We CAN use less energy!

[BKP]

Well, why would nuclear effect fuel for cars?

Well, it wouldn't necessarily. I was thinking less total demand for oil=lower prices. However, the laws of supply and demand don't automatically apply to oil, as much as the law of the speculator and futures buyer...

 

[Cacia]

Yes, I though gas futures for individuals (locking in your price by paying up front) would catch on.

 

[jeanne001]

What did they (the people of Juneau) do to cut energy consumption?

 

[BKP]

What did they (the people of Juneau) do to cut energy consumption?

I don't know what *they* did, but if *we* had to scale back, I know exactly what would go:

- No more Reality shows (that cuts out 90% of the TV burn around here)
- Only 5 minutes of 6 Gigawatt stereo blasting a day (unless it's Classical, pop, or soft rock -- I hear those use less energy to amplify ).
- Only ONE electrical appliance on in your bedroom at a time (no more of this stereo, tv, computer, x-box, lava light, 12 lights/lamps, and i-pod accessories plugged in and on simultaneously).
- No more standing in front of the open frig for 1/2 hour waiting for something new to magically appear on one of the shelves.
- No more putting the AC down to 55, just so you can "climb under your down blanket and feel cozy" in the middle of the summer.
- No more letting the shower run for an hour on the premise that it's "warming up" while you text 10 friends on your phone, and do your last bit of "polishing" on MySpace.
- And finally, no more microwave ovens shifting into high gear after midnight because everyone thinks there should be a 4th meal of the day...

 

[Cacia]

make the kids take the bus (I loved doing that to mine)

Nag, nag, nag.

That is me doing my part.

did I say Nag?

I really cannot to the light bulb thing. I travel with bulbs. Those flourescents make me feel like I am going to be sick.
Pleas hope they get those LED's cheaper because I cannot handle those coily ones. And the mercury! As many as a I remove in hotels, I am sure I will eventually break some.

Only ONE electrical appliance on in your bedroom at a time (no more of this stereo, tv, computer, x-box, lava light, 12 lights/lamps, and i-pod accessories plugged in and on simultaneously).

Power strips with an off switch.

 

[ArcticDiver]

The posts to this thread illustrate one of the problems with energy conservation discussions. They often turn to vehicles and/or transportation instead of fixed location consumption.

They tend to ignore the massive amounts of energy that are wasted by office buildings, stores, homes, etc. Think of the amount of coal, oil and natural gas that would be either available for other uses, or would not be burned contributing to pollutiion if that electrical demand was reduced.

Some folks have said: "My electicity comes from hydro so my saving wouldn't have any effect" Wrong! With the electrical distribution grid if that hydro power were not used locally it could be shipped elsewhere.

Yep, transportation is a big consumer. But, lets' not ignore those buildings.

 

[Cacia]

But, lets' not ignore those buildings.

I have thought that as well. Your pipes would freeze though.

"My electicity comes from hydro so my saving wouldn't have any effect" Wrong! With the electrical distribution grid if that hydro power were not used locally it could be shipped elsewhere.

I think most people I know, get that.

France closes everything about 2/3 of the time...that would help. We almost starved...of course no hefties in France, no fast food, and the grocery store is always closed. You have to plan that meal waaaaay ahead. (in the county)

 

[ArcticDiver]

What did they (the people of Juneau) do to cut energy consumption?

Actually a bunch of things that cumulatively added up. What I was told they did things like:
-Dry clothes on a line instead of the dryer.
-Turn down the temperature in the hot water heater. (Many folks have theirs set to dangerous levels)
-Turn off lights and appliances when not being used.
-Many appliances use electricity even when they are "off". So, unplug or, as was suggested, turn off at a outlet strip.
-Stores turn off half the ceiling lights.
-Offices turn off all but security lights at night after the cleaners get done.
-Turn off computers when not being used.
-Turn down the thermostat and put on sweaters.

Beyond this I would be putting words in their mouths. But, to me, the real thing was that they had an incentive to get creative without adversely effecting their lifestyle.


Pipes freeze? Not at room temperatures.

 

[Cacia]

I do all that except the dryer. My stupid HOA won't allow clotheslines. We just got them to let us install solar panels.

 

[akscubainst]

What did they (the people of Juneau) do to cut energy consumption?

I'm in Juneau, We cut our home consumption almost exactly in half without doing all that much.

1. CFL light bulbs where we can, and even then maybe only 1-2 bulbs in a fixture instead of 2-4.

2. Only using the light we really need. For instance when cooking instead of having every light in the kitchen one, we only have task lighting on.

3. Using a power strip to turn off or unplugging everything especially all those little black transformer boxes, TV's, DVD players etc.

4. We aren't watching near as much TV as in the past - It's spring now and we have 17 hours of daylight so that helps. We're spending a lot more time outside.

5. We are hanging clothes (inside) this is a rain forest you know and then throwing them in the dryer for about 5 minutes just to soften them up. Also most of our laundry is washed in cold water.

6. Coffee is brewed then put in a thermos instead of left on the Mr. Coffee sucking 800W of power.

7. We're making use of the grill a lot more instead of the range.

8. Probably the biggest - turned off my PC that used to run 24/7!

So you can see we really did simple things that don't have that much impact on our lifestyle but really cut our consumption. They anticipate things to return to normal in July, I expect that our consumption will increase a little, but not back to anywhere near where it was.

Dave