After seven months of writing energy efficiency I was shocked to see a study done by Accenture
that was so full of contradictions I just shook my head. It was verified, over the weekend, as I talked to a friend, down south, who was complaining about the energy bills. I did a bit of interrogating to find out that there was little to no insulation in the attic and the single pane windows rattled in their frame.
But the study showed a widespread attitude with energy efficiency. Look at these numbers;
* 90 percent of consumers are concerned or extremely concerned by rising energy costs and 76 percent by the prospect of energy shortages.Now those numbers seem reasonable and I understand the importance, but then there are these;
* 37 percent say using less energy is the answer to limit their country's reliance on fossil fuels, and 36 percent say that using less energy is the answer to reducing reliance on foreign countries providing oil and gas.Over the past months I have laid out money saving opportunities including insulation, energy efficient appliances, HVAC, and air conditioning systems. Those articles also included solar, wind, coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy, the advantages and disadvantages. Of course it isn't just these articles, Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu has been saying the same thing well before he was named Secretary of Energy. Secretary Chu points to the McKinsey report stating that the U.S. could save between $680 billion and $1.2 trillion in the next decade. That is almost equal to the bailout or the healthcare bill. And then there is the National Academies found that early implementation of cost-effective technologies in buildings could reduce energy with a payback period of two to three years.
And then there are the job opportunities where multiple reports estimate two million jobs just related to energy efficiency. That would lower the unemployment rate by at least two points. And then there are the secondary jobs that would reduce the number by at least another point. Then there is the reduction in carbon dioxide that is contributing to the global climate change. So I can't understand why anyone would be so negative about saving money, reducing the national debt, make their homes more comfortable and doing something for the environment.
That is probably why James Lovelock made the statement "Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change from radically impacting on our lives over the coming decades." Or it may be the reason why this April there will be a documentary called The Age of Stupid released in the U.S. It does bring into question what happened to American sensibility and why so many are fighting energy efficiency. You would think that more people would listen to Harry Truman when he said "Continuous research by our best scientists is the key to American scientific leadership and true national security. This indispensable work may be made impossible by the creation of an atmosphere in which no man feels safe against the public airing of unfounded rumors, gossip, and vilification. Such an atmosphere is un-American."
http://climateprogress.org/2010/03/17/chu-explains-the-energy-efficiency-opportunity/
http://climateprogress.org/2009/07/29/mckinsey-energy-efficiency-report/
http://www.aceee.org/pubs/ed922.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/mar/29/james-lovelock-climate-change