Published by the Center for a New American Dream

2000 NATIONAL
TV-TURNOFF
WEEK
APRIL 24—30 A quarterly report on consumption, quality of life and the environment
No. 11, Spring 2000 ◆ $3
Page 3
Letter from
TOWARD A NEW ENERGY ETHIC
By Seth Dunn
Betsy Taylor

I
Page 4 n his 1899 classic The Theory of the Leisure Class, representing the extent to which American society—
Programs and the iconoclastic economist Thorstein Veblen intentionally or not—equates economic prosperity
Services for Members invented an expression that would stand the test with energy gluttony.
of time. In decrying the “conspicuous consumption”
Page 5 of turn-of-the-century American high society, Veblen “L i g h t ” Tr u c k s Do n’ t Tr e a d L i g h t l y
Readers Respond was boldly attacking a sacred cow: challenging the SUVs, light vans, and pickup trucks—collectively
extent to which extraneous expen- if deceptively called “light trucks”—have been a
Page 6
diture had become the mark of speedily growing segment of the U.S. car fleet,
Online Discussion:
success, with people spending not increasing their share of new car sales from 20 to
Land Conservation
to satisfy real needs but to gain 46 percent between 1975 and 1999. Far less
Page 8 prestige. One hundred years later, efficient than traditional passenger cars, they
How We Lost the phrase has become part of are the major factor behind the American
Silence our linguistic library, inscribed auto fleet’s fall from its energy diet since
in Webster’s Collegiate the oil shocks of the 1970s. From a mid-
Page 10 Dictionary as “Lavish or waste- 1980s peak of 25.9 miles per gallon
The Bad, the Good ful spending thought to (mpg), average fuel economy has fallen
and the Truly enhance social prestige.” to 23.8 mpg in 1999. And while pas-
Ridiculous
It’s well worth revisiting senger cars averaged 28.1 mpg in
Page 11 Veblen’s late-19th century 1999, so-called light trucks rated a
Buying Green: observation as we begin the 21st, weak 20.3 mpg.
Flowers at a time when the leisure class of How can this be, when auto
the global village, the United States, companies are continually
Page 12 is—notwithstanding evidence of public impressing upon us their
Resources concern about smog, acid rain, oil improvements in transmission,
Page 13 imports, and global warming—engaged fuel injection systems, and other
Fun Box in “conspicuous energy consumption.” efficiency technologies? The answer
Anna White
With only 4 percent of the world’s population, the lies in the trend toward more powerful
Page 14 United States today accounts for nearly a quarter of vehicles, which has more than offset other
Step by Step global energy use. “Killer kitchens” with energy- efficiency advances. According to the U.S.
sucking “vampire” appliances have entered the lexi- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), increases in
Page 15
con of normally staid energy analysts; house sizes are vehicle weight, horsepower, and acceleration perfor-
Orwell’s Corner
ballooning, spawning the moniker of “starter man- mance have cost the car fleet the equivalent of a 5
sions;” and people are driving longer and longer dis- mpg improvement.
tances in bigger and bigger cars—including the wild- As the light trucks’ portion of the car fleet
ly popular sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) that have expands, its share of fuel consumption—and emis-
earned the derision of humorists and, from environ- sions—grows even more quickly, from 25 percent in
mentalists, the title of “suburban assault vehicles.” 1975 to 60 percent in 1999. During this first decade
Flaunting fuel economies that teeter in the teens, of the new century, light trucks are expected to be
SUVs are emblematic of our energetic wastefulness, continued on page 2
New Energy Ethic
continued from page 1 ment that culture evolves when per capita energy con-
the fastest-growing source of climate-altering carbon emis- sumption increases, and that a society’s ability to utilize
sions in the United States—no small feat in a country that energy for human advancement and needs is an accurate
still relies on coal for 57 percent of its electricity. Growing measure of its degree of civilization.
concern about automotive air pollution has motivated the This line of argument is especially seductive for
EPA to issue new rules to cut nitrogen oxide emissions Americans. Indeed, if the rise and advance of a civilization
from car engines. The rules, to be phased in between 2004 could be reduced to its knack for using up energy, then
and 2009, will require—for the first time—that cars and America would be the Periclean Athens of our age.
