Before the February 17, 2009, signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, President Obama let lawmakers and his own Administration know that he means (green) business, especially when it comes to energy efficiency.

On February 5, 2009, in a memorandum sent to Obama Energy Secretary (and Noble laureate) Steven Chu, titled Appliance Efficiency Standards, Obama ordered Chu to ensure DOE and US business compliance with the 34 year old Energy Policy and Conservation Act that until now has not been enforced or acted upon by lawmakers, the DOE or past Administrations.

In short, the 1975 Act calls for the DOE to outline and the Secretary of Energy to enforce more stringent energy efficiency standards and regulations on a wide range of products, including appliances and should, now, encompass electronics that were not a mainstay of life in 1975 … cell phones, notebooks, power tools, etc.

As well, Obama’s economic stimulus package allocates around $22.2 billion towards energy efficiency out of the $37 billion slotted for green initiatives.  An even more encouraging figure is that around 80% of the energy efficiency money (abut $17.6 billion) is forecast to be spent over the next 2 years!  This is an impressive estimation that looks toward building a more responsible future in regards to wasteful and unnecessary energy consumption, which includes vampire energy loss.

What does this mean to US businesses and consumers?  According to the Wall Street Journal, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has issued a higher than expected forecast for energy efficiency savings of $168 billion through 2020!

The low hanging fruit is all around us – plugged into our outlets, running our vehicles and draining our planet’s scarce resources unnecessarily.  The time is upon us to innovate and act on past promises, and America’s leaders are finally giving the weight needed for a KO blow.  Whether you are in it to save the planet or be fiscally responsible, energy efficiency really saves green.