What does everyone want?

A positive expansive get up and go America?

A negative regulate tax cut down and save America?

—————-

Energy does not need to be saved.
There is no energy shortage, and if there was, the price rise would reduce use anyway
No need for all the current fuel efficiency / energy efficiency regulations
on what cars or light bulbs or anything else Americans want to use.

If imported oil becomes a worry
- just stick a tax on it,
and American oil instead has low or no tax.
Life can be simple – and life can be hard.

Now,
fossil fuel has been getting a raw deal lately.

Is the fuel the problem?
No.

Are CO2 emissions the problem?
Maybe: But the issue is not just whether CO2 contributes to global warming, the issue is how much reducing such emissions is going to HALT any global warming.

However, since it is good to reduce emissions for all else the emissions contain,
is oil/coal/gas therefore bad?
Still no.

Schwarze Pumpe (coal, Germany) Lacq (gas, France) are already functioning examples of emission capture and carbon storage.

In America, at Georgia Tech, similar emission processing has been developed for gasolene fuelled cars.

In other words:
All fuels should be treated equally and neutrally in any legislation.

Power stations can have phased in emission limits – regardless of fuel used.
Cars can have emission taxation (retaining choice of cars, and again regardless of fuel).
Fuel efficiency regulation on cars is as wrong as energy efficiency regulation is on other appliances, for reasons explained in other comments, and on the http://www.ceolas.net website.

Now,
emission reduction can actually be done relatively simply and with low cost impact to consumers – and with advantages
regardless of whether CO2 reduction itself is relevant or not,
within a new energy policy
See
http://www.ceolas.net/#cc1x

Electricity Generation
http://www.ceolas.net/#ge1x
Coal/Gas Carbon Solutions — Nuclear/Renewable Development
Grid Expansion
Supergrids, an Internet of Electricity
Grid Storage
The use of Energy Banks
Electricity Distribution and Consumer Smart Metering