Health Impact Assessment of Shale Gas Extraction Workshop Summary (2014) / Chapter Skim
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7 Sustainable Energy
7 Sustainable Energy
Pages 83-96
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From page 83... ...
Each energy source can be considered within the broader context of the energy milieu which includes other available energy sources, the potential benefits and potential damages across the life cycle and into the future, and the community context. The presentations emphasize a systems perspective that encourages understanding the relationships among different fuels and strategies and identifying optimal sources for the given context.
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From page 84... ...
California passed a climate change law, Assembly Bill 32 (California Environmental Protection Agency, Air Resources Board, 2013) , which codifies the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and calls for an energy future that will reduce emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels.
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From page 85... ...
Most people care about what the power plant does over its functional life or the effects of its emissions over the next 20 years, as well as its impacts over the longer term. 1 Global warming potential was developed to compare the ability of each greenhouse gas to trap heat in the atmosphere relative to carbon dioxide.
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From page 86... ...
Researchers and industry are working to complete a series of studies to collect empirical field data in order to populate these calculations with empirical numbers, rather than best estimates, allowing for a better assessment of the health impacts of these comparisons. An interesting topic of political relevance, Hamburg suggested, is the comparison of natural gas versus gasoline for transport and its climate implications.
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From page 87... ...
It also allows one to understand how people have used the land and how they might use it in the future with or without negatively impacting the environment. Biomass energy plants can convert municipal forest waste from urban environments to energy, burning material that might otherwise simply decay, and use it for heat in a highly efficient manner.
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From page 88... ...
Hamburg's point that discussions about shale gas extraction need to be considered in the larger context of a comprehensive energy discussion where comparisons are made across all energy forms. America's production and use of energy result from a complex system of supply and demand.
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From page 89... ...
Greenbaum discussed the monetary value of damage associated with energy sources and by sectors. In 2005, coal used for electricity generation accounted for $62 billion in nonclimate damages.
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From page 90... ...
. It is beneficial to put these data in a different perspective and investigate where the damages are localized, which is also helpful for health impact assessments.
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From page 91... ...
Lifecycle emissions of greenhouse gases from these energy sources were so small as to be negligible compared with those from fossil fuel-generated electricity. For transportation vehicles, there was no major variation across the technologies in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
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From page 92... ...
Evaluating Energy with a Systems Approach The Hidden Costs of Energy report found that nonclimate damages from electricity generation and transportation exceeded $120 billion in 2005. These damages were principally related to emissions of SO2, NOx, and PM.
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From page 93... ...
DISCUSSION Following the presentations, Lynn Goldman began the discussion by asking the presenters to comment on energy renewability, energy security, and incentives. That is, the energy sources that are renewable and also can be produced domestically and are the focus of large tax incentives to encourage them.
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From page 94... ...
He noted that there is a problem as long as there are coal-fired plants and they are not being replaced by renewable and other sources of energy. There are immediate health issues associated with coal versus other sources of electricity; further, the relative benefit of electric vehicles is undermined because the electricity these vehicles run on is generated by coal.
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From page 95... ...
2013a. National greenhouse gas emissions data.
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