Opposition to Myths About Energy

Opposition to Conservative Reasoning
and Economic Theory

by Scotland Willis

A recent article in a the Atlanta Journal- Constitution(Feb 11, 2012), highlighted "myths about saving energy."  Unfortunately this line of thinking only reinforces the ignorance that much of the world perceives regarding its interpretation of the of the United States and its sense of arrogance.  

While this may seem like a extreme position to take, look at the numbers before I go into explaining why poor reasoning regarding whether or not behaving more consciously about individual usage, is the greatest harm.

The United States uses collectively, 3.7 billion Megawatt Hours/ year (mWh/ year) as per 2009 numbers*. In 2010, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 11,496 kWh, an average of 958 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month. Tennessee had the highest annual consumption at 16,716 kWh and Maine the lowest at 6,252 kWh.

An example of energy usage available via pdf produced by National Grid: Ten 100-watt lamps, when on for one hour, consume 1 kilo-watt-hour (kWh).  A 60 watt bulb running for 4 hours equals about a pound of coal.

Returning to the dispute; one should not be opposed to people understanding the individual economic impact of wasting energy; it is critical however, to be acutely cognizant of the greater collective impact.  One could easily argue that if I lived alone on this earth and randomly threw my waste everywhere and anywhere in my wake, it would have marginal impact in comparison to what the environment could in its decomposition process, but multiply that times 260 million people and we have a real problem.  Economic theory suggest that we hold constant explanatory variables other than the one under consideration, i.e., accept that considering the micro economics of individuals having too small an impact to matter, is irrelevant; this paradigm can no longer hold true.  The value of externalities and the increased rate at which we are decimating the environment is too significant a factor to be dismissed.  Such elements are too intertwined to not consider extrapolating the observations to create a more meaningful understanding of our individual responsibility- even if it seems as minute as $3.00.  If we could get 260 million people to donate $3.00 each day (which could serve as an example of how much energy we waste, thought the number is much higher), what affect would that have on poverty (2.847e+11); you'll want to add some zeros on for that "11"?

We need to be constantly conscious of our individual actions as we risk losing the opportunity to shift the behavior of everyone around us.  This discussion was prompted not only by the article, but by a heated discussion between my father and myself.  For him he argued that I could not quantify the significance of leaving a refrigerator door open for 10 seconds versus 3 seconds- which completely misses the point.  The point is if we collectively close our refrigerator door sooner, we (260,000,000 people) will have the kind of meaningful impact that would not only protect the environment a bit more, but also shift the perception that gluttony is a way of life in the United States.  A simple look at our rate of obesity and the trend therein, should reflect another serious indicator that our behavior needs to shift.    




*Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Sound on the Charles

 Sitting dockside on the Charles River, enjoying the usual sounds of the river currents rushing the docks continuing towards the shoreline, I stop to enjoy the sights, something I would not usually be able to enjoy until late April mid May. The temp is about 50 degrees and the city soundscape of Boston fills the backdrop, reminding me why I enjoy my time here so much.  What should be a cold winter day is substituted for an unseasonably mild 54 degrees as foretasted by local meteorologists.  Apparently it will be like this for the remainder of the week.  Last year this time it was a mere 28 degrees.  It... is... a ...day.  

While in some cities you might enjoy the weather, the beaches, night life or theater; you might even enjoy an abundance of those things; Boston however has just the right balance of all of these amenities.  Compact and filled like nuts in a Snickers bar, Boston is very satisfying. Boston can be viewed as the Little Big City or the big little city- it's true.  All of this in a compact area makes it easy to act as an ambassador to the City.

  Highland Park is my most favorite area in Boston. From here you have access to every one of the most interesting aspects of the City- all within fifteen minutes.  From the Museum of Fine Arts (mfa) to the USS Constitution, from Fenway Park to the theater district- all are nearby.  Perhaps the most charming attribute of Highland Park in Boston, is it's suburban feel. 50-75 year old trees line back yards and streets- a feature found in few other areas in Boston, with such density- though each neighborhood has its uniqueness. But here one can feel as though they can get comfortably lost while remaining in the City- this is the place to be.


 If mild weather glitches have you eagerly anticipating the more permanent warmer days slow your role for just a bit- it's coming.  Before you know it you will find yourself making regular visits to the Charles River.  Whether you like to walk, run, cycle or just sit and observe, the Charles is a great retreat. Do you hear it?  It's calling you.
As this new 2012 season of tourism approaches, visitors be mindful; you won't want to miss Boston this year.  And feel free to visit Puddingstone Place Bed and Breakfast- it is equally beautiful; and of course it is in Highland Park.

An Authority in the Field

Being an authority in sustainability is not as important as being able to lead others to walk a sustainable path.  For example, there are 831 scientist appointed to the 5th climate assessment panel for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  While that sounds rather impressive, and it is, it does not make the knowledge sharer impressive- this is more to the point.

There is a certain benevolence among the community truly committed to growing the number of people actively participating in climate initiatives and efforts.  It seems sometimes that the real expertise manifests in behavior; it is not necessarily the expert that convinces people, but the persuader that is most successful.  Think about advertising, the woman in the skimpy shirt and panties, the man with the low cut jeans; they are no expert in manufacturing jeans or even health and fitness, but you listen to their message- buy these jeans dammit and you will look good like me.  And what happens, millions of people go out and make their purchase on a most unreliable source.

So with 831 experts in their field, why is it so difficult to move a society closer to climate consciousness?  We are creatures of habit and comfort.  This may be one of the human conditions that plagues us the worst, certainly among the top ten.  In fact when is the last time you watch or responded to the stock market rising or falling.  Heck we have so much belief in the stock market, not a day goes by where we are persuaded to believe that our day is not complete without us determine based on some"one", else's opinion, that the world economy is going to collapse because the some country's market dropped 1%.

Now imagine if we gave that much weight to the environment.  What would happen if we responded to a 1% change in the ecosystem, the way we do when the financial markets shift.  We might think very differently about the Amazon Rain Forest.  Such a shift in our behavior might result in a cataclysmic shift in our decision making.

In a recent article in Time Magazine, Ecuador want to be paid not to destroy the rain forest in their geographic area.  It is a very interesting article, but more importantly it is forces us to take a real hard look at externalities (assessing a value to attributes we over look). I would say that the world could probably come up with $3.6 billion dollars to protect the rain forest for 13 years- seems like a pretty good value.  As a matter of fact, I think I going to reach into my pocket right now and that spare $3 billion I have just sitting around.  All joking aside, why is it we have hordes of people telling us the significance of climate issues and our response is less than admirable?  Comfort is a likely answer.

We have got to work harder to do more to persuade others to act more responsibly.  Maybe it is more time out of our day, more money, better yet, more individual innovation that will help move people's stale thinking about climate extremes.  And whatever you do, don't try to scare people into being more responsible, they will just shut down and that won't do anyone or anything any good.  Let's go back to the sexy women and men of advertising; it is not often that you feel threatened by their ads, they can be down right persuasive.  Employ similar techniques, at least in principle.  No need to start stripping down, though some women in the Ukraine, have been known to take advocacy to such a level somewhat successfully.  Hmmm, perhaps the tides are changing.

Good fortune to all!