Google is at it again, now coming up with a proposal for reducing U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. Compared to business-as-usual growth, the plan would reduce:
- Fossil fuel-based electricity generation by 88%
- Vehicle oil consumption by 38%
- Dependence on imported oil (currently 10 million barrels per day) by 33%
- Electricity-sector CO2 emissions by 95%
- Personal vehicle sector CO2 emissions by 38%
- US CO2 emissions overall by 48% (40% from today’s CO2 emission level)
The cost is high, $4.4 trillion, but savings are even higher, $5.4 trillion, “returning a net savings of $1.0 trillion over the 22-year life of the plan” — not counting the value of carbon credits, which, Google says, would boost the savings to over $2 trillion. And that’s assuming very optimistically that the price of CO2 in 2030 is only $40/ton, which is the European price today. In fact, we’ll probably need CO2 prices twice as large by 2030.
Details available at the links above. Very impressive plan, and awesome that it not only addresses global warming and our addiction to fossil fuels, but also saves money in the process!
Edited by dana1981 - Tue, 7 Oct 2008 15:43:21 UTC
