CAN PEOPLE CHANGE?


In 2002, energy expert Charles Komanoff developed a relatively painless road map for “Ending the Oil Age.” The article asserts that if we reduce U.S. oil consumption by 5% to 10%, we can stop fueling terrorists in Saudi Arabia—and have far more energy security. One of the more intriguing aspects of Komanoff’s argument is that he frames the reason for conser- vation as “love of oil versus love of country.” In other words, you can have one or the other, but not both. But Komanoff does not make the familiar plea for an


immediate conversion to alternative energy—although he does believe we need to get there. Instead, he says, it’s more important that we act now with steps that immediately reduce our oil dependence. And the way to do that, he says, is to whittle away at some of the big oil ticket items that we take for granted.


If you look closely at which aspects of U.S. culture consume the most oil, you might notice a few surprises. For example, our cars and SUVs account for the vast majority of oil used. Even the military’s fuel used is dwarfed by residential consumption. Thus, you can see how con- verting inefficient vehicles could help us reach a 10% reduction quite rapidly.


Source: “Ending the Oil Age”


In “Ending the Oil Age,” Charles Komanoff offers small, specific steps that could be taken by both individuals and industry to reduce our national oil consumption by 10%.


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July > August 2010 GreenBuilder


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