by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Many Americans believe they can conserve energy by taking relatively inconsequential steps, such as turning off lights, while ignoring far more important measures, according to a new survey.
The survey of residents in 34 states, conducted by researchers at Columbia University's Earth Institute, said that only 2 to 3 percent of Americans cited major energy-saving steps – such as purchasing energy-efficient cars and appliances, and weatherizing homes – as being important in cutting energy consumption.
Yet nearly 20 percent of Americans cited turning off lights as the best approach to conserving energy – an action that, claim some, saves very little electricity.
I must say that I do no stand with that claim for if we all but turned off lights not in use and replaced all those that are used a lot with CFLs things would be a little better already in the energy savings department.
Researchers said most Americans focus on what they can do that is cheap and easy at the moment, and do not think about the importance of taking basic steps, such as buying high-mileage vehicles.
My advice here would be not to think about buying a new car at all but simply using the old one less, much less, and switch to walking, cycling and public transportation.
Another problem, researchers said, is that the public suffers from a "single-action bias," meaning that after doing one or two things to save small amounts of energy, people feel they have done enough.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said the survey results show that environmental groups, scientists, and government officials have failed to effectively communicate the relatively painless steps people can take to slash their energy consumption.
When it comes to cluelessness with regards to the great American public I very much doubt that it is only about energy-efficiency and such. The same cluelessness extends to the reduce, reuse and recycle, especially as far as reusing is concerned.
Then again, the American public is not alone there either. The Brits are just as bad in that area.
Weatherizing our homes is one of the most important step as regards to reduction in energy consumption that we can make but not everyone can do so. Renters, for instance, cannot, legally often, take such step in their homes and neither do they want to, even when the homes are owned by the local municipality, for they do not own those homes.
The property where I live, for instance, is owned by the local council and nothing is being done to weatherize it. Drafts are cumming through everywhere and even though theoretically the municipality is supposedly duty bound to reduce heat loss and such from their properties they seem to be able to cite “lack of funds” for not doing it.
I also would love to have solar and wind but again that is not possible at present as the councils still object to such installations, even if I would pay for it and do it myself.
We still have a long way to go and thus, maybe, it is not surprising that many people questioned in the survey did not have much of an idea.
It also points to the fact that we, in the green media, have to do a lot more education so that people come to understand what really needs to be done and the general media has an even greater role to play there, methinks.
© 2010
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