do it yourself, diy, articles and information, how to
Search:  
Energy saving not saving Consumers. - Read the following do it yourself/diy article to discover more about Energy saving not saving Consumers. and more about Green Energy Living. - Information and article directory provided by S&S Designed Landscaping and The Landscape Design Site.

Home | Green Energy Living


Energy saving not saving Consumers.

Changing the habits and attitudes of the public, on saving energy, is no small task and is hampered by differences in socially accepted values of each nation. Many European countries are light years ahead of us in the west on saving energy by using high technology construction methods which balance associated costs with long term gain, reducing their impact on climate change. Look at Norway who have slashed their carbon dioxide emissions for the last two years to July by 50%, which can be found on Carbon Good Guys global emissions fact page.

Hydrogen fuel ferry boats and buses now operate in many European countries, with the only by-product to the environment being water. There is of course the energy required to recover hydrogen as a fuel to begin with, but the impact to the environment is massively reduced by not using fossil fuels. Some states in America, despite the U.S overall reluctance to accept climate change is happening and the need to adapt and change, have embraced new hydrogen technologies and run with them. California is the only place you can buy a Honda hydrogen/electric car hybrid, with filling stations carrying hydrogen fuel at the pump. California is also the state incidentally that changed the law on Corporations have the state of 'personhood' which previously gave them the right to abuse their position using the rights that persons have, which included restricting the Environmental protection agency from have access to questionable sites.

Britain, is in the middle of a small crisis for consumers, as shops announce that the old fashioned light bulb will cease to be stocked at the beginning of September this year, until stocks run out in preference to the energy saving bulb. Of course consumers do not like being told what to do, especially the British, which is perhaps due to their proud cultural roots and where change takes us out of our comfort zone and into waters unchartered and is viewed with a certain level of skepticism.

Slowly, with concessions by the government encouraging consumers to buy 5 energy saving bulbs for 40p from their local super-store the public is beginning to change its attitude towards all areas of energy consumption. Recent reports in Scotland suggest consumers are spending their money on home power generating devices such as wind turbines, ground source heat pumps and solar panels to reduce their use of main stream energy providers. In some cases wind turbines are returning surplus energy back to the grid as a credit note to the turbine owner.

The cost of this technology is high though, when you consider that a turbine capable of producing energy for your home with some left over, will cost between £10,000 to £15,000, this is quite a financial commitment from the consumer with limited funds at their disposal. The price of this technology is comparable to the cost of a new family car which has much more technology built in, so why can't industry start to produce these energy producing systems at a mass produced, vastly reduced unit price ? After all, the governments in Britain and the U.S have recently bent to pressure from the car manufacturing lobby group, giving consumer incentives to buy new cars. Again though it is the financial movers and shakers in the back ground who are protecting their financial interests rather than boldly pioneering new market opportunities out there that could save the planet. The spin offs for renewable technologies would be huge including, new products, installation, spare parts market.

Remember the start of beta max video recorders which then changed to VHS as this was 'best', so we all had to buy new machines and tapes. Then VHS was 'old news' and CD's were the way ahead, which spelled the end for vinyl records. Remember the advertising hype that accompanied the launch of the CD, "you will be able to fry an egg on it and then clean it and it will still play", well I seem to have found that a single scratch on a CD can render it useless. Industry is an old hand at forcing consumers to change to a 'better' technology which brings about large volume sales on a yet another new product, while the old is dumped as worthless rubbish in some landfill site.

The answer perhaps lies with the financial muscle in the back ground, with interest in many pies which need protected, enhanced and obviously embellished. There is no question that for example, energy saving bulbs do save energy and costs to the consumer on their electricity bills, as do a host of other recent measures including loft insulation ( which wouldn't be necessary if we had adopted some of the Scandinavian construction methods earlier ), but that this saving is of little consequence to the consumer when the perceived saving is cancelled out by the energy proving companies then raising prices to guarantee their own revenue. These companies may argue that they need the extra funds to invest in renewable technology, but the skeptic may question the motives of a corporation who is going to have to accept a drop in revenue over several years when consumers begin consuming less by perhaps 20-30% on current supply. Renewable energy does not have the same de-commissioning costs as perhaps for example the former Dounreay Nuclear Reactor power station in Scotland, the first of its kind in the world at that time, which despite cutting edge technology then, has become problematic to disassemble over the next 25 years.

It was at one time the norm for a family to have one provider going out to earn a crust to provide for the family. Then a new trend started to emerge with both husband and wife going out to earn to give that family just a few more luxuries and a 'better' standard of living by choice. Now it is the norm for both man and women to be working just to 'tread water' as living costs have caught up and cancelled out that perceived benefit.

Consumers have to be rewarded in real lasting ways, for the changes they are prepared to take to save themselves money and reduce Carbon dioxide emissions. Remember the coal fired power stations, hydro power stations and wind turbine station, continue to run 24/7 no matter what you at home do, but use less, they produce less, which in the case of coal fired power stations (which are responsible for 40% of the 30 billion metric tons of CO2), is a must in reducing global carbon emissions, to prevent global warming from changing the world forever, as we know it.

climate change - for consumers who care enough to change

This Article Was Written By: carbon good guys

Britain could be new 'Alcatraz' Island climate change UK - for consumers who care enough to change how to save energy and money - for consumers who care enough to change

Article Source: http://www.the-landscape-design-site.com/diy

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Green Energy Living Articles Via RSS!

Free Landscaping Ideas  Free Landscaping Pictures Directory  Pictures Of Backyard Landscaping  
Buy Landscape Fabric  Backyard Landscaping Ideas  Front Yard Landscaping Ideas  Landscaping Plan  Landscaping Plans  Lawn Care

Powered by Article Dashboard