Typically expressed in its petroleum equivalent, energy in all forms is high on the list of our concerns. This is so partly because of its cost, partly because its price uncertainty makes our job bids somewhat of a crapshoot, partly because of the fear that some foreign and maybe unfriendly interest will tighten the tap. Yet, when all else is said and done, its use is the clearest indicator of how things are going for us in our business and as a nation.
I genuinely believe that we are obligated to wring the greatest amount of value out of every resource we use or consume, so when I hear that the US is the world’s largest energy consumer, that our resources are finite, that we are among the largest polluters on the planet, or that there are many wasteful aspects of our economy, I have to say, “Uh-huh, but those are only a part of the equation,” that there’s more hope on he road to energy sufficiency than most of our critics or we ourselves recognize, and that we are the author and catalyst to its worldwide deployment…and I’m not alone in that belief.
On July 12, Ralph Cavanagh, co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Energy and Transportation Program, posted a blog on the council’s staff website, http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/rcavanagh/unexpectedly_good_news_regardi.html, in which he presented what he calls “Leading Energy Indicators.” Here’s the gist of what he had to say.
Although the US economy has almost tripled in size over the past 40 years, oil use is up by only about 1%. Just since 2007, we’ve cut oil consumption by over 12%; that year will almost certainly rank as the all-time peak, given prospects for sustained progress in fuel economy and the continuing emergence of other alternatives to oil. Those who complain that the United States has made no progress in reducing its oil dependence are entirely wrong.
Since 2000, US electricity use has grown more slowly than the population for the first sustained period since the electrical power distribution industry was launched a century ago.
When you adjust for economic growth and inflation, the United States has cut its energy needs by more than 50% since 1973, and the trend shows no signs of slowing. If you treat this 40-year reduction as the equivalent of new energy supply, the resulting resource is now almost four times larger than the expansion of output from all other energy sources combined over that same period (including oil, natural gas, nuclear power, biofuels, wind, and solar).
In other words, without those continuing reductions in the economy’s energy intensity, we would have needed to increase contributions from all other fuels combined by about fourfold.
Looking ahead, says Cavanagh, higher fuel economy standards already adopted for cars and light trucks will be saving the equivalent of more than 2 million barrels of oil a day by 2025-that’s more than one-tenth of total US oil use today, comparable to what we import from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela combined.
“Alright,” you say, “what has this to do with those of us in the dirt moving business.” A lot more than you might think, though the mechanics of it might not be immediately apparent.
Despite all the environmental and ergonomics improvements introduced to the market over the past decade, the machines themselves are more fuel efficient because of improvements in engine and hydraulic systems. To be sure, the most-noticed consequences of Tier 4-compliant engines have to do with their size and cost, but to ease at least a little of the sticker shock, the manufacturers have managed to deliver equipment that is more powerful and productive than their predecessors. Additionally, systems such as automatic rollback to idle and engine shutdown carve large chunks out of unproductive fuel use.
Even greater efficiencies have been achieved through the use of a machine control systems that not only permit the operator to move more dirt in a shorter time, but also reduce such efficiency robbers as over-digging and rework. Moreover, GPS and laser guidance and control platforms working in conjunction with precise onboard actuating systems are able to turn a digital plan into a finished job site. Less obvious but equally effective in increasing worksite efficiency and reducing errors are the linked impacts of telematics, communications, and in-the-field data-gathering and presentation devices that link both human and equipment elements in real time.
As significant as these advances are, they are only the beginning. While what we’ve seen thus far is huge-what amounts to a revolution in the way we look at dirt moving-we’re on the cusp of even greater change as we turn our attention to other aspects of our business.
You already know that yesterday’s thinking will not equip you and your workers to meet the opportunities and challenges of the future. Tomorrow’s workers will have to be better trained and more adaptable in order to keep up with crush of change that technology holds in store…and that’s where the keys to true energy efficiency lie.
