Lots of smart people are coming to the same conclusions about the non-fuel behind America’s hey-look-suddenly-we-make-and-own-all-the-fuel-in-the-world energy boom: it’s energy efficiency. Now, The National Resource Defense Council has issued their first annual report on energy by concluding that the United States’ energy efficiency push “has more than doubled its economic productivity from oil, natural gas, and electricity over the past 40 years, which means energy efficiency has contributed more to meeting America’s needs than all other resources combined.” Mull on that a bit.
More from the NRDC report:
--“Additional investments in efficiency could cut U.S. energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, save customers nearly $700 billion, and create up to 900,000 direct jobs (plus countless more when consumers spend their savings elsewhere).”
--“Because increasing efficiency is far less costly than adding other energy resources like fossil fuels, this is saving the nation hundreds of billions of dollars annually, helping U.S. workers and companies
compete worldwide, and making our country more energy-secure.
--Total energy used per dollar of goods produced is down.
--Gasoline per mile driven is down.
--The cost of energy services (from lighting to refrigeration) is down.
The report states that “energy efficiency is America’s most productive energy resource” and that for
continued efficiency success, best options include “upgrading homes and other buildings with energysaving
appliances and products such as light bulbs and insulation.”
More evidence that the cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use.