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Environmental Awareness - Energy Saving In the USA
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| Jarvmeister |
Serious post:
I'm curious to know how things are developing in the States with regard to energy efficiency.
In the UK we started to become very aware about 2 or 3 years ago, and now do all we can to save energy, and in turn to save money.
What's the feeling in the States at the moment? Has energy savings reached fever pitch like they have in the UK? What products, if any, are there on the market to help you save energy?
This is an area of interest for me, and I wanted to see if I could get a snapshot of the way things stand across the pond.........
Jarv |
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| nchs09 |
| light bulbs... low water using toilets. Thats all we really have in our house to save energy. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| I think that the move toward "urbanization" of suburban areas and pedestrian-friendly planning in some areas of the U.S. is motivated at least in part by concerns for energy economy. |
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| Sadface |
It's become more of an issue in recent years, and is really gaining momentum now that gas prices are so high. Energy use statistics are readily available for all appliances, and there is a way for appliances to be certified as energy efficient, but I don't know how many people actually pay attention to it. Compact fluorescent bulbs are becoming very popular, and california is going to make the sale of regular incandescent bulbs illegal very soon (I forgot the date). Hybrid cars are becoming extremely popular in the area where I live, but from what I understand they're still a novelty in other parts of the country.
Chevrolet is also coming out with a plug in hybrid that will be able to go 30 miles on pure battery power before using the gas engine, which is definitely going to be awesome, and probably the first new car I purchase. I know many people who are excited about it, but I don't think the people I hang out with are a representative sample of the general american population. :( |
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| gehzumteufel |
| We just need to stop investing so much in cars, and start investing billions in a public transit network. And we need to allow joint projects between the government and the public to do this. Europe already does, why don't we? Oh that's right. The US has to reinvent the ing wheel before it can make a car that Europe has had for 20 years. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by gehzumteufel
We just need to stop investing so much in cars, and start investing billions in a public transit network. And we need to allow joint projects between the government and the public to do this. Europe already does, why don't we? |
Because anything to do with government (except for the military) is baaaaaaaaaad.
Baaaaaaaad. :rolleyes: |
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| gehzumteufel |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
Because anything to do with government (except for the military) is baaaaaaaaaad.
Baaaaaaaad. :rolleyes: |
hahaha I know. ing idiots. |
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| Jarvmeister |
In the UK, fuel prices are rising rapidly. The cost of electricity therefore has risen sharply.
In order to save as much energy as possible we're having to think really hard about things that we leave on but don't need to leave on. There are many products that have stormed the market, and 'online green shops' are doing a roaring trade in types of device like this:
http://www.byebyestandby.co.uk/
This device, for example, will save you as much money as you spend on it within about 8-10 months. Products like these tend to sell themselves, the motivation being that if you couldn't care less about the environment - surely you must care for your wallet?
I guess what I'm interested in knowing is whether the US has jumped on the bandwagon yet? As far as I can see from Google searches I think, for once, the States are behind the UK in this industry.
Jarv |
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| epdarks |
| We are jumping on the bandwagon, yes, but we are way behind where we need to be. |
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| gehzumteufel |
| A quick way to kill standby, is by turning the option off in the ones that support it. Or just turn off the power strip they are on! People are ing stupid. They have most of their electronics in the same area, and therefore on a power strip. All these power strips have power switches on them that can turn it off totally. |
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| Jarvmeister |
| quote: | Originally posted by gehzumteufel
A quick way to kill standby, is by turning the option off in the ones that support it. Or just turn off the power strip they are on! People are ing stupid. They have most of their electronics in the same area, and therefore on a power strip. All these power strips have power switches on them that can turn it off totally. |
Which is the point of the product I posted. Plug one of these into every one of those sockets in your house, and with one touch of button you switch everything off. Used and applied in the right way you can save a hell of a lot of energy year upon year. |
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| gehzumteufel |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jarvmeister
Which is the point of the product I posted. Plug one of these into every one of those sockets in your house, and with one touch of button you switch everything off. Used and applied in the right way you can save a hell of a lot of energy year upon year. |
Not everything you plug in uses standby though. So why would you buy them and allow them to sit around? That is just as wasteful and not being green. |
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