5 Comments

1. 
   user-626934 | Jun 29, 2009 09:27pm | #1

   What about California?
   Over the 30-year period between 1976 and 2006, California's per capita primary energy use in the residential sector has GONE DOWN by almost 25%. Certainly California is no stranger to McMansions (perhaps they invented them out there?). Still, they are doing some things right...leadership at all levels of government, strong building codes that mandate efficiency, good incentives to promote energy efficiency, and retail energy price incentives (i.e. "high utility rates") that encourage conservation.

2. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jun 30, 2009 09:27am | #2

   California leads the way
   John,
   You're right — California has succeeded in implementing energy policies and programs that have limited the growth of (and in some cases reduced) residential energy use. That's good. I think other states should definitely look at the California model for useful lessons.

   That said, many regions of California have a relatively mild climate that makes it easier to reduce energy use than harsher climates. But California's Title 24 is a trail-blazing energy code that deserves study by other states.

3. 
   wolfworks | Jul 01, 2009 03:52pm | #3

   "deciding to be satisfied with sufficiency"
   I want to thank you for planting this semantic shift - from "efficiency" to "sufficiency" - I'm thinking hard about that difference and what it implies.

   Strangely, a search on sufficiency led me to Thailand's somewhat inscrutable "sufficiency economy" - based on buddhist thought but emerging from a totalitarian government - Hmmm!

   More to the point, wikipedia redirected that search to the concept of localism, and now that aha moment - sufficiency is what the emergent local initiatives promote.

   Thanks again for the push in this direction.

4. 
   Altruen | Jul 01, 2009 05:01pm | #4

   Market forces and consumer habits
   Something a lot of people overlook when talking about sustainability and efficiency are the market factors and the environment around what is going on. Its foolish to isolated efficiency and consumption and look beyond to the nature of markets and society in general. Let me paint a picture with a simple example:

   Lets assume I like beer. The producers of one of the beers I enjoy drinking, make improvements in the efficiency with which they produce their product. The bottom line of this occurrence will lead to both increased profits on the part of the beer manufacturer, and a lower price for me the consumer. Lets say that in this hypothetical example that the increase in efficiency on the part of the brewer leads to a lowering of the price of their beer to me by 20%. As a typical consumer my budgetary allotment to drink the same amount of beer has now dropped by 20%, this means that for the same amount of money I can drink 20% more beer. Hooray Beer! So now not only will I drink 20% more beer because I can now afford it, but I will also consume less wine and hard liquor among other substitutes, because it is more economical for me to drink beer instead.

   This is one of the problems associated with growing efficiency. Energy efficiency alone will not accomplish much but a growing sense of conservation and reinforcement of it will increase the overall effectiveness of such measures. So if we turn back to my example:

   So lets say this increase in efficiency in production still occurred, but at the same time studies showing the various negative effects of mass consumption of beer were pushed on the consumer and were effectively reinforced. The behavior of the consumer is now modified leading to less consumption despite a lower cost caused by greater efficiency.

5. 
   Pat Murphy | Aug 16, 2009 06:35am | #5

   Sufficiency
   This topic is covered extensively in Thomas Princen's book - The Logic of Sufficiency and Avner Offer's book - The Challenge of Affluence.