Policy

The Alliance to Save Energy today said a bill introduced by Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.) could help ensure electricity reliability by putting forward reliability standards and a range of energy efficiency provisions to reduce demand – particularly peak demand – and lower consumer costs.

A branch of the nation's armed forces, a prominent energy-efficiency advocate in the U.S. House of Representatives, a municipal government that helps residents and businesses cut energy use and costs, the world's larges convenience food company that prides itself on energy-efficient plant operations, and a multi-billion dollar corporation that produces energy-efficient products will be honored this year by the Alliance to Save Energy for outstanding contributions to the advancement of energy efficiency.

Thirty years ago, large American cars queued up for hours in lengthy lines for a pauper's ration of a few gallons of gasoline as the OPEC oil embargo exposed our nation's dependence on foreign oil and our national security vulnerability.

86 Percent of Consumers Say Wider Availability, Selection of Fuel-Efficient Cars, SUVs Would Be Effective in Getting Them to Reduce Energy Use, According to New Alliance Market Research

Statement by Alliance to Save Energy Acting Co-President Mark Hopkins On National Petroleum Council Natural Gas Study

As Congress strives to craft a balanced energy bill, it must make energy efficiency the foundation of our national energy policy, Alliance to Save Energy Acting Co-President Mark Hopkins said today. He said Congress must also address the nation’s growing oil dependence.

“This year’s rising oil and gasoline prices, the natural gas supply and price shocks, and the recent blackout affecting 50 million people demonstrate that we must get beyond using energy efficiency as merely the reaction to a crisis, or a public policy afterthought,” Hopkins said.

Statement by Alliance to Save Energy Director of Policy Kara Saul Rinaldi

“With the nation facing a natural gas crisis and transportation consuming over 60 percent of the oil used in the U.S., the American people deserve better energy policy than the reincarnated 2002 Senate bill.

With transportation gobbling over 60 percent of America’s oil consumption, it defies reason for the Senate to reject higher fuel economy standards for light trucks less than two months after voting overwhelmingly to save a million barrels of oil a day by 2013, the Alliance to Save Energy observed today.

Alliance to Save Energy Acting Co-President Mark Hopkins called for three major energy-efficiency initiatives at today’s Natural Gas Summit in Washington, D.C., to deal with tight natural gas supplies and increased demand:

• A public awareness campaign to help consumers reduce electricity demand this summer and heating costs this winter;
• A second campaign soliciting the involvement of industry to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent;
• Making energy efficiency the foundation of our nation’s energy policy.

Alliance to Save Energy Applauds Step Forward for Energy Efficiency

The Alliance to Save Energy today congratulates the Senate for adopting an oil-saving amendment that directs the President to save at least one million barrels of oil a day by 2013. The landmark amendment – sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Arlen Specter (R-PA) passed 99-1.

Including in the tax cut package a four-fold increase in the already egregious tax break for some SUV purchases – particularly while a comprehensive energy bill languishes in the Senate – is a poor way to make tax or energy policy, the Alliance to Save Energy said today.

“By supporting a new $100,000 tax deduction for small business owners who purchase gas-guzzling SUVs and Hummers, Congress is sending the harmful message that it's OK to waste oil and to rip off U.S. taxpayers,” said Alliance President David M. Nemtzow.