying green, you ensure that the water going into the lake is as clean as possible. The more green consumers there are, the cleaner the whole lake will be. But everyone still draws water out of the whole lake.

Where does conventional electricity come from?

Before diving into the cleaner sources of energy available these days, it's worth looking at conventional sources. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil supplies about 97 percent of America's electricity and is responsible for about 33 percent of the country's global warming pollution. Reducing the amount of electricity we use in our homes is a key factor in creating a sustainable energy future.

Coal. Coal is energy stored in dead plant matter from prehistoric times. Coal burning generates more than 50 percent of the electricity in the U.S. and accounts for about one-third of the country's CO₂ emissions. Though coal reserves will last for centuries at current rates of usage, long before supplies run out, global climate change will require that restrictions be imposed on burning coal.

There are cleaner ways of burning coal than the traditional steam turbine. (More about coal gasification.)

Nuclear. Nuclear power comes from splitting uranium or plutonium atoms. Nuclear power provides about 20 percent of electricity generated in the U.S. Although generating electricity from nuclear fuels emits little CO₂, nuclear power poses grave risks to both human health and the environment. Safely storing nuclear waste is an extremely difficult problem. Although supplies of uranium and plutonium should last for more than a century, no more nuclear plants are being built, in large part because of high costs.

Natural Gas. Natural gas is the most environmentally benign fossil fuel. These two factors have greatly increased the use of natural gas to generate electricity. About 18 percent of electricity in the U.S. comes from natural gas. Natural gas does produce air pollution, but not nearly as much as other fossil fuels: for the same amount of energy, it produces half the CO₂ of coal. Although natural gas reserves will last for many decades to come, they are finite. Prices have already started to tick up and, as supplies shrink, the price will rise even more.

Oil. Oil provides only about three percent of electricity in the U.S. Oil burns cleaner than coal, but still produces large quantities of CO₂ emissions for each unit of energy produced. Most of the oil that is easiest to obtain in the United States has already been extracted, so continuing to use oil as an electricity source will require an increase in imports or improved technology. Increasing reliance on oil imports, especially from politically unstable regions, is unwise.

Large-Scale Hydropower. Dams provide electricity by guiding water down a chute and over a turbine at high speed. Although hydropower does not produce any air emissions, dams — especially large ones — cause serious environmental problems.

The reservoir behind a dam often requires flooding many square miles, destroying entire ecosystems. Dams block the natural flow of water and degrade water quality, damaging vegetation and wildlife. They interfere with fish migration, and though fish ladders can help, they don't solve the problem.

Hydropower provides about six percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. This percentage is unlikely to increase. Few sites remain where large dams could be built, and the environmental concerns are strong.

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