America's Untapped Energy Resource: Boosting Efficiency

Want to know what the best strategy for quickly reducing America's carbon footprint is? America's Untapped Energy Resource: Boosting Efficiency in a recent issue of TIME is must reading.

Michael Grunwald's article says we have untold opportunities to get more utility out of the energy we currently use, even if we don't intentionally cut back on the amount we use by lifestyle-denying conservation measures: turning off lights, driving less, turning down the thermostat. Efficiency, as opposed to conservation, reduces demand through "consuming less energy to get the same amount of heat for your shower, light for your office and power for your factory" (italics mine). Conservation is gritting your teeth and making do with a lesser amount.

It's all about eliminating waste: "Our power plants ... waste enough energy to power Japan. Only 4% of the energy used to run a typical incandescent bulb produces light; the rest is frittered away as heat at the plant, over transmission lines or in the bulb itself, which is why you burn your fingers when you touch it."

Utilities have to be regulated differently than most are today. Currently, they increase their profits by building more generating capacity and encouraging consumers to use it. Grunwald:

Let utilities make money saving energy. Six states have already decoupled electricity profits from sales volume to give utilities incentives to eliminate energy waste, and nine more may follow. Regulated utilities should also be assured a reasonable rate of return on their investments in efficiency improvements for their customers, just as they are for other capital investments.

This kind of approach complements the mandates, incentives, and standards for efficient generation and transmission of clean energy that we also need to put in place, but it has a quicker payoff. All environmentally conscious Americans should pay heed.