首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Invisible Fuel Provides Ensurance for Energy Security in the Future A)When energy economists gaze into their crystal balls t
The Invisible Fuel Provides Ensurance for Energy Security in the Future A)When energy economists gaze into their crystal balls t
admin
2014-12-26
27
问题
The Invisible Fuel Provides Ensurance for Energy Security in the Future
A)When energy economists gaze into their crystal balls to see what the world will look like in 20 years’ time, some things are clearer than others. Clearest of all is that the global population will grow and with it the world economy. As countries get richer, their demand for energy will rise, placing ever new strains on the planet’ s natural resources.
B)A closer look at forecasts for energy demand, however, reveals some surprising conclusions. Consider ExxonMobil’ s annual energy outlook to 2040. The company says that total energy demand is growing: the world will need 35 per cent more energy in 2040 than it does now. That growth rate pales in comparison with that of the world economy as a whole: Exxon says global GDP will expand by 135 per cent over the same period. What is more, in the world’ s advanced economies—Europe, North America and Japan—energy demand will not grow at all.
C)The reason for this is energy efficiency. "The greatest source of energy in the future will be using it more efficiently," says Bill Colton, Exxon’s vice-president for corporate strategy, and one of the authors of the outlook. "Huge amounts of energy will be saved in this way."
D)In the battle against climate change, renewables were long seen as the silver bullet. The argument was that replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power would reduce carbon emissions and thereby slow or even stop global warming, as well as curb consuming countries’ huge dependence on expensive imported oil and gas. But in the debate about our energy future, the theme of energy efficiency—called the "invisible fuel" by some—is taking on a new prominence. Consumers are starting to understand that the energy they do not use can have almost as much impact as the energy they do.
E)The result is a shift in thinking about everything from building design to street lighting. That means the future of energy is no longer the preserve of oil companies, wind farm developers and government officials, but of everyone from architects and appliance manufacturers to civil engineers and carmakers. Big energy savings have been achieved by seemingly minor technological changes such as moving from gas boilers for space heating to heat pumps.
F)The potential prize is enormous. A recent report by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Germany found that the EU’ s energy requirements could end up being 57 per cent lower in 2050 than they were in 1990, offering the tantalizing prospect of 500bn a year in energy savings.
G)The institute says energy use in buildings could be cut by 71 per cent, mainly through better insulation, modern construction technology and energy efficient heating and hot water systems. In transportation, improvements in traffic management and better logistics could result in energy savings of 53 per cent, while more efficient steam generation and electric motors could help reduce industrial energy demand by 52 percent.
H)Cumulative spending on such measures is growing fast. The International Energy Agency(IEA)says that in 2011 $180bn was invested globally in projects aimed at improving energy efficiency. Yet that is a paltry sum compared to the money flowing into traditional energy production. The IEA says more than three times that amount— nearly $600bn—was invested the same year in expanding or maintaining the world’s supply of fossil fuels.
I)The problem is that there are still significant barriers. With assets such as buildings, the payback time for investing in an improvement in energy efficiency can be several years—often longer than the buyer plans to own the asset. Also, it can be hard to measure success. The EU recently said it would not meet its target of saving 20 per cent of its primary energy consumption by 2020, partly because of the "lack of appropriate tools for monitoring progress and measuring impacts on the member state level".
J)There is another potential danger—the so-called "rebound effect". If you save money on electricity by installing a heat pump, for example, but spend what you save on air travel, the improvement in energy efficiency is meaningless. The EU has identified rebound losses of 10-30 per cent.
K)Still, despite the potential dangers, companies involved in energy efficiency are becoming a new and attractive asset class for investors. Alastair Bishop, portfolio manager of BlackRock’s natural resources team, singles out companies such as Schneider Electric and Johnson Controls, specialists in building automation systems that monitor and control the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting in an office block. Such companies install sensors that turn off lights in a room when it is empty or shut down heating overnight, steps that can contribute to big savings.
L)"If you look at the larger energy story, before the financial crisis it was all about producing more energy," Mr. Bishop says. "But since the crisis, there’s been more awareness of the sustainability and affordability of power." Nevertheless, he stresses that investments need government support to work. This is happening—on a large scale. In recent years, all the major energy-consuming countries have passed laws to encourage energy efficiency. The US has introduced new fuel-economy standards for vehicles; the EU has its target of reducing energy demand by 20 per cent by 2020; Japan wants to cut electricity demand by 10 per cent in 2030 compared to 2010; and China has a goal of cutting energy intensity by 16 per cent between 2011 and 2015. "There’s a theme here," says Exxon’ s Mr. Colton. "The improvement in efficiency that we’ ve been seeing is mostly being driven by government policy. Consumers would not get there on their own."
