editorial

Energy Efficiency

by John G. Falcioni, Editor-In-Chief

At first read, I had to be convinced that the article, "blowing Hot & Cold," in this issue, belonged in Power & Energy. But after giving the article a careful read, I realize that there's not likely a more fundamental energy need than that which our own bodies require.

The goal of energy efficiency, whether it is creating effective climate controls for the work environment, for automobiles, for home, or elsewhere, is the same: conservation.

The debate over power and energy, with its huge environmental and financial overtones, always stretches from discussions involving engineering and science into the realm of politics. And with this year's presidential election, the political stakes have rarely been higher (see "Decision 2004: The Energy Debate," also in this issue).

In the U.S., there is commitment by four key sectors of the economy—construction, transportation, manufacturing, and electric utilities—to adopt energy-efficient technologies. Moreover, global climate change, and the effect manufacturing and other processes may have on the world's environment remain hotly debated issues on Capitol Hill and in boardrooms.

Saving the Day by Jeffrey Winters, Supplement Editor

It's funny what we remember after 25 years. I distinctly remember the Saturday Night Live skit about the Three Mile Island accident: The incident was an example of the "Pepsi Syndrome," caused by the spilling of a soft drink onto a control panel. (Spilling a 7-Up would have no effect, the joke went, because it was an un-cola.) My recollection of the actual event is much hazier—due to the fact that I was a teenager and that the danger was personally remote. So it has been a revelation to watch a tape of a panel discussion about Three Mile Island from this year's International Conference on Nuclear Energy. The vivid accounts of Jack Devine, Bill Lowe, Bill Dornsythe, and Harold Denton brought to life what had become for me a lesson from the history books. We are publishing an excerpt of that discussion, in this issue. The entire, unedited transcript of the tape, which was supplied to Power & Energy by Bill Lowe and his daughter, will be posted online at the Mechanical Engineering Online Web site, and that's worth a read, as well. The story these men weave together is as engaging and thrilling as any you'll read. But what mostly stands out is a quality that I've tried to instill in my three-year-old son. We live in an age when everyone is a hero, and it seems everyone demands recognition for their heroism. But when William "saves" me from a burning building and I call him "my hero," I've taught him to say five simple words—"All in a day's work." The men and women who worked around the clock to control and contain the accident at Three Mile Island are, by most standards, heroes. But the attitude projected by Devine, Lowe, Dornsythe, and Denton is of a quiet pride in doing one's job well even in the most critical situations. Saving the day, for them, was all in a day's work. Maybe that's not as hip as the 50-foot-tall Jimmy Carter at the end of the "Pepsi Syndrome" skit, but it makes me feel better, nonetheless.

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