Policy Solutions: Reports & Issue Papers

All Reports & Issue Papers Tagged energy efficiency

Lowering the Cost of Play
Improving Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles

Issue Paper

Today, more than 40 percent of all homes in the United States contain at least one video game console. Recognizing that all that gaming could add up to serious demand for electricity, NRDC and Ecos Consulting performed the first ever comprehensive study on the energy use of video game consoles. In this November 2008 issue paper, NRDC provides recommendations for users, video game console manufacturers, component suppliers and the software companies that design games for improving the efficiency of video game consoles already in homes as well as future generations of machines yet to hit the shelves.

Finding the Balance
The Role of Natural Gas in America's Energy Future

Issue Paper

This October 2008 issue paper discusses how investments in natural gas efficiency cost less and can bring benefits to the market faster than trying to increase supplies through drilling. The paper also provides recommendations for policy solutions that can provide short-term benefits and long-term energy solutions by incentivizing energy efficiency and supporting development of renewable energy sources.

Boosting the Benefits
Improving Air Quality and Health by Reducing Global Warming Pollution in California

Issue Paper

California has the opportunity to combat global warming while simultaneously improving air quality and public health throughout the state. Measures being considered under the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) could save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of other negative health impacts each year -- saving billions of dollars in healthcare costs. NRDC analysis shows that strategies for reducing global warming pollution -- cleaner cars and trucks, energy efficiency, renewable energy and smart growth -- also reduce air pollution and bring tremendous short- and long-term health "co-benefits."

The New Energy Economy
Putting America on the Path to Solving Global Warming

Issue Paper

How America and the world respond to global warming and our growing demand for energy -- and whether we respond in time -- will determine what kind of planet we have for generations to come. Fortunately, many of the technologies and policy tools we need to make the shift to cleaner energy solutions already exist, and we can deploy them without harming the economy. NRDC outlines six energy-sector opportunities that can help America reduce global warming pollution. The next step is decisive action by the U.S. government to facilitate these investments and reduce our global warming pollution the necessary 80 percent, or 10.6 billion tons, by 2050.

Driving It Home: Choosing the Right Path for Fueling North America's Transportation Future
Choosing the Right Path for Fueling North America's Transportation Future

Report

North America faces an energy crossroads. With the world fast approaching the end of cheap, plentiful conventional oil, we must choose between developing ever-dirtier sources of fossil fuels -- at great cost to our health and environment -- or setting a course for a more sustainable energy future of clean, renewable fuels. This June 2007 report explores the full scale of the damage done by attempts to extract oil from liquid coal, oil shale, and tar sands; examines the risks for investors of gambling on these dirty fuel sources; and lays out solutions for guiding us toward a cleaner fuel future.

Energy Efficiency Leadership in California: Preventing the Next Crisis
Preventing the Next Crisis

Report

California's energy crisis of 2001 would likely have been much more painful and protracted had not the state's residents and businesses, nonprofit organizations, government and utilities united behind the most successful statewide energy conservation campaign in history. And today, instead of slipping back into old habits, Californians are sustaining much of the conservation seen during the crisis, even accounting for the dampening effect of a slower economy. This April 2003 report from NRDC and the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group details how California has modeled some of the best possible ways that states can protect their economies and environments by working to reduce demand for electricity. The report also spotlights untapped savings that California should also be reaching for.

NRDC's Washington, DC Eco-Office
Tomorrow's Workplace, Today

Report

This report contains information on environmentally friendly and energy-efficient building materials and technologies used in the construction of NRDC's Washington, D.C. office. The report includes product listings and contact information useful to building industry professionals and others interested in "green" architecture and design.