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Brown, Marilyn A.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
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    Meta-Review of Efficiency Potential Studies and Their Implications for the South
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-08) Chandler, Sharon (Jess) Ann ; Brown, Marilyn A.
    This paper reviews 19 separate studies published over the past 12 years that examine the potential for deploying greater energy efficiency in the South. These studies contain more than 250 estimates of the energy efficiency potential for different fuels (electricity, natural gas, and all fuels), sectors of the economy (residential buildings, commercial buildings, and industry), and types of potential (technical, economic, maximum achievable, and moderate achievable). The meta-review concludes that a reservoir of cost-effective energy savings exists in the South. The full deployment of these nearly pollution-free opportunities could largely offset the growth in energy consumption forecast for the region over the next decade.
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    The Moral Equivalent of War: Energy Rhetoric during the Carter Years
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-01-22) Honeycutt, Lee ; Brown, Marilyn A.
    Many people attribute the failure of Jimmy Carter's forward-looking 1977 national energy plan to opposition from entrenched corporate powers, but the plan's fate also relates to the changing role of rhetoric in the American presidency. From his early fireside chat on energy to the "moral malaise" speech late in his term, Carter seemed unable to reconcile traditional policy tasks with the rising importance of the bully pulpit in shaping public opinion. In this talk, Lee Honeycutt shows how rhetorical lessons from the Carter years provide insight into how the new administration might craft its rhetoric on future energy policy. Includes a response from GT School of Public Policy Professor Marilyn Brown.
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    Competing Dimensions of Energy Security: An International Perspective
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-01-13) Sovacool, Benjamin K. ; Brown, Marilyn A.
    How well are industrialized nations doing in terms of their energy security? Without a standardized set of metrics, it is difficult to determine the extent that countries are properly responding to the emerging energy security challenges related to climate change, growing dependence on fossil fuels, population growth and economic development. In response, we propose the creation of an Energy Security Index to inform policymakers, investors and analysts about the status of energy conditions. Using the United States and 21 other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as an example, and looking at energy security from 1970 to 2007, our index shows that only four countries¡ªBelgium, Denmark, Japan, and the United Kingdom¡ªhave made progress on multiple dimensions of the energy security problem. The remaining 18 have either made no improvement or are less secure. To make this argument, the first section of the article surveys the scholarly literature on energy security from 2003 to 2008 and argues that an index should address accessibility, affordability, efficiency, and environmental stewardship. Because each of these four components is multidimensional, the second section discusses ten metrics that comprise an Energy Security Index: oil import dependence, percentage of alternative transport fuels, on-road fuel economy for passenger vehicles, energy intensity, natural gas import dependence, electricity prices, gasoline prices, sulfur dioxide emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions. The third section analyzes the relative performance of four countries: Denmark (the top performer), Japan (which performed well), the United States (which performed poorly), and Spain (the worst performer). The article concludes by offering implications for policy. Conflicts between energy security criteria mean that advancement along any one dimension can undermine progress on another dimension. By focusing on a 10-point index, public policy can better illuminate such tradeoffs and can identify compensating policies.
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    Potential Impacts of Energy and Climate Policies on the U. S. Pulp and Paper Industry
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-09) Brown, Marilyn A. ; Atamturk, Nilgun
    Many energy and climate policies are being debated in the United States that could have significant impact upon the future of the pulp and paper industry. Five of these policies are examined here in terms of their possible directional influences on biomass energy and paper production: (1) a national renewable electricity standard, (2) a U.S. greenhouse gas cap and trade system, (3) stronger renewable fuels standards, (4) expanded state incentives for biomass pilot plants, and (5) more favorable taxation of forest property. The observed trends reinforce the value of forest product diversification through the addition of biomass power generation and transportation fuels/chemicals production as co-products of the pulp and paper industry. Therefore, directing capital expenditures to the increasingly cost-competitive and expanding biopower and biofuels markets would appear to have merit in anticipation of the promulgation of new energy and climate legislation. Accelerated investments in new facilities such as biorefineries and cogeneration units and in energy-efficiency upgrades would position the pulp and paper industry to profit from current trends and likely policy initiatives.
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    The Transportation Energy and Carbon Footprints of the 100 Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-05-23) Southworth, Frank ; Sonnenberg, Anthon ; Brown, Marilyn A.
