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Battling Fuel Waste in the Military
The report 'Battling Fuel Waste in the Military' by Amory Lovins (RMI) argues that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) suffers from systemic fuel inefficiency due to a failure to account for the high cost of fuel delivery (logistics). By ignoring these costs during the design of weapons platforms and ships, the DOD maintains inefficient equipment that increases operational costs and inhibits warfighting capability. The author suggests that adopting fuel-saving technologies and 'green design' could save billions of dollars annually and improve military agility and security.
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Document type: Report
ASSESSING GOOD PRACTICES IN POLICIES AND MEASURES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
This research paper describes the development and application of a set of six criteria used to assess 'good practices' in climate change mitigation policies and measures (PAM) across six Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), the project aimed to help economies in transition find low-emission development paths and build institutional capacity to meet UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol obligations.
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Document type: Research paper
Clean Renewables and Efficiency, not Coal, are the Key
This statement by Ken Wicker and Karl R. Rábago of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues against the increased use of coal for electricity generation in Colorado, advocating instead for a diversified energy portfolio centered on energy efficiency and clean renewable resources.
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Document type: Statement
Profiting From a Nuclear-Free Third Millenium
This report by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute argues that nuclear power has suffered a historic economic collapse and is obsolete compared to end-use efficiency, distributed generation, and new energy technologies. Lovins asserts that nuclear power is more expensive than its competitors and that transitioning away from it would improve global security by making nuclear materials harder to acquire.
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Document type: Report
Local Management of Rural Power Supply
This report evaluates a pilot project for the local management of rural electricity supply in Tanzania, specifically focusing on the Urambo Electric Consumers Co-operative Society (UECCO). It examines the transition from a state-managed utility model (TANESCO) to a community-managed cooperative, analyzing technical, financial, and sociological outcomes.
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Document type: Report
Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design
This 1998 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the U.S. Department of Energy examines how energy-efficient building design—specifically improvements in lighting, heating, and cooling—can lead to significant increases in worker productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improved work quality. Through eight case studies of commercial and industrial facilities, the authors argue that the economic gains from productivity often far exceed the direct energy cost savings, making efficient design a highly cost-effective business strategy.
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Document type: Report
The Joint Implementation Pilot Phase: A Call for Independent Evaluation
The provided text consists solely of a list of keywords and phrases related to climate change, energy, and environmental finance, without any narrative content or analysis.
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Document type: Report
ST. CHARLES MEDICAL CENTER
This 1996 case study examines St. Charles Medical Center's evaluation of EPA's Green Lights and ENERGY STAR Buildings programs. It details the use of performance contracting via Johnson Controls Incorporated and rebates from the Bonneville Power Administration to fund eleven energy conservation measures (ECMs) across three stages of implementation, aiming to reduce emissions and operational costs while preparing for CFC phaseouts.
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Document type: Case study
MOBIL CORPORATION
This teaching note describes a case study on how Fred Schoeneborn, a coordinator at Mobil Corporation, successfully implemented the Green Lights lighting retrofit initiative across a large organization despite lacking direct authority over facilities managers.
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Document type: Guide
Incorporation of Environmental Considerations in Energy Planning in the People’s Republic of China
This 1995 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, conducted as a UNEP project with the National Environmental Protection Agency of China, analyzes the environmental impacts of energy planning in the People's Republic of China. Using the LEAP/EDB model, the study compares a Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario against two enhanced environmental scenarios to forecast pollutant emissions (SO2, CO2, NOx, PM, and CO) through 2020. The report identifies coal as the primary driver of pollution and recommends a shift toward a cleaner energy mix, improved energy efficiency, and the implementation of integrated energy-environment planning and economic instruments to achieve sustainable development.
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Document type: Report
Comments on FERC's "Mega-NOPR"
RMI provides comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding its March 1995 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on open-access transmission. The document argues for symmetrical economic rewards for demand-side resources and warns that rapid technological advances in distributed generation could render central thermal power plants and the traditional utility model obsolete.
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Document type: Statement
Informal Sector Energy Use in Tanzania
This 1994 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines energy use within the urban informal sector of Tanzania, specifically in Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, and Shinyanga. It analyzes the relationship between capital intensity, energy efficiency, and employment, noting that the sector serves as a critical economic survival mechanism, particularly for women. The study finds a dichotomy between subsistence-oriented activities using traditional fuels and small-scale businesses using modern energy, concluding that the informal sector provides significant employment without substantially increasing total urban energy consumption due to capital limitations.
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Document type: Report
World Energy: Building a Sustainable Future
This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes energy use trends across various sectors in major energy-consuming countries to address environmental and geopolitical challenges.
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Document type: Report
Profitably Stabilizing Global Climate
This editorial, published by the Rocky Mountain Institute, argues that stabilizing the global climate is not only possible but profitable through the application of advanced resource efficiency in energy, farming, and forestry. It contends that the costs of climate abatement are often overestimated by econometricians and that market failures, rather than a lack of cost-effective technology, prevent the widespread adoption of these solutions.
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Document type: Statement
The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development
The research paper "The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development" argues that Asian development is hindered by the adoption of inefficient electrical equipment and a utility business model focused on increasing sales rather than customer satisfaction. The authors contrast this with a shift in the U.S. utility sector toward "negawatts"—saving electricity through efficiency and renewables—which is presented as a significantly cheaper and more sustainable alternative to building new power plants.
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Document type: Research paper
Green Office Solutions for Physicians
A guide providing practical recommendations for physicians to reduce the environmental and health impacts of their medical offices through waste reduction, non-toxic procurement, and energy efficiency.
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Document type: Guide
ahs-sustainability-letterfinal-206dc65c25ca66be.pdf
A letter from physicians associated with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment to the Alberta government advocating for the creation and funding of an office of sustainability within Alberta Health Services (AHS).
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Document type: Statement
Health Care Facilities (HCFs) & Climate Change
This fact sheet from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment outlines how climate-related events impact health care facilities (HCFs) in Canada and provides strategies for improving sustainability and resiliency. It details the health sector's contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, highlighting energy use, anesthetic gases, and supply chain impacts, while suggesting tools for vulnerability assessment and specific reduction measures across various operational areas.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan
This fact sheet outlines greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options for the residential, commercial, and agriculture (RCA) sectors in Pakistan. It identifies 12 potential options to improve energy efficiency, with a focus on replacing inefficient appliances and irrigation systems to reduce a projected rise in emissions from 29 MtCO2e in 2012 to 61 MtCO2e by 2030.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Industry Sector
This fact sheet outlines greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options for the industrial sector in Pakistan, focusing on energy efficiency improvements across key sub-sectors to reduce projected emissions by 2030.
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Document type: Fact sheet