Although attention is usually focused on renewable and clean energy, the topic of reduction of energy use is often neglected.

Nonprofit organization Bridging the Gap fixes minor problems in order to solve bigger issues. Instead of pouring money into new and flashy additions, the staff focuses on making repairs to existing systems in order to save energy, like replacing inefficient lightbulbs, sealing holes, improving insulation, and eliminating leaks to prevent energy loss.

Fully focusing on optimizing energy efficiency means that this organization is able to cut down on consumption instead of solely focusing on clean energy. While renewable energy is essential for our future, it will cost time and steep investments. Carbon neutrality would demand 1% of the land in the US, the size of the entire state of Kentucky.

“Efficiency should come first because every unit of energy you don’t use, you don’t need to produce.”

Dolf Gielen, director of IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre

“Efficiency should come first because every unit of energy you don’t use, you don’t need to produce.”

However, many obstacles stand in the way. While investments pay themselves off several times over, the upfront cost can prove to be a substantial issue. Additionally, the compulsion to spend money is much lower without an exciting, tangible item. With no physical item, there’s nothing to show others to encourage them to follow suit.

“It isn’t sexy. Nobody’s going to go, ‘Wow, that’s cool,’ when you drive by with a smaller car.”

Dolf Gielen, director of IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre

“It isn’t sexy. Nobody’s going to go, ‘Wow, that’s cool,’ when you drive by with a smaller car.”

Not only does repairing and sealing weathered homes increase energy efficiency, but it can improve mental and physical health, along with home value. Whilst insulating a home, Bridging the Gap workers found high levels of carbon monoxide that were entirely unknown to the residents. Planting a tree not only increases property value; it grants a source of shade, decreasing the money and energy spent on air conditioning.

Advances in technology can improve efficiency in the home, but also for businesses. Food waste, a top-ranked priority, can be improved dramatically with better refrigeration. Less waste means less energy used on growing and shipping.

While the US government has the power to make extremely influential changes that could reduce energy consumption, the Supreme Court’s failure to combat climate change means that efforts might have to be local. Changes on a smaller scale are more beneficial than trying fruitlessly to convince leaders with no results. Despite the government’s potential to make changes that greatly impact the future of its country, and the world, responsibility is shirked and placed on the individual.

I think that an emphasis on efficiency is so interesting because it’s not a topic I regularly hear about. So much importance is placed on clean energy, and while I think that’s very appropriate, I feel like not enough attention is brought to reducing the energy we already use.

When it comes to changes that help the environment, I feel like an “all or nothing” attitude is usually in place. With this mindset, it can feel like one either lives a vegan, zero-waste lifestyle, or there’s no point. Not everyone is willing or even capable of completely altering their life on such a level. Humanity needs to work together to overcome this hurdle, and a few people living a zero-waste lifestyle is way less impactful than everyone taking small steps where they can to limit their carbon footprint. Without any grey area, people are scrutinized for not trying hard enough, so they don’t try at all.

Reading this article reminded me about this mentality. Advocation for clean energy is crucial, but it’s important to recognize that transforming the entire country’s energy sources will be a difficult task, one that would, at the very least, take a lot of time. Instead of focusing on how great the world would be if we replace fossil fuels, we should focus on using less of them while it’s still our main source of energy.

This all being said, I feel it is important to clarify that I do believe that we should be using clean energy and that the government should take responsibility instead of forcing it onto the individual. These aspects should not be ignored, however we should still do what we can while we wait for things to change on the larger scale.

This article was definitely beneficial for me to read, as it opened my eyes to how smaller details can be crucial to solving a problem. There’s not enough education about energy efficiency; the difference of a new lightbulb or appliance is not a subject that I often hear broached. Although it is important to use what we have for as long as we can, there are times where using old systems can be more wasteful than buying new ones. I’d like to hear more about that.

As a final note, the brief touch on food waste really piqued my interest, so I plan to research food waste for a future piece. Stay tuned to learn with me!

Bagenstose, Kyle. “Green Energy Is Great for Fighting Climate Change.” USA Today (Online), 11 Jul 2022. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2691184859?accountid=163174.