Carrots & sticks will drive energy change
We don’t have to sit around waiting and hoping for a “magic bullet” that can solve all our energy, resource and environmental problems. There’s plenty of technology available today — and new technologies emerging all the time — that, if we use it, can dramatically cut our consumption levels and costs.
Sure, some of the more exciting innovations can come with steep price-tags. However much we might want to, many of us won’t be rushing out the door to buy the newly released all-electric Nissan Leaf (manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $32,780) or Chevy Volt ($40,280) simply because we don’t have the cash. And, after seeing the post-holiday balance in our bank accounts, we might not be eager to shell out $50 for a single light-bulb … even though GE’s new 9-watt Energy Smart LED promises an $85 savings over its remarkable advertised lifespan of 22.8 years.
On the other hand, a $50 modlet — for “modern” and “outlet” — from ThinkEco might seem like a worthwhile purchase, considering it can quickly turn a standard electrical outlet into a smart outlet that automatically stops the vampire energy drain of appliances that are switched off or not in use but still plugged in. Set to be available to consumers this spring, the modlet will pay for itself in six months or less, according to ThinkEco.
Still, gadgets and goodies alone, no matter how smart, aren’t likely to get us all the way to full sustainability. That goal will be reached only if we can change our behaviour on a society-wide level, adjusting everything from what we eat to how we travel. Sound impossible? It might not be as unreachable a goal as you might think.
Yes, society in the developed world is addicted to a host of unsustainable habits, while people in developing countries like China, India and Brazil are hoping en masse to adopt similar lifestyles. Calls for low-impact living are especially derided in the US, where big trucks, artery-choking “meat-glorbs” and inefficient incandescent lighting are considered birthrights. But things really can change.
As researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory note, other historically common behaviours in the US — smoking, not using seat-belts and drunk driving, for instance — have been dramatically reduced over recent decades. They’re studying behavioural records and trends to try and identify which strategies could best encourage people to be more energy-aware. In the case of seat-belt use, for example, public education campaigns appear to have made a difference … but so too has stepped-up law enforcement and fines for violators.
It’ll probably take a combination of carrots and sticks to get people to adopt more energy-efficient lifestyles. Considering the hits to the pocketbook US motorists could soon be feeling from $5 a gallon petrol, greener habits could become fashionable sooner than you think.
