As opportunities to misrepresent the science diminish, opponents of precautionary action have stirred economic fears, arguing that curbing greenhouse gases will create economic disaster. But according to a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and carried out by five U.S. national laboratories, the opposite is true. This system helps consumers see at a glance how much money an energy-efficient refrigerator or furnace will save them during a year. According to the CEF study, there is enormous opportunity to achieve efficiencies by such means. If it were there, someone would have picked it up long ago.
Nobody wants to sift through sand for a few pennies.
But if you make it easy by giving people a metal detector, they will happily gather up the pennies. Taxing carbon dioxide emissions to motivate people to save energy. The authors propose such a tax in the form of emissions permits the government would sell at auction each year. In other words, even taking into account the administrative costs of programs like Energy Star, plus increased costs for research and development, the country still saves money. And the gains calculated in the CEF study are ONLY energy cost savings.