The second oil crisis of 1979 had just ended when the Government of Sri Lanka decided in 1982 to place energy efficiency and demand management as the top priority, with the energy ministry functioning directly under the President.

The United States could save about $600 billion in energy costs by 2020 if it hiked annual efficiency spending about five-fold, business consultants McKinsey and Co said in a report on Wednesday.

Pune Spurred by the energy audit that has shown the way to saving power, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to take up the energy audit of all its buildings from hospitals, schools, gardens to the one lakh street lights in the city so that it could reduce its electricity bill of Rs 1.75 crore per month.

The Delhi Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code in government buildings and building complexes to bring down the estimated average energy use for new buildings by 25 per cent to 40 per cent.

In a rare exercise, the state has decided to conduct energy audit of seven government buildings.

The aim is to find out how much energy is being wasted by these buildings. Ways to conserve energy will also be suggested.

Public awareness about the "catastrophe" of climate change is not high enough to pressure politicians into taking action, former Vice President Al Gore said on Tuesday.

Gore, who shared a Nobel Prize in 2007 for his environmental campaigning, said politicians will only do more once the people who elect them force the issue.

The Energy Research Institute (TERI) said it was disappointed with the Union Budget 2009-10, considering the fact that Central government has the mandate to carry out reforms in the energy and environment sectors.

ENLIGHTENING: Actor R.Sarath Kumar switches on an LED light bulb as part of the run-up to the 99999 lights-out campaign, in Chennai on Sunday. Exnora International Founder M.B.Nirmal is in the picture.

The ever-increasing demand for power and its low generation calls for the use of energy saving devices. It is a good sign that India too is fast waking up to the need for use of energy-efficient lighting.

New power-efficiency specifications being implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday could help consumers purchase energy-efficient electronics while cutting energy costs.