Mar 12 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)



By Jack Z. Smith, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Harvey Sachs explains energy efficiency in elemental human terms.

"Nobody really wants to buy electricity, but they sure want a hot bath and cold beer," said Sachs, who's with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. "Efficiency is about wasting less to make sure that you have the hot bath and the cold beer."

Global energy expert Daniel Yergin, in a statement Thursday, lamented that energy efficiency "is often associated with sacrifice." In reality, it "really means getting more of the things we want. ... Efficiency means that consumers use less energy while preserving their lifestyles or even enhancing them," he said.

 IHS CERA, a leading energy consulting firm that Yergin chairs, released a report Thursday stressing that greatly expanded energy efficiency is one of the most important tools in ensuring an ample long-term energy supply. Population growth and rapidly expanding economies in developing countries, such as India, China and Brazil, are expected to result in mushrooming demand over the next two decades.

Much of the rising demand is expected to be met by boosting oil and natural gas production, building new power plants and further developing renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels. But one of the quickest and most cost-efficient means of ensuring sufficient supply, as well as reducing carbon-dioxide emissions, is simply to waste and consume less, said Yergin, author of The Prize, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry.

Sachs said Americans can play a huge role by embracing an array of efficiency measures, such as buying higher-mileage vehicles, Energy Star-rated appliances and compact fluorescent bulbs, and better insulating their homes.

Energy efficiency not only saves consumers money, but also represents "a step toward real sustainability ... coming to terms with a finite earth," he said.

Online: www.aceee.org/consumerguide/checklist.htm; www.energysavers.gov; www.fueleconomy.gov

JACK Z. SMITH, 817-390-7724

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