A little bit better

Today, I read a statistic that clean threw me for a loop.

About 5% of America's energy consumption is from wasted use. Eg computers left on overnight (guilty), lights left on in rooms that no one is in, continuous heating and airconditioning even when no one's home, cellphone chargers in outlets even when there's no phone charging. The average American will go through twice as much energy in their lifetime as the average European. There's a simple explanation for this of course. Energy is such a cheaply available resource in America, that Americans have never had to learn to be conservative with it.

That just makes me so sad. I admit with a fair dollop of chagrin that I've been guilty of leaving my computer on overnight far too often. Why? So that I can save the thirty seconds in the morning that it would otherwise take to reboot? Its just simply inexcusable. Delta has told me many a time to shut down the darned machine before going to bed. But - oh - by the end of the day when I'm so tired - I just don't have. the. energy. to. go. all. the. way. over. just. to. turn. it. off.

But when I read this, I was instantly mortified. Horrified. Outraged. Aghast. 5%!

We can bitch and moan about the ineffectiveness of Copenhagen, but what's the point? If we can't even take it upon ourselves to make the smallest of these sacrifices, how could we expect large international treaties of a global nature to succeed?

So this year, for a change, a real resolution. Every night, the computers go off. No iffs or buts or other excuses I may concoct. Just off.

Now that doesnt seem like much to ask for, does it?