National Energy Efficiency Platform: Description and Potential Impacts

Howard Geller

1989

Introduction

After a decade of increasing national energy productivity, the overall energy efficiency of our nation has stalled and energy use is climbing rapidly. Energy use rose 8% in the past two years, in tandem with GNP growth. This surge in energy costs consumers tens of billions of dollars annually, contributes to rising oil imports, worsens acid rain and urban smog, and accelerates climate change due to the greenhouse effect.

This paper presents ten major energy efficiency initiatives that, taken together, can get our country back on the "energy efficiency track" and begin to reduce our CO₂ emissions. The policies are broad-based — some have multiple components — in order to provide maximum energy and carbon savings. All of the policies can be adopted by the federal government either through legislation or administrative action. The ten policy proposals address the major energy uses and opportunities for energy savings.

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1989, $4.00, E891