Everyone has the power to conserve energy
Conserving energy could help avoid future blackouts
COMMENTARY
Josh Deitz

So, who else got to experience the Great Blackout of 2003?

I was in Toronto on the Thursday the lights went out. Two of my friends were getting married that Sunday, and my friend, Sarah, and I still had shopping to do. We had just gotten off the subway when the blackout hit. As you might imagine, the bride and groom went into a bit of a panic.

Luckily, the power started coming back on around midnight, and the city began to get back into gear. We had some electricity, but the power supply was nowhere near full capacity. That’s when things got interesting.

Canadians aren’t that different from Americans when it comes to electricity. They leave the lights on, they let the television blare and they certainly aren’t afraid to crank up the air conditioning. Of course, that was before the blackout.

The city was threatened by rolling blackouts for more than a week until the various power plants came back on. During that time, there was a clear change in the Toronto area. People got serious about conserving energy. Signs were turned off. Air conditioning units were shut down. Even businesses chipped in and either shut down or reduced their power consumption.

I don’t know whether the blackout will have a permanent effect on the way Toronto citizens use electricity, but there was a lesson in the blackout for everyone. Electricity is the resource that drives our society. If some random problem in Ohio can knock out electricity for 50 million people, something is seriously wrong.

The real solution is a change in the way we think about energy. We need efficiency standards for all appliances (and vehicles and so on), an upgraded power grid, new power plants (using diverse sources of power) and an overall commitment to a sustainable lifestyle.

But that’s a little ambitious. With the Bush administration playing footsie with the power industry, we can’t expect much from our fearless leaders. However, we can take things into our own hands.

There is a wealth of information available about conserving energy at the household level. Simple things like buying efficient, long-life light bulbs or appliances with the “Energy Star” label not only save electricity, they save money as well. Check out the Energy Star Web page (http://www.energystar.gov/) or the Alliance to Save Energy (http://www.ase.org/) for some concrete ideas.

Conservation goes farther than that. It certainly isn’t reasonable to turn the air conditioning off during a Texas summer (or spring, or fall, or winter occasionally), but a house doesn’t need to be an icebox either. Instead of leaving your computer logged into IM all day, try leaving the computer in sleep mode when it is not in use, or just shut it off.

Little things like these start to add up. Your power bill goes down. With less demand on the power grid, there is less risk of blackouts. In the long run, energy should get cheaper and the system should operate more smoothly.

Conserving energy is not a radical idea. It isn’t a hippie plot to take away your PlayStation or your SUV. It’s a matter of saving money and averting problems. Imagine a week in Texas without air conditioning.

By the way, the wedding went off without a hitch.

Josh Deitz is a senior political science major from Atlanta, Ga.