Energy efficiency: A clue to politically feasible climate policy

Our federal government and many state and local governments have been promoting energy efficiency for decades. It is hard to argue against efficiency. Why would anyone want to waste something that costs money, like energy? If I can drive a car forty miles on a gallon of gas, why would I want to spend twice the money if the same car got twenty miles to the gallon? If I can heat my home for 2/3 the price with insulated windows, why wouldn’t I want to install those windows if I could? While the goal of energy efficiency is not controversial, the means of achieving efficiency can be a subject of debate.