Energy is a limited resource. Oil reserves will run out one day, although as energy expert Paul Roberts points out in his 2005 book "The End of Oil," nobody is quite sure when this will be, since new reserves may be discovered at any time. Several other forms of energy on which there is mass dependence are finite too. However, if states conserve their energy resources, it stands to reason they will last longer. State-led energy conservation initiatives are one way of achieving this goal.
Conserving existing energy resources gives the world more time to develop new energy production systems, such as those that harness the power of waves or the wind. In their book "Energy Systems Engineering," chemical engineers Michael Georgiadis and Efstratios Pistikopoulos say there is an urgent need to roll out new energy-producing systems that have proved effective on a small scale and in tests. Further, the world needs time to do the research necessary to develop more systems, test them rigorously and make them available to a worldwide market.
Every system works best at maximum efficiency. If states have the capacity to conserve energy, it means they are not using energy as efficiently as they could be. Essentially, this means energy that could be saved is being wasted. It is in everyone's interest to try and ensure that energy is not wasted. Not only is wasting energy inefficient, but it contributes to price hikes and inflation. This impacts the economy in negative ways, causing global repercussions.
According to the Energy Information Administration, in the last 30 years, residential use of electricity to power appliances and electronic devices has almost doubled. This has occurred partly because more of these pieces of equipment have come on the market and people are buying more of them and using them more often. Federal energy efficiency standards are in place to keep energy use in check, and if states conserve energy, they can contribute massively to that program.