Page 16 - Alternative Energy Systems in Building Design

INTRODUCTION xv

As part of solar power system design and implementation, this book also includes
specific coverage of LEED design, energy conservation, and the unique economics of
solar power financing and return on investment, which covers the details of personnel,
material cost breakdowns, and energy cost analyses. In view of the recent develop-
ments of new financial strategies, this book includes a discussion about power purchase
agreements (PPAs), brief coverage of the Kyoto Protocol, and a discussion of the
national and international carbon cap and trade system, which would be of significant
importance to program managers.
As custodians of our global village, we must urgently apply our collective human inge-
nuity and resources to stop and reverse global atmospheric and environmental pollution
within the next generation. In the past couple of centuries, as engineers and scientists, we
have advanced these technologies, elevated living standards, and, in the process, grossly
neglected the need for harmony with Mother Nature. Even though the challenges ahead
may seem difficult to overcome, historically, as a nation, we have overcome equally insur-
mountable challenges and succeeded in realizing the seemingly impossible.

Peter Gevorkian, Ph.D., P.E.