There is a poll on the USA Today online, asking how America could become less dependent on imported oil.
At least when I voted, there were more people voting in favor of increasing domestic drilling (meaning perhaps the AWR) than the favorite option of the GH forum members: getting a more fuel efficient vehicle.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/snapsho...2006-07-18-oil

 

That is because most people (at least in the US) are naive, short-sighted, and lazy. They would rather sacrifice our planet than consider changing their lifestyles.

I won't vote in the poll because we should be doing all three of the other options....buying more efficient vehicles, raising gas taxes to motivate people to buy more efficient vehicles, and expand our use and availability of alternative fuels and vehicles (not necessarily the likes of E85 corn burners - rather increasing wind/solar power and working on hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles that don't produce CO2 and other pollutants.)

 

How about the "let's drive less" or "use public transit" or "walk rather than drive" options ? Isn't conservation an option to reduce U.S.'s dependency on foreign oil ?

To me the damage to the planet is more important than foreign oil dependency... but maybe some of the damage is done to get the foreign oil

 

Good points. Driving less is certainly an important option....just like turning off lights when you leave a room. Afterall, we burn alot of oil (and coal) to produce all of that juicy electricity.

 

Speaking of conservation... When I bought my house five years ago, I made it a point to purchase only CF tubes instead of incandescent bulbs. Aside from the fact that these bulbs last for years, not months, they also burn cooler (and thus they don't heat your house in summer). Every four CF bulbs use the electricity of one standard tungsten bulb.

If everyone switched to CF bulbs, there'd be less coal burned in the power plants and more spare capacity for the day that PHEV cars become viable for the mainstream buyer.

Just my two-cents on the subject

 

I've got CF lights in a number of locations like outdoor lights and hallway lights that stay on most of the night. In other rooms we have mostly traditional lights because the CF's take a while to reach their full brightness.

 

Dimmer switches are also a good way of saving electricity, unfortunately they don't work with CF bulbs. All bathrooms and rooms that don't have CF bulbs in our house have dimmers, they are great for small kids and people that get up at night. ...dimmer switches can also improve your love life

 

Unfortunately the results of this poll are not surprising to anyone. Why make changes to use less when we can just buy more? Better yet, what if we can drill more, refine more, and make gas cheaper so that we can use as much as we like without spending as much money? Laziness is appealing, where as buying a "toy car," "driving like a pansy," and "sacrificing mobility" are not. We spin it any way we can to jusify our old ways.

Something we can all do to help: lead by example. Without preaching, demonstrate to friends, family, coworkers, etc. that using less doesn't have to be painful. Just a little different. Be gentle but consistent about it and they will start to pay attention when they are ready.