Emerging Industrial Innovations and the Availability of New Energy Efficiency Technologies

The U.S. and the world face enormous energy challenges. Recent trends in world oil markets, including the emergence of China as a major contributor to global demand and continuing instability in the Middle East, bring new urgency to perennial concerns about oil dependence. At the same time, sustained price increases and extreme volatility in natural gas markets are prompting new concerns about this environmentally valuable fuel. Climate change and air pollution resulting from fossil fuel combustion are threatening human health and the future of our ecosystems. Finally, in the wake of the largest cascading power outage in North America's history, urgent questions are being raised about the prospects for needed investment in an infrastructure that is essential to nearly every facet of modern life. Using energy more efficiently can help to address each of these concerns