Includes bibliographical references and index.

The policy context for energy efficiency -- Energy efficiency is all around us -- Energy efficiency and aggregate energy intensity in the United States : 1950 through 2014 -- Energy efficiency benefits : environment and security -- Amplifying energy efficiency -- Policy lessons from the past forty years. The entire world, especially the United States, is in the midst of an energy revolution. Since the oil embargo of 1973, individuals, corporations, and other organizations have found ways to economically reduce energy. In this book, James L. Sweeney examines energy policies and practices of the past forty years and their impact on three crucial systems: the economy, the environment, and national security. He shows how the energy-efficiency contributions to the country's overall energy situation have been more powerful than any other development. The author details the impact of new and improved energy-efficient technologies, the environmental and national security benefits of energy efficiency, ways to amplify energy efficiency, and more. Energy Efficiency: Building a Clean, Secure Economy reveals how through careful nurturing of private- and public-sector energy efficiency-along with public awareness, appropriate pricing, appropriate policies-and increased research and development, the trends of decreasing energy intensity and increasing energy efficiency can be accelerated.