light trucks be subject to the same standards. Correlating cultural evolution with per capita energy con-
sumption, furthermore, places the United States eons
SU V s C r o s s t h e Po n d ahead of its Neolithic neighbors. The
Veblen wrote about the leisure class average American consumes four times
because he believed this class set the as much energy as a Japanese citizen,
INDEED, IF THE RISE
standards followed by all levels of soci- and twelve times as much as a fellow
ety. To date, the light truck phenome- global villager in China. The U.S.-
non has been limited to North
AND ADVANCE OF A China chasm illustrates a greater world-
America—where light trucks comprise wide divide between energy “haves and
half of new vehicle production, or CIVILIZATION COULD BE have-nots”: the richest fifth of humanity
about 8.2 million each year. But there is consumes 58 percent of the world’s
evidence that the “SUV standard” is REDUCED TO ITS KNACK energy, the poorest fifth less than 4 per-
drifting overseas. In Western Europe, cent.
the light truck share of total car pro- FOR USING UP ENERGY, But the high-energy society that has
duction is 11 percent and expanding. emerged in America over the last 100
Sales of SUVs, meanwhile, are growing years was not a technological inevitabili-
THEN A MERICA WOULD
at a rate four times faster than that of ty, historian David Nye argues in his
the overall car market—nearly doubling illuminating book Consuming Power: A
from 300,000 in 1995 to 564,000 in BE THE P ERICLEAN Social History of American Energies
1999. This is about 4 percent of new (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998).
vehicle registration (compared to 16 A THENS OF OUR AGE . Nye “rejects this simple equivalence of
percent in the United States.) While rising energy and cultural advance,” and
the European SUVs are smaller and argues that several “American choices
more fuel-efficient than the North American monsters, based on energy abundance” were at work.
they are a growing problem in a region that prides itself as
the environmental vanguard. Co n s u m p t i o n O ve r t a ke s Va l u e s
The implications for the now-developing world are Other connected choices included the mechanization
even more troubling: light trucks account for a full third of of agriculture, the exodus of farms, the rise of the automo-
total car production in Asia. Should industrializing societies bile, suburbanization, and the decline of central cities.
mimic the American way of energy waste, it will be increas- Monster freeways, industrial tracts, and nuclear plants sym-
ingly difficult to deal with problems like oil insecurity and bolized raw efficiency, uniformity, and centralized power,
climate instability. Yet influences like the rise of the SUV Nye notes. But they also “were not in harmony with grass-
class are driving the standard-setter in the wrong direction. roots democracy, individualism, or a sense of social con-
In fact, the U.S. is now more dependent on oil than dur- tract between all members of society”—not, in other
ing the two oil shocks (56 versus 34 percent), and its car- words, in harmony with what some might consider core
bon dioxide emissions continue to climb (more than 10 American values.
percent above their levels a decade ago). Yet the culture of energy consumption seemed natural
How did the United States become the world’s largest to Americans because energy remained inexpensive. More
energy consumer in the first place? It is tempting to point accurately, it remained low-priced, with many of its costs—
to an inevitable path of technological triumph: coal mines, air pollution, land impairment, water quality degradation,
oil fields, super-dams, and mega-power plants prevailing climate destabilization—socialized and excluded from the
over less-fit rivals. This fits the common academic argu- continued on page 11

2 ◆ SPRING 2000
New Energy Ethic
continued from page 2
market price. In the oil crises of the 1970s, it was the
shortage of oil that seemed artificial—an anomaly that had
been imported from overseas, was temporary, and would
soon be overtaken again by the consumption culture.
The problem, Nye suggests, was that few understood
that the middle-class American way of life was the source of
the problem. He repeats a remark that resonates today,
from Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton in 1972:
“Americans…have long been accustomed to
abundance…That we no longer have the luxury of
unbounded clean land, air, and water, nor of the fuels that
we blindly depend upon to give us pleasures in life, is a
concept difficult for our general public to grasp.”
In answering his original question—how did America
become the world’s largest consumer of energy over the
last century?—Nye writes that “The explanation resides not
in a single factor but in a confluence of cultural
factors…Americans regarded energy as a commodity, and
they regulated its exploitation and use as little as possible.”
The 20th-century story of energy is indeed the legacy of
the American frontier: treating resources as a commodity to
be consumed with little regard for the consequences. But
Americans’ energy-intensive lifestyles, and the U.S.-led
global energy consumption of the 20th century—a ten-fold
increase, with a quadrupling since 1950—cannot possibly
be a sustainable model for the rest of the world in the 21st
century.
The question, then, is whether Americans can over-
come their recent “belief in energy abundance” and their
tendency to regard easy access to inexpensive energy as
something of a constitutional right. History suggests this
will not be easy: the frontier mentality dies hard, and has
many vested interests that would like to see it continue.
But it will be far easier to meet the globe’s expanding ener-
gy needs in coming years if sufficiency replaces profligacy as
the new energy ethic.
