The energy efficiency gained through new technologies in buildings, cars, and industry could reduce energy use as much as 30% by 2030. So says Maxine Savitz, vice president of the National Academy of Engineering, former deputy assistant secretary for conservation in the U.S. Dept. of Energy, and a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Speaking at Harvard University's Science Center as part of a Future of Energy lecture series, Savitz presented the results of reports by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering that assessed technology’s potential to transform the nation’s energy production, distribution, and use.
The savings projected in the NAS and NAE reports come from heating, cooling, lighting, and other building systems alone that could counterbalance the projected growth in energy consumption through 2030, meaning that no new power plants would be needed, says Savitz. Though the U.S. economy has become more energy-efficient in recent years, it still uses about twice as much energy per dollar of gross domestic product as European economies, Savitz said. Greater energy efficiency is possible for a host of building systems and appliances, in both residential and industrial settings.
The Havard University site has more info:
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/11/just-use-less/
