Wouldn’t you like to have legislators acting like they believed what they say? We’re constantly told to save the planet, to use less electricity, to lower our carbon footprint, they even pass laws requiring us to do so and yet, our local, state and federal legislators work in air conditioned comfort and fly on jets at every opportunity. An article in USA Today by Glenn Reynolds suggests we ban air conditioning in Washington, D.C. so our legislators can be a good example for the rest of us. That seems like a great idea.
We should ban air conditioning in federal buildings. We won two world wars without air conditioning our federal employees. Nothing in their performance over the last 50 or 60 years suggests that A/C has improved things.
Let’s see if our local legislators can meet the challenge
His article has many recommendations, but it’s pretty easy to extend this idea right here at home in Erie County. Since our state representatives voted for Act 129 that mandates conserving electricity and using more green energy because of global warming, why not ask Pat Harkins, Flo Fabrizio and Curt Sonney to conserve electricity by turning off their office air conditioning as an example of their leadership?
Kathy Dahlkemper supports wind turbines in Lake Erie which is primarily justified as a weapon in the war against global warming, so doesn’t it make sense that she turn off the air conditioning in her office, as well? Perhaps all county offices could be naturally cooled with a breeze from an open window or two. It would also save the taxpayers money by lowering the county’s electric bill.
If our elected officials want us to lower our carbon footprint, they should show us how they do it by taking a bus to Harrisburg instead of driving their car all alone. Flying is out of the question. After all, the earth is in danger and they have to show us how easy it is to make the necessary sacrifices.
All voters and taxpayers should remind their legislators at every opportunity of the size of their carbon footprint and if government officials disregard these suggestions, ask them why.
As Glenn Reynolds has often said:
I’ll believe it’s a crisis when the people who keep telling me it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis.
And just like your Mom always said, the best place to begin is at home. So, let’s start asking our local government officials to dramatically reduce their own energy use. It’s the right thing to do.
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Suzanne Albright says
Great comments, questions, and suggestions! As I have said multiple times, why are “we” not doing a better job of CONSERVING electricity? WHY are all city skyscrapers in cities across the U.S. lit up all night every night of the year from top to bottom? WHY must computers be left on ALL NIGHT while people sleep? WHY can humans not be taught to turn off lights and TVs when they leave a room for extended periods?
The amount of power waste in this country is immeasurable. And this blog is correct- our government waste of ALL resources- electricity, fuel, etc, is obscene. Elected officials should be held to middle class standards, whether it is electricity use, health care coverage, fuel use and travel modes, or anything else. Don’t hold your middle class breath for any of that! Isn’t Obama the president who flew his daughter and her girlfriends to Mexico for a lavish vacation (at our expense)?
In the meantime, Americans continue to whine about more energy sources, more “clean” (something that doesn’t exist) energy, MORE, MORE, MORE- without the slightest effort at energy conservation. Our greed and refusal to make even slight conservative measures is indicative of our mentality. Tragic.
Paul Crowe says
We don’t need to conserve electricity, it’s a manufactured product just like cars and trucks or shoes and socks and we have all we want of those items. If we need more electricity we can just make more so, light ’em if you got ’em. Leaving the lights on might mean your electric bill will be higher, but we won’t run out of electricity. This post is more than a little, “tongue in cheek” except it is meant to point the finger back at our legislators who like to direct our lives in areas where it would be best if they said nothing and did nothing.
If someone believes CO2 is a problem, then we should focus on nuclear power which produces none. New reactor technology, reprocessing spent fuel and potentially using thorium means nukes can power us for a thousand years or more with very little waste.
Natural gas produces much less CO2 than coal and we have enormous reserves of that, so that’s the bridge to nuclear in the near term.
Wind and solar are unnecessary under any circumstances where the electric grid is available and they’re counterproductive at the same time.
Any shortage of electricity is the result of government interference in our energy markets and misdirected environmental activism. Electricity is literally the lifeblood of any advanced technological society. The more capacity we have to generate electricity, the better it is for everyone.
Chris says
I would like to know if these politicians have air conditioned homes, keep their thermostats in the low 60’s or upper 50’s and wear jackets or coats inside their homes in the winter, use electric garage door openers, enjoy heated swimming pools, receive state automobile expense allowances when they could instead take a bus, ride a bicycle or walk anytime it is even remotely possible, keep every unnecessary light turned off in their homes, do their laundry and run their dishwashers at night, have overinflated their automobile tires and coast whenever possible while rarely driving, never leave their homes via automobile except only when it is absolutely necessary, and generally live as they preach to us and as if they actually believe the crony-capitalist lies of the green energy industry? Or are they simply hypocrites?