Dan Miner wrote the 2008 report "Sustainable Energy Independence for New York City" while Chair of Sierra Club New York City. He co-founded Beyond Oil New York City to "catalyze the transition to a greener, more sustainable and more resilient New York City." A volunteer organizer with Post Carbon Institute and 350.org, Miner has been involved with a variety of urban sustainability volunteer projects including the current White Roof Campaign in New York City. As Senior Vice President of Long Island City Business Development Corporation, Miner promotes green business services to Queens.
There are already so many green initiatives in NYC. What is distinct about Beyond Oil New York City?
There's an 800-pound gorilla in the room that very few people are addressing. I'm not talking about climate change-I'm talking about fuel depletion. Everyone just assumes that we will have all the fossil fuels to burn and produce more carbon emissions, and we have to figure out how to convince people to use less. It's the difference between telling someone who needs to go on a diet that they have to motivate themselves to abstain from certain foods, versus telling people that certain foods will become more expensive shortly, and will permanently become less available. So change is not an option, but is inevitable. Looking at the future of fuel supplies and pricing gives us an opportunity to work around these gaps in our collective response to climate change.
Most people see climate change having impacts far away, or far in the future. They don't see the connection between the coal and natural gas we burn, and our electricity. Most people aren't persuaded by scientific data, or how the increasing floods and heat waves and weather events around the world follow rising CO2 levels. Those messages are all true, but they're not working. To reboot climate change response and work around the resistance to discussing climate change, we have an opportunity to address energy security and fuel depletion.
You're saying that while some people may not be able to prioritize things like CO2 levels and melting icecaps, but they will care about higher energy prices?
Yes. Making the city more sustainable should mean preparing for adapting to economic crisis and fuel depletion, becoming more resilient, and preparing for higher and more volatile energy prices. Talking about lowering costs avoids resistance and gets more energy conservation results-even with conservative listeners hostile to climate change messages.
The International Energy Agency, in its 2010 World Energy Outlook report, has quietly reversed years of denial, and acknowledged that world oil production peaked in 2006.
A growing number of expert observers, including the U.S. military, warn that the end of cheap oil is over, and that fuel price volatility will increase from here on out. The Nation, one of the leading progressive magazines, has launched an online video series about peak oil and climate change.
Most government officials, including those in New York City, aren't talking about the issue, let alone preparing for it. Incidentally, I was way too early, and sent many New York City politicians my report on this topic back in 2008.
Declining fuel supplies and volatile energy prices mean that conventional economic growth is not likely to resume. If we acknowledge the reality of our situation, we can choose new practices that reduce dependence on fossil fuels, redefine economic vitality, and respond to climate change-all at the same time. Continued denial of reality will leave us unprepared for disruptions and constraints. Transition to a more resilient society may have silver linings, but it won't be easy.
So what's to be done about peak oil ? How does this affect the many New York City sustainability initiatives already going on?
Many New York City sustainability initiatives are already moving us in the right direction. Explaining how they are important responses to fuel depletion and economic crisis will get more New Yorkers to support them, and will give their advocates and activists a new context in which to collaborate. As a long time volunteer sustainability activist (most recently, past chair of Sierra Club New York City), I'm doing my part with Beyond Oil New York City, also a volunteer project. The goal is not to build a new organization, but to catalyze win-win collaborations between existing groups and initiatives such as the White Roofs Campaign.
Tell us about the New York City White Roof Campaign. Why is it a priority?
As I implied, telling people about an 800 pound gorilla in the room that everyone would rather ignore is an important project, but not a popular one. It's much easier to build relationships and discussions around win-win projects-and non-threatening city programs that at least get people starting to think about energy efficiency. White roofs are an easy way to start discussions.
The White Roof initiative offers tangible benefits in responding to both climate change and energy volatility.
Why is the city so willing to coat roofs white? The city reaps far more from the cumulative cooling of the metro area than the sum of cost benefits to individual buildings. White roofs implemented citywide could significantly lower-peak summer electricity demand, lower risk of blackouts, lower pollution, less heat-related health problems.
Hopefully, the marketing materials we've created will help bring more people from both groups into the program. Beyond Oil New York City is partnering with others to market the New York City White Roofs campaign at the neighborhood level. We've recruited volunteers and participants. In 2010, our consortium of volunteer groups, in partnership with New York City Department of Buildings, painted the roofs of four nonprofit organizations. In 2011, we'll invite nonprofit groups step up to save money, get in the papers, and become the green leader of their community. I've developed some materials to market the program and explain how to access the benefits of the New York City CoolRoofs program.
What are the costs/benefits of white roofs? Isn't there some kind of payback? And what is the best way to motivate building owners to make white roofs?
New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYC DDC) estimates that cool roof treatments can save older buildings about 8 or 9 cents per square foot. How long it takes for the lower costs from reduced air conditioning to pay for the white roof coating and its application varies widely. Some factors are the bulk of the building compared to the size of the roof area, and how energy efficient the building is. A 2005 NYC DDC study found that relatively new, very efficient buildings with well insulated roofs got only a slight saving. However, buildings built before 1980, which are not very efficient and are only one or two stories tall, are likely to get good savings of 8 or 9 cents per square foot. Based on materials costs of about 30 cents per square foot, a white roof project should pay for itself in about three years, then yield permanently lower summer electric bills, and a longer life span for the roof. New York City Cool Roofs is providing volunteer labor to apply the coating, which will keep costs low.
The best way to motivate building owners to paint their roofs white is to show them it is a good investment, without relying on any environmental arguments whatsoever. For building owners looking only at the financial savings, under certain circumstances, projects will pay for themselves within about three years. Through my day job at Long Island City Business Development Corporation, I plan to target owner-occupied buildings that are likely to get the best savings.
For the broader pool of concerned New Yorkers who are willing to pay a modest cost to actively make the City cooler and more sustainable, while cutting their electric bills, a fast ROI is less important. As I point out at www.whiteroofcampaign.org, local nonprofit groups can use a white roof painting project to educate their neighborhood about sustainability, get neighbors involved, and become the green leader of their community. That's not bad, for a few hundred bucks worth of paint.
What else is Beyond Oil New York City promoting now besides white roof painting?
Beside the effort to link various green initiatives with local participants, my second goal is targeted outreach to networks of thought leaders about the need to address peak oil and fuel depletion as well as the conventional sustainability concerns. For example, the structure and content of public health, medicine and nursing will be deeply transformed as society reaches the limits to growth. Dan Bednarz, PhD, editor of Health After Oil, writes about how to make medical practice and administration truly sustainable, adapting to both environmental health & resource constraints. I'm contacting public health, medical and social service organizations, about co-sponsoring New York City presentations by Dr. Bednarz this spring. For each of these projects, volunteers and collaborators are welcome.
Paul McGinniss, "The Green Advocate," is a columnist for www.newyorkhousemagazine.com. You can read more about green building and the sustainability movement on his blog: www.thenewyorkgreenadvocate.blogspot.com Paul is also active in the green real estate movement and works in New York as a real estate broker and green building and renovation consultant: www.paulemcginniss.com
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