There was a time when people would laugh at the notion that the cheapest form of energy was the one you "didn't use." Not so today.
A variety of factors, including the Arab oil embargo and a synergy of stakeholders, catalyzed then Governor, Ronald Reagan, and the legislature to forge ahead with new energy efficiency standards in California.
Analytics were "married" with policy, and a rich research team, guided by Art Rosenfeld and others, lead the charge.
Can we learn from these lessons for the climate change predicament we are in now?
How will climate change spur and rekindle the need for further advancement of energy efficiency technologies and policies?
Bio
Joe Browder
Joe Browder was the first Conservation Director of Friends of the Earth, advised President Carter on energy and environmental policy, and coordinated the Carter administration's federal lands energy policy with California energy strategies; he is now a consultant in Washington, DC.
Bob Foster
Bob Foster is a widely-respected business and community leader who was elected as the 27th mayor of Long Beach in June, 2006.
He served as President of Southern California Edison before his retirement in 2006, after more than 20 years with the company. As an Edison executive, Mr. Foster led California's largest electric company through the 1999 energy crisis. During his tenure, Edison developed the largest renewable, clean energy programs (solar, geothermal, biomass and wind) in the U.S.
Mr. Foster began his career in public service as a staffer in the California State Senate and California Energy Commission, where he established statewide energy efficiency standards that are still in force today. He is a graduate of San Jose State University in public administration.
Prior to his election as mayor, Mr. Foster served as a trustee to the California State University system and remains active in a number of community and public policy organizations.
Alan Meier
Alan Meier is Associate Director and a Faculty Researcher with the EEC. He teaches core energy efficiency courses for the EEC and supervises graduate student activities.
Dr. Meier is also a Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Gene Varanini
Gene Varanini is an Attorney-at-Law specializing in energy markets and regulation, strategic planning and energy policy. He is a national leader in the development and implementation of innovative energy and environmental policies at the state and federal levels. Mr. Varanini served as chief consultant to the California Assembly Committee on Planning and Land Use during the energy crises of the early 1970s, and spent six and one - half years as a Commissioner on the California Energy Commission. Mr. Varanini is currently of Counsel to the law firm of Greenberg Traurig in Sacramento, California.
We had energy efficiency in Europe when the Americans haven't even a clue what "energy efficiency" meant. Just have a look at the cars for a beginning. Why do you Americans think that you can have a single thing about energy efficiency invented, when you are wasting energy more than anyone else on the planet. We have solar since the early 1970s. At this time you didn't even bother to install light switches in office buildings. The title of this vid is ridiculous or a result of US-Autism.