"Exploring the Vast Potential of Virtual Oil Fields"

New Report Ensures that the Center Will Remain a Prominent Voice in Energy Use and Policy

As the days get warmer and thermostats throughout the West are switched from heating to cooling, the Center of the American West is focused on helping people stay comfortable and save money. Building on the great success of our 2003 report on energy in the West and as part of our ongoing energy initiative, the Center has teamed up with the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) to publish What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation: A Guide to a New Relationship. Lead authors Patty Limerick and Howard Geller (of SWEEP) have assembled the most current information on energy efficiency and conservation into an accessible and practical guide for individuals and businesses who want to save energy - and money - this summer and beyond.

Imagine the (highly improbable) headline: Enormous Oil Field Discovered in the American West. Imagine that this oil field promised to produce enough energy to substantially offset growing national demand, help prevent shortfalls in supply, and mitigate rising prices for suppliers and consumers alike. And imagine further, if you can, that new technologies will enable us to tap into this vast energy reserve without leaving a footprint on our spectacular Western landscape.

What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation provides a roadmap to this virtual oil field. Greater energy efficiency and conservation promises an impact equivalent to such a fantastic discovery. If a substantial number of businesses and households adopted energy-smart practices, the amount of energy "harvested" in savings would have a significant positive impact on the national energy supply. Yet the majority of Westerners have not yet begun to mine their cost-effective opportunities presented by efficiency and conservation. This new report will help point the way for well-intentioned Westerners.

"Energy efficiency and conservation are critical to economic vitality and quality of life in Colorado and other Western states," says Tom Plant, Director of the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation for the State of Colorado. "I urge policymakers, businesses, and citizens throughout the region to read this report." As political leaders throughout the West begin to recognize the importance of better energy management for the future, they need citizen support to realize their ambitious goals. Education is paramount, says Dr. Laura Nelson, Energy Advisor to Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah: "Governor Huntsman has set an ambitious goal of increasing energy efficiency in Utah 20 percent by 2015. The Center of the American West and SWEEP report will help us to achieve that goal by educating consumers and businesses."

What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation aims to show readers that the pursuit of greater energy efficiency and conservation is not only the right decision, it's an easy choice that resonates with our pocketbooks as much as it does with posterity. With good humor and clear-eyed prose, the report examines the West's role as both supplier and consumer of a substantial portion of the nation's energy and explains the potential impact of greater efficiency and conservation practices. Practical recommendations and profiles of exemplary Western citizens and organizations show readers how this awareness can be translated into personal actions that will help their homes and businesses stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer - not to mention helping drivers visit the gas pump less often - as they save energy and money.