2Sustain

It has been a while since I posted due to a whirlwind tour of Europe and the east coast these past few weeks. My itinerary included a number of random stops including Transylvania, Romania. I was amazed to find that even in the far reaches of Romania there were energy saving measures all around, particularly in the hotels and public spaces.

It got me wondering why we do not have simple measures employed here in the USA such as the old “put the hotel key in the slot to get the electricity working in your room.” That seems like a no-brainer. How much could it cost to roll that out if you are a major hotel chain vs. what it would save you? I expect there are analyses out there that answer this question, and my guess is that the ROI is significant based on electricity savings. The lost dollars from people leaving their air conditioning on 24/7 in their rooms in hot areas of the country alone has got to be massive. If so then why don’t the hotels take that step? Is it simply an aversion to the upfront expense? 

The other major difference in Europe, as we all know, is the utter lack of SUVs. At this point it is pretty clear that we will look back from the year 2030 at the 1990-2010 period much as we now look back on the 1970s and marvel at the massive hulking vehicles that were in vogue at the time.
My expectation is that within a decade or two this, will equal this.

The good news, however, is that we do see the changes happening these days due to the skyrocketing price of fuel. No better motivator than the consumer being hit in the pocketbook. It is a bit unfortunate however that we are not seeing consumer behavior change en masse due to the need to cut fuel consumption for sustainability’s sake…but I suppose it is the end that matters more than the means.

I also saw my first Smart Car here on the streets of San Francisco the other day. They are everywhere in Europe and just making their way across the pond. I would expect them to be quite popular as gas prices continue to rise, and their arrival in the US is a good thing. Hopefully other simple measures will follow such at the hotel room example and others. There are so many easy measures that can be taken to improve sustainability if people and businesses would just take the long-term view in making decisions. Here are some easy examples of things we can all do from the Union of Concerned Scientists.