The increasing awareness of lighting inefficiency and the billions of dollars of potential annual energy savings that can be achieved by switching to LED lighting has resulted in many government-funded research initiatives around the world. In addition, governments in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia have responded to the growing need for energy conservation by passing legislation that regulates or eliminates the sale of incandescent and halogen light bulbs by a certain date. However, though increasing consumers' awareness of the inefficiency of other light sources can help increase the adoption of LED lighting, regulations that focus on enforcing energy-efficient lighting are likely to work better. One example is California's Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, or Title 24, that provides a set of mandatory regulations covering all aspects of new building construction. The Residential Lighting section of Title 24 requires that a high-efficiency light source be used in several areas of the home, including the kitchen and bathrooms, and that all outdoor light fixtures must either use energy-efficient bulbs, or must be controlled by light and motion sensors.

This passage achieves all of the following purposes EXCEPT:

A. It implies that LED lighting will become a necessity of the future.
B. It explains one way governments are forcing people to switch to LED lighting.
C. It cites a regulation that enforces the use of high-efficiency light sources.
D. It describes how LED lighting is more energy efficient than incandescent lighting.
E. It implies that government-funded research on energy efficiency is essential.



The author lists several countries and continents in order to

A. show the places that have been most affected by lighting inefficiency.
B. imply that most countries do not take lighting inefficiency seriously enough.
C. explain that only a minority of governments believe that lighting inefficiency is a problem.
D. prove that legislation to control lighting inefficiency is extremely effective.
E. indicate the governments that have taken initiatives to conserve energy.



"Mandatory" most nearly means

A. provisional.
B. permanent.
C. predetermined.
D. discretionary.
E. obligatory.