[Greenbuilding] Energy Star Clothes Dryers Program Launch

[Bob Waldrop]

There is a difference between being energy efficient and energy 
conservative.

My thinking these days is that we should talk more about becoming an 
energy conservative.

Coincidentally, I decided to see what Lowes and Home Despot have for 
sale in terms of freezers.  Your statements match my observations: The 
only Energy Star models were the top of the line, expensive, large 
products.

Bob Waldrop, OKC

On 7/30/2012 6:02 PM, Reuben Deumling wrote:
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 30, 2012 at 8:00 AM, David Bergman <bergman at cyberg.com 
> <mailto:bergman at cyberg.com>> wrote:
>
>     I think Jevon's Paradox gets overquoted and overestimated as an
>     anti-efficiency tactic. While there's no doubt it exists to a
>     degree, I believe most studies have shown that the increases in
>     usage are not larger than the gains in efficiency.
>
>     I know I've read several such articles recently, but can't put my
>     finger on them. Anyone recall?
>
> There have been quite a few: David Owen in the New Yorker (2010) & the 
> Breakthrough Institute (2011).
>
> These articles have enraged my energy efficiency advocate friends, 
> because they feel the authors don't understand the rebound effect, 
> misuse the term, etc. But the larger point, and the reason this term 
> has gained a certain amount of currency--despite having been buried by 
> energy efficiency champions many times--is that the boosters of energy 
> efficiency who so eagerly promise that EE will avert climate change, 
> help us meet our policy targets, etc. have never deigned to explain to 
> the non-expert how it is that energy consumption, and GHG emissions 
> keep rising despite unprecedented amounts of money spent on EE.
> The rebound effect keeps getting dug up because it speaks to the very 
> persistent misgivings many people have about these inflated claims. 
> We've been pursuing EE for going on 30 years, 20 if you want to be 
> conservative about it, and what have we gotten for it? More CO2 
> emissions, higher per capita consumption of electricity, gasoline, & 
> natural gas. Is it any wonder that Jevons gets to live another day?
>
> The tragedy is that the EE advocates' only counter argument is to 
> angrily denounce their critics for failing to understand Jevons or the 
> rebound effect. But they never address the underlying issue, and/or 
> concede how over-selling their favorite strategy when it comes to 
> actually reducing energy consumption or GHG emissions has led to these 
> explorations of how we can have energy efficiency and growth in energy 
> consumption at the same time.
>
>     And I think a major exception cited is televisions, where they've
>     become more energy-efficient but they've also gotten much larger.
>     But you can argue that there are two separate factors at work
>     there. Similarly for refrigerators.
>
>
> The point I'd make is that the two are not necessarily separate. 
> Bigger fridges and bigger TVs are not so easily separated from the 
> energy efficiency efforts that rescue large fridges and large TVs from 
> the erstwhile scorn of energy authorities, by slapping endorsement 
> labels on them.
>
> It is no accident that the endorsement label programs (Energy Star 
> above all) but also rebates and related efforts focus on the largest 
> and most lavish versions of all products so designated. The point is 
> to make middle class consumers feel better about buying the high end, 
> well appointed goodies. You won't see an Energy Star label on a small 
> modest fridge or a black and white TV (to pick two extremes that will 
> consume less energy than the models with the labels).
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Greenbuilding mailing list
> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
> Greenbuilding at bioenergylists.org
>
> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20120730/58065edf/attachment.html>