2008: It was Nice to Know You

Let’s see…2008…It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….No, wait, someone already said that…But certainly the “roller coaster ride” we took with oil and gas prices, complete with the precipitous drop in both, has to be THE top energy story of 2008. And while we can’t pin the blame for 2008’s catastrophic financial meltdown on high energy prices, they certainly put a crimp in many household and business budgets and helped wreak havoc on the bigger economic picture.

 

At the same time, a silver lining was emerging by the middle of the year. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reported that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) dropped by two percent in the first part of 2008 compared to 2007 – the steepest VMT decline since FHWA started keeping records in 1942. Commuters flocked to public transit, and many systems began developing expansion plans. Demand for hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles surged dramatically, while sales of large SUVs and trucks dropped by nearly a third.

 

But “how quickly they forget!” Already SUV sales are outpacing sales of passenger cars, which just goes to show how crucial the federal government’s policy role is for pushing consumers towards smarter energy choices. It’s a good thing Congress acted at the end of 2007 to put in place higher CAFE standards, even if the phase-in will take quite a few years.

 

On the “homefront,” the reinstatement, as part of the economic rescue package, of federal income tax credits of up to $500 for energy efficiency home improvements – a policy that the Alliance to Save Energy worked nearly all of 2008 to achieve – also stands out as a significant achievement.

 

As the Alliance frequently says, energy efficiency is a win-win-win – for the nations’ economy, for the environment, and for our national security. At this time of economic challenge for the incoming Obama administration, we hope to see energy efficiency emerge as a key way of creating new “green” jobs that will help bring the U.S. economy out of the doldrums, make a significant down payment on curbing climate change, and enhance our national energy security.

 

We have high hopes for the Obama energy-enviro team, led by the President-Elect’s “spine-of-steel” commitment to enacting meaningful energy policies. Still, with energy prices having come down so sharply, our New Year’s resolution is to ward off complacency on the part of the public and policymakers. We will continue educating them about the centrality of energy efficiency in moving the nation towards a more sustainable energy future.