    In this paper we present estimates of the automobile and truck travel based energy and carbon footprints of the largest 100 U.S. metropolitan areas. The footprints are based on the estimated vehicle miles traveled and the transportation fuels consumed. Results are presented on an annual basis and represent end use emissions only. Total carbon emissions, emissions per capita, and emissions per dollar of gross metropolitan product are reported. Two years of annual data were examined, 2000 and 2005, with most of the in-depth analysis focused on the 2005 results. In section 2 we provide background data on the national picture and derive some carbon and energy consumption figures for the nation as a whole. In section 3 of the paper we examine the metropolitan area-wide results based on the sums and averages across all 100 metro areas, and compare these with the national totals and averages. In section 4 we present metropolitan area specific footprints and examine the considerable variation that is found to exist across individual metro areas. In doing so we pay particular attention to the effects that urban form might have on these differences. Finally, section 5 provides a summary of major findings, and a list of caveats that need to be borne in mind when using the results due to known limitations in the data sources used.
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    The Residential Energy and Carbon Footprints of the 100 Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-05) Brown, Marilyn A. ; Logan, Elise
    The nation’s carbon footprint has a distinct geography that is not well understood or recognized in the national climate debate, partly because data on GHG emissions are so inadequate. Metros and the built environment are often neglected when solutions to the climate challenge are being discussed, yet they are major carbon emitters and they are poised to be part of the solution. To characterize metropolitan contributions to the global climate change problem, this paper quantifies the energy consumed and carbon emitted by the residential building sector of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. It thereby provides, for the first time, a set of consistent indices that enable cross-metro comparisons and comparability with national statistics and across metropolitan areas. The residential footprints are derived from proprietary utility sales data from Platts Analytics supplemented by Census region and state-level data provided by EIA. We find that the average metropolitan resident emits 0.93 metric tons of carbon as a result of their residential energy consumption, which is 18 percent smaller than the average American. Per capita footprints vary substantially across metropolitan areas. Some of this variation can be attributed to climate, electricity prices, and the fuels used to generate electricity. In addition, compact metros consistently have lower per capita residential carbon footprints than more sprawling metros.
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    Governing Confusion: How Statutes, Fiscal Policy, and Regulations Impede Clean Energy Technologies
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Brown, Marilyn A. ; Chandler, Sharon (Jess) Ann
    The United States shares with many other countries the goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change "to achieve … stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." The critical role of new technologies in achieving this goal is underscored by the fact that most anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted over the next century will come from equipment and infrastructure that has not yet been built. As a result, new technologies and fuels have the potential to transform the nation's energy system while meeting climate change as well as energy security and other goals.
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    Promoting a Level Playing Field for Energy Options: Electricity Alternatives and the Case of the Indian Point Energy Center
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008) Brown, Marilyn A. ; Sovacool, Benjamin K.
    The Indian Point Energy Center, with two operational nuclear reactors, sits in a densely populated region just 40 miles north of midtown Manhattan. It is a vital part of the electricity supply system for the New York City region, but its propinquity to the largest city in the United States has raised public concerns about its safe operation, particularly in the event of a terrorist attack. Such concerns prompted the U.S. Congress to request a study of potential options for replacing the 2,000 MW of power provided by Indian Point. This paper assesses the potential for electricity alternatives in the Indian Point service area. It documents that increased investments in energy efficiency, combined heat and power facilities, and solar photovoltaics could cost-competitively reduce peak demand in the Indian Point service area by 1 Gigawatt (GW) or more by 2010 and by 1.5 GW by 2015. If the cost of solar photovoltaics can be brought to near competitive levels over the next decade, these totals could be raised to 1.7 GW by 2015, approaching the capacity of the Indian Point Energy Center. This result challenges the conventional focus of system operators and policymaker on supply-side solutions.
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    Developing an "Energy Sustainability Index" to Evaluate American Energy Policy
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-12-07) Brown, Marilyn A. ; Sovacool, Benjamin K.
    This paper proposes the creation of an energy sustainability index (ESI) to inform policymakers, investors, and analysts about the status of energy conditions, and to help educate the public about energy issues. The proposed ESI builds on the substantial body of literature on "sustainability" and also draws on past efforts to measure environmental and energy progress – both of which are reviewed below. The index covers four dimensions (oil security, electricity reliability, energy efficiency, and environmental quality) and includes twelve individual indicators. Comparing these indicators in 1970 with 2004, nine have trended in an unfavorable direction, two have moved in a favorable direction, and one has been essentially unchanged. Clearly, the "energy problem" fretted about in the 1970s has not been fully addressed. While the proposed ESI is preliminary and requires further refinement, it takes an important step toward creating a set of indicators that can easily assess and communicate the condition of the U.S. energy system.