Since the 1840s, the industrialised world has increased energy efficiency at an astonishingly regular rate--between 1% and 2% per year, depending on how it's measured. This means that energy efficiency doubles every 70 years.
We've 'squandered' those savings in the past by increasing the work we ask motors and turbines to do. As the donkey grows up we ask it to haul a bigger load. Heavier cars, air conditioning, bigger refrigerators, etc.
Now, if we want to use energy efficiency to reduce fuel consumption, the answer is simple. We limit increases on the load. CAFE standards do it implicitly, by mandating miles per gallon. But for motors that don't move, it might be a lot easier to achieve by limiting the size of the load. A lighter car uses less fuel. (So do lighter passengers, in case you've missed your morning workout...). But smaller refrigerators use less energy. The principle is clear, and as old as your grandmother's admonishment not to boil more water than you need for your morning tea.
I do not want the world to give up on creature comforts and the luxuries that have become necessities in the modern world. I don't think it's necessary. The machinery we use in 2079 will be twice as efficient as it is today. Let's just build into the system that we use improvements to reduce fuel consumption.
The best thing is, as with weatherising your house or office, this makes perfect sense regardless of who is right about greenhouse gases and global warming. We can leave it out of the conversation.
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