energy efficiency
Attack of the Dim Bulbs (A Dismayingly On-Going Series)
And the government would have banned Thomas Edison’s light bulb. Oh yeah, Obama’s regulators actually did just that. That was Governor Romney on March 19. I hope he was more careful with the facts when he worked for Bain. If not, he would have cost lost a lot of money, not to mention the liability …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy Scholarship Symposium in the Journal of Economic Perspectives
As I argued about three months ago, the Journal of Economic Perspectives ought to be on the regular reading for anyone interested in environmental law and policy. The most recent quarter’s issue shows why: it features a fascinating symposium on “Energy Challenges”. Not all of the articles will be music to environmentalists’ ears: for example, …
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CONTINUE READINGRebound Redux
I’ve posted previously about the rebound effect. Improving energy efficiency frees up money, which can be used to purchase more of the same product or different products that use energy. This “rebound” cuts away at the energy savings and correspondingly at the carbon reduction achieved through energy efficiency. Everyone seems to agree that the rebound …
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CONTINUE READINGCongressional Dim Bulbs at Work Again
The House of Representatives is continuing its campaign to increase electricity bills, harm a domestic industry, and create regulatory uncertainty. According to E&E, the House appropriations bill “Eliminating funding for light bulb efficiency standards is especially poor policy as it would leave the policy in place but make it impossible to enforce, undercutting domestic manufacturers …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Local Role for Promoting Energy Efficient Homes and Businesses
One of the most cost-effective ways to fight climate change is to make homes and businesses more energy efficient. Yet this is also one of the most difficult goals to achieve. In UC Berkeley and UCLA Law’s 2010 report “Saving Energy,” we found the key barriers to be the highly individualized nature of retrofitting buildings …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Rebound Effect (2)
The rebound effect is a worry in terms of the possible environmental impact of increased energy efficiency. But how big a worry, and what can be done about it? There is a lot of controversy about this issue, and the evidence seems to be far from crystal clear. For contrasting views, see these NRDC and …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Rebound Effect (Part I)
The rebound effect involves increases in energy use that are paradoxically caused by increased energy efficiency. This effect actually takes three forms. First, when energy use is more efficient, consumers may actually increase some of their energy-using activities. For instance, if lighting is very energy efficient, consumers may be less careful about turning off lights …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy Efficiency and National Energy Policy
In terms of the key pillars of energy policy, energy efficiency is a win-win-win-win.
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Works to Promote Energy Efficiency Retrofits
California has much to brag about when it comes to energy efficiency. Per capita, the state’s residents use far less energy than our national counterparts while enjoying an equal or better standard of living, thanks to energy efficiency standards developed in the 1970s: But the state is committed to doing better. Last week, I was …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Tea Party Embraces Local Energy Efficiency Financing?
It looks like we’ve finally found an environmental issue that can attract strong bipartisan support. The PACE program allows municipal bond financing to pay for energy efficiency retrofits and solar panels, among other environmentally benign building improvements, to be repaid through property tax assessments. But the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) essentially squashed the residential …
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