Carter was “the first president to pass a law on energy efficiency standards that had teeth,” says Jay Hakes, a former administrator of the Energy Information Administration and former director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.
The public debate over burning natural gas in homes has largely ignored gas-powered furnaces, water heaters, and other appliances, but they also create health and environmental challenges.
New household washing machines, refrigerators and freezers will be subject to more stringent energy-efficiency requirements under rules proposed by the Department of Energy last week.
