Embracing the environmental agenda

Concerned that too few people are making lifestyle changes that could put the brakes on global warming, Al Gore launched a three-year, $300 million ad campaign this year to rally Americans behind the cause. Will it succeed?

That may depend on people's willingness to swap gas-guzzlers for hybrids, step up conservation efforts and pay extra for renewable energy production. It may also require more guidance for individuals and companies to understand exactly what they need to do, and a major cultural shift may even be necessary for the country to embrace the new agenda.

At the University of Michigan, researchers are probing the kinds of changes in behavior and mindset that environmentalists are urging. Here's a sampling of their projects and perspectives:

Even motorheads will go green
Three out of four residents in the auto industry-dominated state of Michigan would be willing to dig deeper into their pockets to increase the role of renewable energy sources, according to a 2007 survey by Barry Rabe, a professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and a Pennsylvania collaborator. Nearly half of Michigan residents surveyed said they would willingly pay more than $50 annually in order to produce more renewable energy, and most support state requirements to increase the level of renewable energy in the Michigan's electricity supply.

More details and a video interview with Rabe: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6340

Full report: http://www.closup.umich.edu/research/reports/pr-11-warming-mi-survey.pdf.

Hallmarks of hybrid use
How well can rechargeable cars serve the needs of American households? That question is being addressed by researchers at U-M and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Coordinated by U-M's Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, the project is exploring such issues as:

• Americans' willingness to buy plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)
• How many PHEVs today's electrical grid could support and how mass adoption of the vehicles would influence the way the grid of the future is planned, built and operated
• When, where and how PHEV batteries would be recharged with grid power
• The greenhouse gas savings in trading tail-pipe emissions for power plant emissions
• The optimum design and features of plug-in hybrid vehicles

Additional details: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6066.

Charting campus conservation
What are U-M faculty, staff and students actually doing to conserve energy, how do they feel about such efforts, and how well-informed are they about the most effective steps to take? A study conducted by the Institute of Social Research, the U-M Plant Operations Department and the U-M Utilities Reductions Committee was aimed at answering such questions. Through a web-based survey, focus groups and on-site observations, the research team concluded that the University community is willing to reduce energy use, but not always sure of the best ways to do that. For example, respondents were unsure whether to turn off lights and computers when they leave the office at the end of the day.

Based on the findings, the team made a number of recommendations, such as developing and publicizing guidelines for turning off lights and computers and setting up programs that return dollar savings from conservation to energy-conscious units.

More information on the study, its results and recommendations: http://www.isr.umich.edu/energypilot/.

Sustainable strategies
Companies, too, need guidelines for adopting business practices that are both good for the environment and good for the bottom line. Andrew J. Hoffman, associate director of U-M's Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, has written a "how-to" manual for companies interested in developing effective climate strategies. The report, Getting Ahead of the Curve: Corporate Strategies That Address Climate Change, is based on a 31-company survey and in-depth case studies of six companies: Alcoa, Duke Energy (formerly Cinergy), DuPont, the Shell Group, Swiss Re and Whirlpool Corp. It suggests eight concrete steps a company can take, such as measuring its greenhouse gas emissions, gauging how operations and sales may be affected by climate change, setting targets to reduce emissions and getting employee buy-in.

For more information:

• Podcast (June 5, 2008): Andrew Hoffman on "Climate Change and Business"
• Article in Spring 2007 Dividend (alumni magazine of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business) on Hoffman's report, followed by Hoffman's assessment of how enterprising businesses and policymakers are responding to climate change
• Webcast: 2006 national conference, "Corporate Strategies That Address Climate Change," sponsored by the Erb Institute and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change

A major mindshift
The effort needed to counteract climate change is much like what it took to overturn slavery 200 years ago, Hoffman contends. In an article in the magazine Ethical Corporation, he points out that in the 18th century, slaves were the energy source that supported agriculture, factories and households. When abolitionists dared to upset the status quo, their opponents were sure their efforts spelled economic and social collapse.

"Now, flash forward to today," Hoffman writes. "Calls to end our dependence on fossil fuels are being met with the same kind of response as did calls to end our dependence on slavery: such a move would wreck the economy and the way of life that is built on it."

Full article, "Climate change: Calling the fossil fuel abolitionists"