Carnegie Mellon University
Reports and Presentations

Magazine Articles

Water Infrastructure Sustainability Challenges for Southwestern Pennsylvania(Summary)

Dzombak, D.A. and VanBriesen, J.M. (2010), "Water Infrastructure Sustainability Challenges for Southwestern Pennsylvania," Pittsburgh Engineer, Spring, pages 11-15.

Publications and Policy Papers

Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States(Summary)

Contributing Author: Lester B. Lave

Prepared by:

America's Energy Future Energy Efficiency Technologies Subcommittee
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
National Research Council
ISBN: 978-0-309-13716-4, 300 pages, 8 x 10, paperback (2009)

Abstract
America's economy and lifestyles have been shaped by the low prices and availability of energy. In the last decade, however, the prices of oil, natural gas, and coal have increased dramatically, leaving consumers and the industrial and service sectors looking for ways to reduce energy use. To achieve greater energy efficiency, we need technology, more informed consumers and producers, and investments in more energy-efficient industrial processes, businesses, residences, and transportation. As part of the America's Energy Future project, Realistic Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States examines the potential for reducing energy demand through improving efficiency by using existing technologies, technologies developed but not yet utilized widely, and prospective technologies. The book evaluates technologies based on their estimated times to initial commercial deployment, and provides an analysis of costs, barriers, and research needs. This quantitative characterization of technologies will guide policy makers toward planning the future of energy use in America. This book will also have much to offer to industry leaders, investors, environmentalists, and others looking for a practical diagnosis of energy efficiency possibilities.

Framework for Achieving Low-Carbon Cities

By: Students of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and the Tepper School of Business

Supervised by: H. Scott Matthews (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy) and Chris Weber (Civil and Environmental Engineering)

A thorough review of the 2008 Pittsburgh Climate Initiative has caused the project class to make the following recommendations to the City of Pittsburgh and its partners: (1) publish an actionable long-term program with measurable goals, costs, and responsibilities (2) quantify all action items by making assumptions necessary to explicitly document costs and effectiveness (3) prioritize action items based upon initial cost, lifetime cost, effectiveness, and feasibility (4) match recommendations with costs, goals, and responsibilities (5) be explicit about methods and sources (6) collaborate with other cities to enhance quantification and prioritization (7) review per capita emissions from other cities to set reasonable goals and (8) design programs that extend beyond the City’s immediate jurisdiction, which may require strategic partnering with homeowners, the County, municipal authorities, and businesses. For more information, please contact Mike Blackhurst

The Potential of Energy Efficiency: An Overview

By Lester B. Lave
The Bridge: Volume: 39, Number: 2 - Summer 2009

Efficient technology that requires less energy has fueled the growth of our economy for more than a century. If the energy intensity of the U.S. economy hadn't fallen as dramatically as it did, it would now take four times as much petroleum, coal, and natural gas to produce the current GDP, at the 1919 energy-intensity level. Producing, transporting, and using that much energy, even if it were technically feasible, would devastate the natural environment and contribute to carbon dioxide emissions that would exceed the atmospheric concentration some scientists think would be catastrophic...

Cap and Trade Is Not Enough: Improving U.S. Climate Policy

By: Constantine Samaras, Jay Apt, Ines L. Azevedo, Lester B. Lave, M. Granger Morgan and Edward S. Rubin

Reports Cited in Steinbrenner Institute Publications

Engineering and Public Policy Project Course
May 2008
It's Not Easy Being Green: Assessments and Strategies for Sustainable Institutions 
 
Mississippi Water Quality Report
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
November 12, 2007

"Mississippi Water Quality and The Clean Water Act: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities"/Dr. David Dzombak

Presentations by Steinbrenner Institute Faculty Members

Carnegie Mellon Tackles Global Warming
Carnegie Mellon University
October 27, 2007

"Current US Energy Policy"/Dr. Lester Lave

"Climate Change 101"/Dr. Granger Morgan