But be careful and be thrifty.
More importantly, be sensible, be imformed; don't be a gullible, niave, or stupid consumer!
Listen, the solution is out there, not a total end-all, be-all fix but a good start.
Look around you & you can see the pre-existing waste.
I read this the other day, "80 % of the building we will be utilizing in 2030 already exist." (utilityexchange.org) They waste energy!
Read the following report synopsis and figure it out.
Americans used less energy overall in 2008, according to a Livermore Lab report, and more of that energy came from renewable sources.
The report from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory says the United States used 99.2 quadrillion BTUs, or “quads” of energy in 2008, down from 101.5 quads in 2007.
Do you know why we used less energy, because we are tired of paying the higher price for energy, (i.e. we are more aware)
Imagine if we did retrofits to cut every building's energy consumption by 10-20% ~ as opposed to just paying closer attention. Don't get me wrong~ paying close attention is a good thing.
True, meaningful, long term fixes; tighten 'em up, proper ventilation, fix those gaps, cracks, & holes. Lets test, not just guess. The technology is there for documented improvement and it's not that complicated
Look, 10% of 99 Quadrillion BTU's ; that number has alot of zeros on it (12)
If we trim up the waste & reduce the number of power plants we are going to need in the future
then Uncle Sam won't be telling us what we can & can't do, where we drive, how far, how fast, or what temperature our house can stay at, what lights we can have on, when we do laundry, what time we cook, how we live!!!!
Lets fix what we already have and focus on the pre-existing waste that is costing us all precious money and dwindling natural resources.
