On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
The energy world was saddened by the recent passing of Dr. Arthur Rosenfeld on January 27. I rise today to pay tribute to his extraordinary life and countless contributions. Known as the godfather of energy efficiency, Dr. Rosenfeld's efforts brought awareness to the tremendous benefits of efficiency. As a physicist at UC Berkeley, Dr. Rosenfeld became interested in efficiency during the 1973 oil embargo. He soon began pushing efficiency standards for appliances and buildings for California, and eventually for the entire Nation. He went on to work as an adviser at the Department of Energy and served on the California Energy Commission. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a group that Dr. Rosenfeld helped found, savings from energy efficiency gains have averted the need to build more than 300 large power plants since 1990. The EPA has estimated that between 1992 and 2014, its ENERGY STAR program, a program built on the shoulders of Dr. Rosenfeld's work, has helped families save over $350 billion on utility bills while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.5 billion metric tons. The cleanest and cheapest kilowatt-hour of electricity that one may take advantage of is the one we do not use. We salute Dr. Rosenfeld. ____________________
