Monday, August 3, 2009

Conservation is Key

A solar cell made from a monocrystalline silic...Image via Wikipedia

John Ward of the Solar Store offered his insight on energy policy recently on Local Bias. He mentioned that the average american household uses 29 kilowatt hours per day. He and his partner Claire use 4. This past month, my family used 8 kilowatt hours per day.
We do not have an energy crisis. We have an energy waste crisis. Because their own usage is so small, and they have a modest solar electric system; John and Claire use almost no energy generated by nuclear, coal, or bio-mass plants.
It is difficult for big business to monopolize root-tops. It is also difficult for them to monopolize the sun. Our present energy policy reflects the desires of the big energy companies to treat energy as an expensive commodity. I don't feel it serves our society, but it is reflective of our collective idolatry of capitalism.
Being a wise consumer of energy is something that each one of us can pursue. We can also write our representatives in government and let them know how we feel.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

No comments:

Post a Comment