M)Some policies are highly specific. In 2010, the EU adopted a directive on the energy performance of buildings. It requires all new buildings to be "nearly zero energy" by 2021. On a national scale, too, governments are coming up with evermore innovative ways of encouraging energy savings. Under the UK’ s Green Deal scheme, for example, consumers can take out a loan for home improvement measures such as getting rid of an old boiler and pay it back through a surcharge on their electricity bills.
N)Although energy conservation is a big concern in the west, some parts of the world have made little or no progress. The abundance of fossil fuels in the Middle East and the low cost of energy—with heavily subsidized prices for petrol and gas—gives the region little incentive to husband resources.
O)The IEA says the average efficiency of fossil fuel power generation in the Middle East is just 33 per cent—9 per cent lower than in the west. That is why some are sceptical that global energy intensity—the amount of energy consumed per unit of GDP—will come down drastically soon. Futurologist Jorgen Randers, in a report offering a global forecast for the next 40 years, expects energy intensity to fall by only a third compared to 2010—not enough to stop catastrophic climate change. Still, Maria Vander Hoeven, the IEA’ s executive director, believes: "The most secure energy is the barrel or megawatt we never have to use".
The theme of energy efficiency will make more fields involved in the future.
选项
答案
E
解析
题干意为在未来,提高能源利用率的理念将会涉及更广泛的领域。这是对E段第二句“That means the future of energy is no longer the preserve of oil companies.wind farm developers and government officials,but of everyone from architects and appliance manufacturers to civil engineers and carmakers.”的同义转述。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/S7m7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、Theylaygreatemphasisonhardwork.B、Theyname150starengineerseachyear.C、Theyrequirehighacademicdegrees.D、Theyh
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingontheremark"Earthprovidesenoughtosatisfyeveryman
Caffeinewillgetyougoingduringthedaybutcouldleaveyoutossingandturningatnight—unlessyou’rea"nightowl"【B1】_____
A、Nobodychecksinexceptatweekends.B、Thehotelisfullexceptatweekends.C、Itistoofulltoaffordanytouristatweekend
A、Theycontainimportantecosystems.B、Theyprovidethemostimportantresourcesforone-fifthoftheworld’spopulation.C、They
Whenshoppingonline,itisimportanttobearafewbasicrulesinmind.Notonlywillthesehelpkeepyousafebuttheywillal
A、Acomparisonbetweenfishandwarm-bloodedanimals.B、Thedifferencebetweensaltwaterandfreshwaterenvironments.C、Theimpo
A、Theneedtoexercisethememory.B、Howthebraindiffersfromotherbodytissues.C、Theunconsciouslearningofaphysicalact
A、Theyarehighlyintelligentanimals.B、Theyaretoohugetomeasure.C、Theyareblueanddifficulttosee.D、Theycanmovein
A、Husbands’salaryisprettyhigh.B、Husbandsaffordthewholepartoftheincome.C、Wivesandhusbandscangetthesamesalary.
随机试题
青年男性,近1周因便秘出现便血,为鲜红色血,伴便时剧烈疼痛,最有可能的诊断为
A.益气养血B.益气健肝,甘温除热C.温补阳气,引火归元D.利湿清热E.疏肝理气,解郁泻热湿邪内生,郁而发热,其治法是
某国有企业在经营过程中,在一次电视广告中虚构了与其同行业的另一家A企业产品质量有瑕疵的事实,由于这一广告,A企业该产品的销售量在一段时间内明显下降,名誉尽毁。人民检察院经过调查以损害商业信誉罪对该国有企业提起公诉。在诉讼过程中,A企业委托了代理律师。据此,
下列关于地下工程防水的说法中,不正确的是()。
某建设单位与承包商签订建筑安装工程合同,约定工期14个月。背景一:在对设备支架进行焊接的过程中,每吨支架消耗人工10个工日,型钢1.08吨,各种机械台班费400元,其他材料费320元。已知工程所在地的人工工日单价为28.5元,型钢的综合单价为每吨
(2007年考试真题)某企业销售商品一批,增值税专用发票上标明的价款为60万元,适用的增值税税率为17%,为购买方代垫运杂费为2万元,款项尚未收回。该企业确认的应收账款为()万元。
优势富集效应:是指起点上的微小优势经过关键过程的级数放大,产生更大级别的优势积累。根据上述表述,下列不属于优势富集效应的是:
一个多主STD总线系统中,使用邮箱通信法,可实现各个多主CPU模板间的信息传送,所谓“邮箱”是指( )。
すみません。もう少し静か________してください。
中国的教育体制分为三个阶段:基础教育、高等教育和成人教育。基础教育包括学前教育(pre-schooleducation)、小学和中学。高等教育由职业专科学校、学院和大学组成。1986年,中国开始实行从小学到初中的九年制义务教育(nine-yearcomp
最新回复
(
0
)