FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 1995
Contact: Robert Q. Riley
P.O. Box 14465
Phoenix, AZ 85063
Phone: 623-872-8010
Transportation Panel at Global Energy Symposium
Chaired by Scottsdale Author
Insurance Companies Support New Energy-Efficient Cars and Buildings
SCOTTSDALE: Robert Q. Riley, Scottsdale product design consultant and
author of Alternative Cars in the 21st Century, chaired Thursday's day-long panel
on advanced vehicle designs at the Global Energy Future 1995 symposium at New
York's Columbia University last week. The DOE-sponsored event brought government,
business, insurance, and environmental leaders together for the first time to explore ways
to adopt new energy-efficient technologies for cars and buildings.
The main concern is global warming. Energy use causes over half the
global warming effect. If energy use were cut in half, the global warming effect would
drop by 25%. If nothing is done, atmospheric carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas) will
reach twice the pre-industrial level by 2030.
According to scientists, global warming could raise average
temperatures by 2-1/2 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit in just 35 years, which would change
rainfall patterns and raise sea levels enough to increase coastal erosion and flooding. By
2050, sea levels could rise 6 to 20 inches worldwide. Property losses could bankrupt
insurance companies, and new rainfall patterns could shift crop-growing away from today's
agricultural nations, causing economic upheaval.
"Concern by insurance companies over recent increases in
weather-related losses is a new factor in environmental and energy issues," said
Riley. "Insurance companies control huge investment funds, and capital is essential
in order to bring new ideas to market. Ironically, the know-how already exists to produce
200 mpg cars. But it takes new power systems and materials, which amounts to a whole new
way of making cars. You have to start with a clean sheet of paper, but industry prefers
incremental change, rather than giant leaps into new technologies," Riley said.
"The financial power of the insurance industry could speed the switch to more
efficient cars and buildings."
The three-day symposium, held May 2,3,4 at Columbia University's School
for International and Political Affairs, attracted representatives from government,
financial, business, insurance, education, and environmental groups. David Carey, Director
of Energy Finance at Fannie Mae, explained the financial criteria that new technologies
must meet in order to attract capital. Insurance companies were represented by Jack
Nelson, Chief Academic Officer at the College of Insurance, and Eugene Lecomte, President
& CEO of the Insurance Institute for Property Loss Reduction. John Hemphill, Director
of the Business Council for a Sustainable Energy Future, and Greg Kats from the U.S.
Department of Energy also spoke. Amory Lovins, Director of Research at Rocky Mountain
Institute, explained how to make buildings and cars far more efficient, and at the same
time, less expensive. A new window glass that generates electricity was demonstrated by
Dr. Michael Graetzel, Director of Basic Sciences, NREL Chemistry Head, EPFL Switzerland.
David Hamilton, U.S. Department of Energy, talked about DOE's hybrid vehicle program, and
Scottsdale resident, Robert Q. Riley, who led the panel on transportation, explained the
environmental and energy benefits of small urban cars and commuter cars.
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