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Energy Conservation and Lifestyle.
Simple question: if your lifestyle uses a lot of gas and electricity, but you can afford it, should you change your lifestyle to conserve energy?
Say you like driving Hummers, your house costs a fortune to heat and you run a hot tub year round. But you have the money, so it has no impact on you financially?
Is this wrong?
For the record, I do not own a Hummer, but I am curious if most people here think consuming energy as part of one's lifestyle is bad.
Say you like driving Hummers, your house costs a fortune to heat and you run a hot tub year round. But you have the money, so it has no impact on you financially?
Is this wrong?
For the record, I do not own a Hummer, but I am curious if most people here think consuming energy as part of one's lifestyle is bad.
Comments
According to the bleeding heart liberal global warming hippies, it's wrong and you should be ashamed of yourself! Using more energy than third world countries, the nerve of some industrialized nations!
For example. Let's say I have a bajillion dollars. I'll be able to pay the electric bill whether or not I leave the lights on when I'm not home. However, the electric bill will still be higher if I leave the lights on than if I turn them off. Even if I have a pile of money, why should I spend it on nothing? That's just pointless. You don't become or stay wealthy by wasting money so irresponsibly.
Now, of course, you could save even more energy. You could, for example, turn your computers off when you aren't using them. However, unlike lightbulbs, this actually results in inconvenience. You have to wait for computers to boot up. You can't access them remotely if they are off. You can't have them serve things, or execute scheduled tasks when you are away from home. You might save on the electric bill, but you would actually lose something.
In summary, no matter how rich you are, there's no excuse to leave lights on when you aren't home. But nobody is going to tell you to turn the lights off while you're using them.
However, that being said, I do have an issue with carbon emissions and energy usage, mainly due to the whole global warming issue. With a wind turbine made from PVC pipe and a treadmill motor, along with some decent solar cells, you can lower power needs a decent amount, especially for a small house. I'm kind of hardcore about my own personal green living (within reason; as we've been finding recently, building houses solely out of recycled materials is a bad idea), but I refuse to impose my beliefs on others. Take your Hummer to work; I'll bike, and I'll still treat you like a person.
I've been fancifully designing a small (small footprint) retreat to be either rural or on a mountain somewhere, filled with books, low power-drain tech, and stuff to just allow me to work peacefully when need be, and maybe house a few guests from time to time. Current plans call for a power grid built on solar panels and one or two turbines to drive most of the gear inside. The rest of the high-power gear [AC units (slim form-factors), the washer/dryer, and anything else] can be supplied from the existing grid, which can provide backup power in the event that the turbines fail. There's a TON of other ideas with this (three stories, solar-heated water, etc.), but that would make this post take forever.
Call it my Geekwochenendenhaus.
I am also with the idea that you should get what you need and a people carrier is a better choice than a hummer.
Scott and I are actually on the same page about this, only he worries about money, whereas I worry about environmental impact.
I've also heard that even if you compare the exact same car between the US and another country that the US version is bigger. So for example a Honda Civic from the US is bigger and roomier than a Honda civic from other places. I've heard it said that this is so fat americans can fit in the car.
I'm with all of you on the waste part. I turn things off when I'm not using them. The Porsche does tend to sit, but it is nice to look at as well as drive (although it is in for the winter now). So, I like to the think the Porsche doubles as art.
I use a homebrew power control similar to X10 modules. I only built it as a hobby project, but since I've wired up most of the lights and outlets in my home to relay boards, I've actually noticed a significant drop in my power bill.
Would they would get so defensive if they didn't feel guilty already? It's like when someone is confronted with a threat to their beliefs, and and they believe (but refuse to consciously admit) that threat carries some weight? Otherwise, I don't understand why they get so angry.
The reason you don't complain about the price of fuel is probably due to it being more of a necessity for you. When prices go up, you aren't the kind of person hit badly.
You seriously had to look outside for a car brand? ¬___¬?
It has been said that if someone enjoys an activity that makes unnecessary use of a limited resource over which wars have been waged, hands funds over to unstable and corrupt governments AND the use of this resource contributes to air pollution which (regardless of global warming issues) has a negative effect on the environment (acid rain) and on human health (major respiratory diseases), then it is not wasteful or harmful.
Does the enjoyment of any number of people really validate harm?
Is it okay for someone to hunt an endangered species (a limited resource whose loss could throw a delicate ecosystem further out of whack) just because they enjoy it?
@Mrs Macross, an interesting idea but you are using absolutes instead of a sliding scale. Petrol companies are going to be corrupt, the people who live in a country with oil are probably never going to see any of the money the oil produces and the environment is going to get ruined but instead of telling people to just stop using cars for recreation outright you could try and ask them to find better ways to continue doing what they're doing. i.e. (?) asking them to back legislation for the betterment of electric cars.
I agree with the point you make, somewhat. In the case of hunting, such has to be regulated anyway. In the case of someone driving their car for fun, yes, I agree that the fuel used is a waste, to some degree, but how different is it from me laughing at a picture of a man's stretched up asshole on my computer? It too uses energy, energy that has been generated by burning the same resource that wars have been waged over. I don't think you can go and make people feel bad for doing something they enjoy. Besides that, hunters can hunt non-endangered species and have the same enjoyment out of hunting.
EDIT:What? I'm just asking. As reason to why you said "Fiat" you give that there are Fiats outside your window. At which point I wonder, if he had to look outside for a car brand, how does he know they are two 126's and a Doblo? No huge attitude, sir. Just asking.