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37 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10003 (2007)

handle is hein.journals/elrna37 and id is 1 raw text is: Copyright @ 2007 Environmental Law Institute@, Washington, DC. reprinted with permission from ELR@, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120. ELR 37 ELR 10003 NEWS&ANALYSIS ARTICLES Stabilizing and Then Reducing U.S. Energy Consumption: Legal and Policy Tools for Efficiency and Conservation by John Dembach and the Widener University Law School Seminar on Energy Efficiency Editors'Summary: Rising global demand for energy, high energy prices, cli- mate change, and the threat ofterrorism allpoint to the needfor greater energy efficiency and conservation in the United States. While technological innova- tion is plainly needed, our laws and institutional arrangements must also play an important role. The United States has scores of legal and policy tools from which to choose to improve energy efficiency and curb energy consumption. This Article, which grows out ofa Spring 2006 seminar at the Widener Univer- sity School ofLaw, evaluates a handful ofthese tools: transit-oriented develop- ment; fuel taxation; real-time pricing for electricity use; public benefit funds; improving the efficiency of existing residential and commercial buildings; and expanding the use ofrailfreight. Greater efficiency and conservation based on those and other tools may allow us to stabilize U.S. energy consumption and then reduce it. As challenging as that goal might be, there is considerable evi- dence to believe that it is achievable. I. Introduction No energy policy choices available to the United States are as attractive and necessary as energy efficiency and conser- vation. Energy efficiency involves doing the same amount of work, or producing the same amount of goods or services, with less energy.' Energy conservation is a broader term; it involves using less energy, regardless of the whether energy efficiency has changed. Energy efficiency and conserva- tion provide environmental benefits, to be sure; the gallon of gas or the kilowatt of electricity that is not used is the clean- est of all. That unused gallon or kilowatt, moreover, is also John Dernbach is a Professor at Widener University School of Law. From July 2003 to December 2005, he was on leave, serving as Director of the Policy Office at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The students participating in the seminar were Robert Alten- burg, Thomas Corcoran, Norman Marden, Allison Rafferty, Christopher Reibsome, Edward Ruud, and David Sunday. Robert Altenburg also pro- vided research assistance. Don Brown, Bry Danner, Will Delavan, Chuck Kutscher, Dan Lashof, Sonny Popowsky, and Bob Power pro- videdhelpful comments on a draft of the Article. Professor Dernbach is responsible for any errors. Please send comments or questions to jcdernbach@widener.edu. 1. NAT'L ENERGY POLICY DEV. GROUP, NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY 1-3 (2001), available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/National- Energy-Policy.pdf. One common approach is to measure the amount of heat energy needed to generate a given amount of electrical en- ergy. This is typically measured in British thermal units (Btus) per kilowatt hour (kWh). As a general rule, the more efficient the pro- cess, the less fuel is consumed and the lower the environmental and economic impacts. 2. Id. the cheapest of all. Even though energy efficiency often in- volves additional up-front investment, savings from effi- ciency provide a return on that investment and often exceed it. Energy efficiency and conservation can also increase na- tional security by reducing dependence on foreign sources and reducing stress on energy infrastructure, such as trans- mission lines and pipelines. Efficiency and conservation can strengthen, and have strengthened, the national econ- omy, creating jobs and reducing energy costs for businesses and individuals, including the poor. Unlike many other en- ergy policy choices, which involve long-term investments and technology development, increased emphasis on effi- ciency and conservation can deliver results in the short to medium term. Energy efficiency has an impressive track record. En- ergy-efficiency improvement can be measured in terms of energy intensity energy consumption per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP). Energy intensity reductions occur for a variety of reasons, including higher energy prices, technological improvements, economic restructuring, and legal requirements. Between 1949 and 2004, energy inten- sity in the United States (measured in 2000 dollars) declined from 19.57 to 9.20 thousand British thermal units (Btus) per dollar.3 A number of factors contributed to the improvement in energy efficiency during this period, including more effi- cient industrial and transportation equipment, more effi- 3. U.S. Dep't of Energy (DOE), Energy Info. Admin., Energy Con- sumption, Expenditures, and Emissions Indicators, 1949-2004, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0105.html (last visited July 21, 2006). 1-2007

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