New CU-Boulder Report Urges Westerners To Become Energy Experts
July 8, 2003

Michael Hannigan of mechanical engineering describes a new report on energy from the Center of the American West.

Placing a chunk of coal by every bedside reading light would enhance every Westerner's status as an energy expert, according to a new report from the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The suggestion is one of dozens contained in the 42-page report released today titled "What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy." The report, principally authored by acclaimed history and environmental studies Professor Patricia Nelson Limerick, draws on a two-day discussion of energy issues with 22 experts from industry, academia and government.

"To live in the 21st century West is to benefit every day, every hour, every minute from the unrestricted use of fossil fuel," Limerick writes in the introduction.

The West will play the key role in the nation's energy future because of its riches in fossil fuels and its abundance of sun and wind, the report states. People need to know where their energy is coming from in order to be wise stewards of the region's energy resources.

The American West holds 31.5 percent of the nation's proved reserves of coal, 30 percent of the proved oil reserves in the lower 48 states and 41 percent of the estimated proven and potential natural gas reserves. The West's coal is desirably low in sulfur, and natural gas and coalbed methane production is almost certain to accelerate.

Westerners want energy, but they also want open space uninterrupted by wind farms, solar collectors, and mining and drilling operations.

"I'd love for you to tell everybody that we're all in the oil business," says Tom Wilmeth, a retired oil industry worker cited in the report. "Sometime, if you can, sit down and name 10 things that aren't petroleum related. Everything in this room is petroleum related. It took petroleum to bring it to us for us to enjoy. People just don't realize."

The report quotes favorably from many portions of the Bush administration's much-criticized National Energy Policy Report and also recommends that citizens put some limitations on their condemnation of the energy industry.

"Overheated, anti-corporate rhetoric obscures our own responsibility for our energy-indulged ways," the report states. "Condemning industry fudges our own complicity. We Westerners are the eager purchasers of just about anything that industry wants to sell us in the way of energy-squandering appliances, vehicles and equipment."

Michael Hannigan, a research associate in the CU-Boulder mechanical engineering department, provides a three-page description of what it really takes for a toaster to turn a piece of bread into toast, and makes a vivid point about energy inefficiency. He also recommends that all Westerners visit their local power plant to learn about the scale of what happens there and how much of its own electricity it consumes, particularly for pollution control equipment.

Al Bartlett, a retired CU-Boulder physics professor and a national authority on energy and population issues, noted that in the 1990s the total consumption of energy in the United States grew by 13.1 percent while the total U.S. population also grew by 13.1 percent. "Population growth is, essentially, the source of all the problems of energy," he said.

"Since energy use connects to every feature of our lives, focusing on the West's energy resources allows you to engage in 'One Stop Worrying,' " Limerick writes. "Instead of having to choose which of many regional challenges you will think about, choose energy, and you've covered them all."

In conclusion, the report recommends that Westerners who want the best for their region should consider supporting:

* An open, lively and long-running discussion of the West's past, present and future in energy production and consumption.

* Substantial and sustained public and private investment to support research in renewable energy technologies.

* Prices that reflect the full cost of production and use, including externalities, for gasoline and electricity.

* Good habits (your father was right when he used to say, "For Pete's sake, turn off the lights if you're not even in the room!").

* A willingness to invest in public transportation even if it hurts.

* Housing developments that encourage the use of public transportation and reduce reliance on cars.

* Public investment in infrastructure for the delivery of renewable energy.

* A recognition that some reconciliation must happen between support for renewable resources and the desire to keep all the West's open spaces undisturbed and intact. Wind turbines and solar collectors disrupt a landscape, reminding us that no energy source comes without its own disadvantages.

The report was co-authored by CU-Boulder Center of the American West staff members Claudia Puska and Andrew Hildner, and visiting undergraduate student Eric Skovstad. The report was funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation of Menlo Park, Calif., as part of an initiative striving to bring new ideas and analysis into the energy debate.

The mission of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens in their communities.

Contents of the full report are posted on the Web at www.centerwest.org. For more information or to purchase copies of the report for $5 each contact the CU-Boulder Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879.

FACTS ABOUT ENERGY IN THE AMERICAN WEST AND UNITED STATES

* The American West holds 31.5 percent of the nation's proved reserves of coal, which also is low in sulfur and relatively accessible.

* More than 25 percent of U.S. coal production comes from 25 mines in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Wyoming produces roughly the same amount of coal as South America, Central America, Africa and the Middle East combined.

* In the Rocky Mountain region, nearly 90 percent of electric energy production comes from coal.

* The 11 Western states in the contiguous United States hold 30 percent of the proved oil reserves in the lower 48 states and 41 percent of the estimated proven and potential natural gas reserves.

* Tribal lands are likely to be an important part of the West's energy future, accounting for 30 percent of the region's coal and 6 percent of its oil reserves. About 20 percent of the region's natural gas is under tribal ownership.

* Residents of the West use almost as much petroleum as coal, 22 barrels per person per year. A Westerner and nine of his or her friends uses a tanker truck each year, primarily for transportation.

* Natural gas production in the Rocky Mountain region is projected to grow by 2.7 trillion cubic feet between 2001 and 2025, the largest increase in the United States.

* The average household uses about 50,000 cubic feet of natural gas each year -- enough to fill the Goodyear blimp in four years.

* In 2001, natural gas accounted for 17 percent of the nation's electricity generation.

* Coalbed methane, a natural gas trapped in coal seams, is becoming increasingly important. Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah hold an estimated one-third to one-half of the nation's total estimated recoverable reserves of coalbed methane.

* U.S. oil production peaked in the early 1970s.

* The West is well-positioned for a post-fossil-fuel world because of its abundant wind and sunshine.

* Even more than energy production, the consumption of energy shaped the West.

Source: "What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy," published July 2003 by the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Note to Editors: Copies of the complete report are available by calling (303) 492-4007.

CORRECTION

Due to incorrect information from a source, one of the fact sheet items in this news release was inaccurate. The error also was on pages 2 and 10-11 in the report. As a result, the sixth bulleted item in the fact sheet that is part of this news release has been corrected to read:

* Residents of the West use almost as much petroleum as coal, 22 barrels per person per year. A Westerner and nine of his or her friends uses a tanker truck each year, primarily for transportation.

Contact: Patricia Nelson Limerick, (303) 735-0104
Patricia.Limerick@colorado.edu
Michael Hannigan, (303) 735-5045
Peter Dea, (303) 452-5603 (Western Gas Resources Inc.)
Peter Caughey, (303) 492-4007

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