Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Return to Fordham Law School
    X (Twitter) Facebook LinkedIn Instagram RSS
    Fordham Law News
    • Home
    • Law School News
    • In the News
    • Fordham Lawyer
    • Insider
      • Announcements
      • Class Notes
      • In Memoriam
    • For the Media
      • Media Contacts
    • News by Topic
      • Business and Financial Law
      • Clinics
      • Intellectual Property and Information Law
      • International and Human Rights Law
      • Legal Ethics and Professional Practice
      • National Security
      • Public Interest and Service
    Return to Fordham Law School
    X (Twitter) Facebook LinkedIn Instagram RSS
    Fordham Law News
    You are at:Home»In the News»Warming Trend: Why New York Needs to Invest in Geothermal

    Warming Trend: Why New York Needs to Invest in Geothermal

    0
    By on January 14, 2016 Faculty, In the News

    Zephyr Teachout‘s op-ed in the New York Observer on improving the environment in New York City.

    New York City has nearly 1 million buildings and nearly all of them (roughly 900,000) could be heated and cooled by the earth without burning any fossil fuels.

    A recent report found that New York City was the most wasteful megacity in the world, and its buildings consume two-thirds of the energy we use. Over half of that energy is for space heating alone. Fossil fuels burnt for that purpose cause nearly 40 percent of CO2 emissions in America.

    Solar, wind and hydropower are all necessary if we’re going to provide electricity without accelerating climate change, but none of these are great for heating and cooling buildings. The leading technology for this is called ground source heat pumps, which use energy from the sun’s heat trapped just below the earth’s surface. As air temperature fluctuates wildly throughout the year, the ground 20 feet below the surface stays steady, between 50 and 60 degrees.

    A ban on fossil fuel systems would spur a geoexchange explosion.

    Ground source heat pumps are exchange systems. In the winter, they absorb the heat from the earth, concentrate it with a heat pump, and deliver it throughout a building by ductwork. In the summer, they absorb the heat from the building and release it to the cooler earth.

    Currently, they have high upfront costs due to drilling and installation. But a recent study of the cost to switch in New York City showed that they quickly pay an impressive return-on-investment, breaking even within three to 12 years depending on what kind of system they replace.

    You might assume that such projects of this scope are unworkable in a dense city like New York, but there is massive, glorious proof of the possible in the very center of the city. St. Patrick’s Cathedral recently drilled and installed a new geothermal heating and cooling system. St. Patrick led the snakes out of Ireland—perhaps St. Patrick’s can lead the fossil furnaces out of New York.

    Once geothermal technology gains more attention, Bob Wyman, a local energy consultant, forecasts a tipping point, where the city bans the construction of new fossil fuel furnaces (a policy just enacted in Denmark). Such a ban on fossil fuel systems would spur a geoexchange explosion, as architects learn about the systems and financers capitalize on the long-term opportunity. The state can lower the barriers to acceptance of the technology by offering subsidies to homeowners and landlords. But the biggest motivation will come from high heating and cooling costs, as well as the unbearable cost to the city from climate change.

    Bill Nowack is the executive director of NY-GEO, and an expert in geothermal energy. According to one estimate he shared with me, between 80 and 90 percent of buildings can be heated by ground source heat pumps. It is not for every part of the city and will be easiest to incorporate in the outer boroughs and more residential areas without existing underground infrastructures. An estimate by John Rhyner—a licensed professional geologist—showed that almost all of Staten Island, 70 percent of Queens, and half of Brooklyn residential footage could be heated with this technology.

    According to Mr. Nowak, the installers are already doing brisk business as word spreads, but the lack of governmental support for the technology has made progress far slower than it could be. Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed two bills that would have done the most toward jump-starting the geoexchange revolution. His support for the ground source heat pump future will be critical.

    We have the breakthrough technology; all we need is breakthrough politics to build a city of the future, harvesting the steady heat of the earth.

    New York City is an island city. It is one of the most vulnerable cities in the world to climate change. The city we love will drown if we don’t lead the world in clean energy. It is time to dig deep.

    Zephyr Teachout is an associate law professor at Fordham Law School.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    The Big Idea: Who Counts (and Who Doesn’t) in the U.S. Census 

    Bloomberg Law: Prof. Bruce Green on Whether Judges Can Face Sanctions for the Kind of Errors They Find in Lawyers’ Work

    The New York Times: Prof. Bruce Green on Conflict of Interest in Epstein Scandal

    Comments are closed.

    • The Big Idea
    August 5, 2025

    The Big Idea: Who Counts (and Who Doesn’t) in the U.S. Census 

    March 31, 2025

    The Big Idea: Local Politics, Reform Prosecutors, and Reshaping Mass Incarceration

    March 3, 2025

    The Big Idea: Forced Labor, Global Supply Chains, and Workers’ Rights

    November 6, 2024

    The Big Idea: Partisanship, Perception, and Prosecutorial Power

    READ MORE

    About

    Fordham University - The Jesuit University of New York

    Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to more than 15,100 students in its four undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools.
    Connect With Fordham
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.