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light-emitting diode (LED) traffic lights, which use less than half as much electricity as the incandescent lamps they replaced. Factories swapped out thousands of old motors for more-efficient new ones." [1]
The program resulted in a reduction in energy used by enough to provide all of Los Angeles' daily needs. And all those lightbulbs, traffic lights and motors replaced continue to save on energy even today long after the crisis is over. Although California is the largest state in the union, the average energy consumption per capita is one of the lowest of all the states as Californians use about 7,000 kwh/person compared to the national average of 12,000 kwh/person. Just think of what could be recovered in costs if everyone was as efficient as Californians in their energy usage. And Californians can still do more.
One other nice thing about concentrating on energy efficiency is that we can also consider how this might help with new demand from the emerging countries. As Lovins wrote:
"Consider the example of a good compact fluorescent lamp. It emits the same light as an incandescent lamp but uses four to five times less electricity and lasts 8 to 13 times longer, saving tens of dollars more than it costs. It avoids putting a ton of carbon dioxide and other bad stuff into the air. But it does far more. In suitable numbers--half a billion are made each year--it can cut by a fifth the evening peak load that causes blackouts in overloaded Bombay, boost poor American chicken farmers' profits by a fourth, or raise destitute Haitian households' disposable cash income by up to a third. Making the lamp needs 99.97 percent less capital than does expanding the supply of electricity, thus freeing investment for other tasks. The lamp cuts power needs to levels that make solar-generated power affordable, so girls in rural huts can learn to read at night, advancing the role of women. One light bulb does all that. You can buy it at the supermarket and screw it in yourself. One light bulb at a time, we can make the world safer." [2]
It is clear that energy efficiency is a major part of the solution.
So what can you do to help? You can find out how much energy you are using by getting a home energy audit. If your power company doesn't provide one, you can use the on-line energy audit tool provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: http://hes.lbl.gov/. The audit will help you figure out how you can get more value for your money and help reduce your impact on the climate.
Check to see if your utility has any programs that promote higher efficiency and if they don't, ask them to consider putting a program together. Buy renewable power if you can find it in your area and work with your community to see what you can do to make it more available.
If you are in the market for a new car, consider a hybrid which will not only be more fuel efficient, but also much cleaner in its emissions. Buy the most fuel efficient car you can afford.
Talk to your place of work and ask that they also take an energy audit and clean up their act. Encourage your neighbors to do the same. Lobby your community and state government to take energy efficiency and global warming seriously. Finally, write your representatives and others in the federal government letting them know we want them to take responsibility for finding a way to address global warming. And let them know that you are signing up to do your part already.
Of course, today we know that the reason California was facing an energy crisis was not because there wasn't enough energy to go around, but because energy providers had figured out how to game the system by taking energy plants offline.
[1] Canine, Craig, California Illuminates the World, NRDC's onEarth, Spring 2006, http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/06spr/ca1.asp
[2] Lovins, Amory, Lovins, Hunter, Energy Forever, American Prospect, February 2002, http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/3/lovins-a.html
See also:
Lovins, Amory, Lovins, Hunter, Mobilizing Energy Solutions, American Prospect, January 2002, http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/2/lovins-a.html
Earth is at the Tipping Point, Time, April 1, 2006, http://reference.aol.com/globalwarming/timemagazine?id=20060327120109990001
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