David B. Goldstein has worked on energy efficiency and energy policy since the 1970s.
Dr. Goldstein has been instrumental in the development of energy efficiency standards for new buildings and appliances currently in effect at the regional and national level in the United States, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China.
David B. Goldstein received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley, is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the recipient of its Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002 and the California Alumni Association’s 2003 Award for Excellence in Achievement.
Posted April 19, 2012 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Once again, the news this week points out weakness in the economy, concentrating on lower home sales. Despite a general tone of optimism on the economy, home sales are weak and prices still have not stabilized. One cause of this...continued→
Posted February 7, 2012 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Paul Krugman wrote on February 6th that January’s favorable jobs report may be a harbinger of economic recovery. But he lists a precondition: that housing must recover. “The main thing standing in the way of a housing bounce-back is a...continued→
Posted January 27, 2012 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
I have come across a number of blogs from conservatives that attack Smart Growth – land use planning to revitalize older communities, protect sensitive areas, and enable more walkable neighborhoods – based on fundamental misunderstandings of what Smart Growth means...continued→
Posted January 17, 2012 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
How big is the potential for energy efficiency? At first, the only serious answers were provided by environmental advocates and national laboratories, and for credibility we had to be “conservative”—that is, to provide a low-ball estimate. More recent studies by...continued→
Posted December 27, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, U.S. Law and Policy
Recent economic news is not encouraging. The New York Times reports that when it comes to recovery, “experts see a false dawn.” One particularly troubling area is housing, where a new report shows home sales were 4 percent lower this...continued→
Posted December 14, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Recovery from the recession of 2007 seems to have been predicted for the very next quarter ever since 2009, even as the problems of joblessness continue without improvement. Housing construction, down by 75% since the crash, is a focus of...continued→
Posted September 20, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming
The anti-clean-energy echo chamber has been publicizing the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a manufacturer of solar energy panels, arguing that the President’s clean energy job creation program is ineffective. But most of this criticism is just political posturing and not really...continued→
Posted September 6, 2011 by David Goldstein in Solving Global Warming, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
That seems to be the principle that motivates Joseph Bottum’s article, “It’s green and blue, but not bright”, recently published in the Weekly Standard. Because from beginning to end, Mr. Bottum makes up religious narratives, historical narratives, legal analyses, and...continued→
Posted August 26, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Today the Department of Energy announced a new set of efficiency standards for refrigerators, the seventh set of state and federal standards for refrigerators over the past 35 years. DOE estimates that the 30-year savings from this new requirement will...continued→
Posted July 22, 2011 by David Goldstein in Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
As the major cities of the East Coast joined in on the suffering from the heat wave that has lingered over the central parts of the country, and both Washington DC and New York set heat and humidity records, here...continued→
Posted July 22, 2011 by David Goldstein in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
As Congress and the Administration debate how to spark an economic recovery—a goal that seems to be receding every month—none of the discussion addresses the one policy that could actually get adopted with bipartisan support and make a difference: expanded...continued→
Posted May 9, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution
Every few years, a new report emerges that tries to resurrect an old hypothesis: that energy efficiency policy somehow results in consumers using more energy instead of less. This hypothesis was introduced in the 19th Century by economist William Stanley...continued→
Posted April 22, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
The economic news continues to yo-yo from optimism to pessimism—back and forth. Corporate profits are up but wages are down, mortgage defaults are decreasing in some areas and increasing in others, oil prices are above $100 a barrel, causing losses...continued→
Posted April 15, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
In Wednesday’s Washington Post, you can find four articles on energy efficiency policies and economic recovery. But the authors apparently don’t see the big picture, and are missing an opportunity to warn their readers about how our nation’s economic proposals...continued→
Posted February 17, 2011 by David Goldstein in Curbing Pollution
I'm co-authoring this blog post with my colleague Ralph Cavanagh, senior attorney and co-director of NRDC's energy program. Throughout almost four decades of societal progress in getting more work out of less energy, those who deny the promise of energy...continued→
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