ABSTRACT
Because energy has been relatively cheap and plentiful in the past, many energy-wasting practices have been allowed to develop and continue in all sectors of societies worldwide. There are high-horsepower, low-mileage cars; extensive outdoor lighting; and poorly insulated homes and buildings. Industries have wasted energy by discharging hot process water instead of recovering the heat and by wasting heat contained in ¦ue gases that are discharged through power plant stacks. Waste hydrocarbons have been discharged or combusted with little consideration for recovering their energy value. There are many more examples, too numerous to mention. Elimination of these practices will, at least temporarily, reduce the rate of increase in energy demands and help reduce sustainability concerns, a topic to be discussed later in the chapter. If conservation can reduce energy demand, it can also reduce the associated pollution; thus, conservation can be considered as an alternative to increased environmental management when regulators set any new source performance standards (NSPS) and ambient air quality standards (AAQS) for air emissions and wastewater ef¦uent discharge limits.
