NumbersGuy

The Energy Efficiency Paradox

As someone above pointed out, using automobiles as an example for efficiency doesn't really cut it. In fact, MPG's on average went down over the last decade or so thanks to the popularity of the SUV, which was driven by strange exemptions to CAFE standards for light trucks. Market distortions at work,

I don't have the hard data in front of me, but California has had hard efficiency standards for 30 years. The argument that they haven't decreased energy use is solid, but the energy per capita use is much lower in California than the rest of the US and they have, as a result, avoided building power plants they would otherwise have needed.