Energy News  
After Hurricanes, US In New Push For Energy Efficiency

On March 9, 2004, in Washington, DC, the Advertising Council and the U.S. Department of Energy launched a national public service advertising campaign designed to engage children and their parents in energy efficient behavior through a new spokes-villain, the Energy Hog.

Washington (AFP) Oct 03, 2005
The US government followed up its new-found zeal for energy conservation Monday by launching a campaign for businesses and homes to make wiser use of resources left strained by two recent hurricanes.

A week after President George W. Bush urged Americans to think twice about using their cars for non-essential trips, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the onset of winter made energy efficiency all the more important.

As a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, "Americans can expect to see higher energy costs: higher costs to heat and power our homes, our schools, as well as our places of business", he said at the campaign's launch.

The "Easy Ways to Save Energy" campaign is fronted by a comic-book villain called Energy Hog, a voracious half-pig, half-human who "can suck the energy out of your home faster than you can say, 'why did the lights go out Mom?'".

Despite the Bush administration's previous scornful dismissal of fuel-efficiency campaigners, Bodman said the Department of Energy had always taken energy conservation seriously.

"But the need to use energy more wisely is particularly acute this year because of the higher prices that we expect to see," he said.

A campaign guide for consumers says Energy Hog can be beaten through a variety of means such as better home insulation, long-life light bulbs, taking showers rather than baths and using power-hungry appliances at night.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita appear to have engineered what environmental groups and the California energy crisis of 2001 could not: forcing the White House to ask Americans to cut back on wasteful fuel consumption.

Asked four years ago if Americans should change their energy-thirsty lifestyles, Vice President Dick Cheney said: "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."

Cheney, who like Bush is a former oil man, was unveiling a new energy policy that calls for the building of 1,300 fossil-fuel power plants over two decades combined with an ambitious programme of oil and gas exploration.

But now, with oil and petrol prices soaring and several US refineries knocked out by the hurricanes, the administration says households and businesses alike need to think hard about their energy use.

Analysts say that because of the refinery outages, the price of heating oil will jump this winter to add to strains on household finances caused by the rising cost of petrol.

Bodman said the Department of Energy and its partner in the campaign, the Alliance to Save Energy, would broadcast a series of radio announcements to advise consumers on how to save energy in the home as well as petrol in cars.

"We have had a severe disruption the last two weeks with the energy infrastructure of this country. We have been hurt," the secretary said, while playing down fears of a sharp economic slowdown.

"We do not believe that we are going to be dealing with a recession or anything of that sort. This is a very strong economy," he said.

Bodman also reiterated the administration's intention to tap into US strategic reserves of oil if needed.

There are tentative signs that Americans are changing their habits.

Sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have slumped in recent months. Bicycle sales in contrast have boomed.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Europe Debates Nuclear Energy
Washington (UPI) Jan 11, 2006
European Union countries are starting to rethink their opposition to nuclear energy amid a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas supplies, but energy analysts say a switch still lacks a green light.







  • After Hurricanes, US In New Push For Energy Efficiency
  • Bicycle Sales Boom In US Amid Rising Gas Prices
  • Hybrid Grass May Prove To Be Valuable Fuel Source
  • Minnesota Becomes First US State To Require Biodiesel

  • Armenia Chooses France's Areva To Build New Nuclear Waste Facility
  • Britain Could Be Receptive To Boost In Nuclear Power: Minister
  • Leaked Report Alleges Safety Problems At British Nuclear Plant: Newspaper
  • Russia Converts Half Its Weapons-Grade Uranium As Part Of Accord With US

  • Getting To The TOPP Of Houston's Air Pollution
  • Scientists Seek Sprite Light Source



  • Crop Scientists Improve "Supergrain" For Impoverished Farmers
  • Gourmet Space Dinner On Greenland Icecap
  • Sophisticated Forecasts Help India's Farmers Survive Patchy Monsoon
  • Analysis: N.Korea No Longer Wants Food Aid?

  • Motorists To Pay 'Congestion' Charge Over Broader Swath Of London
  • Solar Cars Driving Towards A Hydrogen Future
  • Mapflow And DTO Announce Dublin Satellite Tolling Study
  • German Car Makers Scramble To Jump On Hybrid Engine Bandwagon

  • NGC Awards International Contracts For F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
  • Nigeria To Buy Fighter Planes From China
  • First Joint Air Dominance Center In The World To Open
  • China's Top Airplane Maker Aims To Become Major Global Player

  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program
  • Boeing-Led Team to Study Nuclear-Powered Space Systems

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement