Our Infrastructure is Short on Wiggle Room

When New York City residents awoke on Tuesday morning, forecasts already pointed to the imminent blanket of heat that was going to cover the city only hours later, enough to make the groans of stirring from bed a little deeper. Nevertheless, it was no day off for the corporate machine so the trains were still running, the lights were still turning on and the air conditioners were already humming. By the time I got into work our office received an email from the management company of the building we are in requesting voluntary support for immediate, emergency energy reduction:

THIS AN IMPORTANT NOTICE…

DAY:  TUESDAY       DATE:   JULY 6th     TIME: 3 PM – 7 PM (4 Hours)

It is imperative that you reduce as much electricity as possible between these hours. The reduction is needed to help secure the electric grid today. Demand for electricity is expected to potentially exceed the available supply, meaning that there is a possibility of brownouts or blackouts.

NOTE: We are looking  for your assistance from 3:00 pm onward. HOWEVER, as always this is completely voluntary as we understand some business cannot reduce their use.  Therefore, if you can help the grid from 3 PM to 7 PM that would be great.

Each building will shut down 1 elevator during these hours to help reduce power usage

PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING:

…SHUT YOUR AIR CONDITIONING OR PLACE IT ON A HIGHER SETTING (78 DEGREES) DURING THE TIME GIVEN ABOVE

…SHUT OFF ALL UNNECESSARY LIGHTING AND ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES DURING THE TIME GIVEN ABOVE

…KEEP YOUR BLINDS OR DRAPES CLOSED

…TURN OFF UNNECESSARY OFFICE EQUIPMENT

…PLEASE ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO DO THE SAME!!!

As one WSJ article summarized, “a day when electrical transformers burst into flames, underground cables went haywire and businesses got paid not to use power.” The message was a common one across the metro area on Tuesday and again the day after with Con Edison doing all they could to manage the peaking loads of New Yorkers trying to combat the summer weather. Unlike most heating systems, air conditioning relies solely on electricity for its operation which pushes the capacity of our grid to the brink. In preparation, utility companies will fire up what are called Peaker Plants, traditionally the oldest and dirtiest facilities that are only used for emergency capacity expansion. On the hottest days of the year, not only are we producing the most energy, but doing it with the lowest degree of efficiency and ravaging local air quality in the process.

Those who chide “alarmists” as overstating the severity of our state of sustainability (or lack thereof) imply a gap between where we are now and where we encounter serious problems. Assessing our energy national model including generation, distribution and consumption is still done with a lingering lethargy as if problems are a distant worry. The truth is that much of our grid is ill-equipped to handle the variations of climate and expansion when combined with the woes of aging and disrepair. Proactive measures including conservation have to step up to the front of our focus and seek implementation.

Although widespread failure was avoided this week, scattered brownouts and localized problems were found throughout the pair of days across the five boroughs, underscoring that, contrary to what some may believe, our grid is at the breaking point—only steps away from not being able to meet the demand due to rising summer temperatures. We should be pairing technological possibilities to compliment more sustainable lifestyle practices (given that sustainability is not a technological fix to supplement a wasteful lifestyle.)

In the case of energy, more efficient lighting, HVAC, and appliances and on site power generation should be used in tandem with methods of conservation. The indirect measures are just as important. The addition of street trees and green roofs help stem the heat island effect in urban centers that can raise the ambient temperature on Manhattan up to 10 degrees more than surrounding areas! Even light colored roofscapes with high albedo surfaces would help, ultimately lowering our cooling load. At the same time, energy is just one place where our resource streams are in need of assessment and retooling. Water purification and conveyance, transportation, natural gas networks and sewage treatment are all infrastructural components that suffer from the same looming incapability to meet our needs.

As an aside, I am usually not one who raises the climate change flag for numerous reasons. I am not a scientist, it tends to break even with making enemies and friends, and sustainability is much more than just a discussion about global warming. On the other hand, record breaking temperatures in New York on the tail end of a July heat wave has to prompt at least a moment of pause and reflection.

Photo Credit: Flickr Stephen J. Alexander