Energy policies

Further incentives to use energy-efficient motors are provided by various cost rebate programs offered by utilities based on norsepower rating and efficiency level. Another factor that will have a significant impact is the Energy Policy Act of 1992, in which the U.S. Congress established limits on the lowest level of nominal efficiency that certain classes of motors of standard design can have after 1997. 

Landsberg, II. II., cd. (1993). Making National Energy Policy. Washington, DC Resources for the Future. Portney, P. R., ed. (1990). Public Policies for Environmental Protection. Washington, 1 )C Resources for the Future. Tieteiiberg, T. H. (1996). Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, 4th ed. New York HarperColhns. 

Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, U.S. Code. Title 42, secs. 6291-6309. 

National Research Council. (1995). EMF Research Activities Completed Under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 Interim Report, J995. Washington, DC National Academy Press. 

In 1975, Congress responded to the oil crisis of 1973 by passing the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. This legislation established Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. By 1985, CAFE standards required that all new passenger cars had to have an... 

Additionally, as a response to rising energy prices and uncertainty of supply, several states adopted appliance efficiency standards. At the federal level, the National Appliance Energy Consei vation Act of 1987 established the first national standards for refrigerators and freezers, furnaces, air conditioners, and other appliances. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 added national standards for incandescent and fluorescent lights, small electric motors, office equipment, and plumbing products. 

Some would argue that energy policy ought to be left to individual choice. In such a situation, some individuals may choose a frugal and conservative... 

There are major problems with this individualistic approach to energy policy, however. The ideal market of economic theoiy exists nowhere in reality. Further, even market defenders acknowledge cases in v hich markets fail. Significantly, some paradigmatic examples of market failure, such as the externality of pollution and monopolistic control of production, are associated with the production of energy. More importantly, perhaps, crucial ethical questions can be missed if we only consider the perspective of individual values and choice. 

SOCIAL ETHICS AND ENERGY POLICY PRESENT GENERATIONS... 

Nowhere is this concern with individual rights more crucial than in questions concerning the justice of energy policy. Distributive justice demands that the benefits and burdens of energy policy be distributed in ways that respect the equal dignity and worth of every individual. A prims facie violation of justice occurs when social benefits and burdens are distributed unequally. Particularly troubling inequalities occur when the benefits of policy go to the powerful and wealthy, while the burdens are distributed primarily among the poor and less powerful. 

Many energy polices also raise important ethical questions concerning justice across generations. Wliat, if any, responsibilities does the present generation have to posterity This question can be raised at many points as we consider alternative energy policies. 

As can be seen from these examples, even talking about ethical responsibilities to future people can raise conundrums. Some critics claim that talk of ethical responsibilities to distant people is nonsense and that present energy policy should be governed solely... 

The focus of U.S. energy policy is with the Department of Energy, but because energy issues touch almost evei y sector of the economy, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture,... 

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