Robert Q. Riley Enterprises: Product Design & Development
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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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