In the 21st century, we must recover a much older
notion of energy as a resource to be valued, saved, and
used to meet our needs in ways that do not draw down the
natural inheritance of future generations. This will require a
breakthrough not so much in science or technology as in
values and lifestyles. Modest changes, such as owning small-
er cars and homes, or driving less and cycling more, would
still leave us with lifestyles that are luxurious by historical
standards but are far more capable of being sustained.
Just as one might today read with bemusement about
earlier industrial societies that equated coal smoke with
progress, students of late-20th-century history may one day
continued to page 13
n BUYING GREEN n
No Bed of Roses?
S
pring is here again, and there’s nothing like a bouquet of fresh flowers to
lift your spirits and brighten the home. Unfortunately, quite often the
only thing pure about store-bought cut flowers is the spirit with which
they are given.
Flower growing is a profitable business—earning up to five times per
acre what fruit crops bring in, both for the U.S. and international markets.
But to keep flowers from being rejected during import or interstate ship-
ping, growers often use banned and unregistered pesticides, as well as heavy
loads of synthetic growth hormones and fertilizers, reports the World
Resources Institute.
Even less well known are the hazards to workers in the flower indus-
try. Flower sprayers and handlers are often forced to re-enter greenhouses
directly after a spraying, producing a myriad of health ailments. While 60
percent of America’s flowers are grown abroad—often in extremely unregu-
lated conditions—domestic flowers pose risks too: A 1997 Environmental
Working Group (EWG) study found that California-grown roses were cont-
aminated with cancer-causing pesticides 1,000 times greater than those found
in foods. And, according to EWG’s Richard Wiles, consumers “are now
buying roses during a two-day period when workers would be required to
wear protective gear when handling them.”
Put the Green Back Into Your Flowers
Fortunately, there are healthy and safe alternatives to pesticide-laden
flowers. One is to buy local. Try frequenting farmers’ markets, roadside
stands, and natural food stores for organic fresh bouquets. You can also opt
to grow your own pesticide-free flowers, using a wide assortment of certi-
fied organic seeds and bulbs now available on the market. There are a num-
ber of companies that offer organic flower delivery.
Here are some resources:
DIAMOND ORGANICS
Offers certified organic flower bouquets for delivery.
PO Box 2159, Freedom, CA 95019
888-ORGANIC
www.diamondorganics.com/flowers99.html
SEEDS OF CHANGE
Features over 100 varieties of organic flower seeds and distributes ECO-
Bulbs—organically-grown flower bulbs. Also offers a free e-newsletter on
organic gardening topics.
888-762-7333
www.seedsofchange.com
SPRING 2000 ◆ 1 1

New Energy Ethic
continued from page 11
smile at the extent to which Americans, and many of its
then-industrialized counterparts, fervently believed that
more energy is better. How 20th-century! And how iron-
ic, an especially careful student of this era might add, that
even as it witnessed the breakup of the Soviet Union and
proclaimed capitalism triumphant, the United States con-
tinued to cling to a Soviet-style energy ideology that
focused narrowly on increasing consumption. This would
prove particularly tragic in light of the accumulation of
numerous studies showing that societies that focus less on
absolute energy consumption and more on improving
human welfare could meet development goals with much
lower energy requirements. Russia in 1999, for example,
had higher per capita energy use but far lower living stan-
dards than Japan, whose economic success of the 1970s
and 1980s was greatly assisted by its “de-linking” of ener-
gy use and development.
The Soviet analogy is instructive, because the ener-
getic challenge Americans face is not unlike the political
challenge confronting Russians a decade ago: that of creat-
ing a decentralized, demand-oriented system when a cen-
tralized, consumption-oriented economy has been the
norm for three generations. Like the Soviet model, the
fossil-fuel-based, high-energy system is losing authority as
people become more aware of its negative social and envi-
ronmental effects. And like the reform movements that
swept Eastern Europe in 1989, the new energy system will
need to be built from the bottom up, by the actions of
millions actively choosing to create a cleaner, more effi-
cient energy system.
The idea of choice is important, for social history
shows that people—and not machines—create new energy
systems, and that these choices are ultimately based on the
interaction of technologies and values. Those choices
made in the 20th century were derived from realities of
energy abundance. But those made in the 21st will be
based more on realities of environmental constraint.
Future generations will judge how well American society
at the turn of the 21st century discarded the conspicuous
energy consumption culture in favor of a new energy
ethic. This is surely a heretical idea to many—and there-
fore one of which Veblen would be proud. When saving
and using cleaner forms of energy becomes “a means of
gaining reputability,” then we will have begun to learn his
century-old history lesson.
Seth Dunn is a Research Associate with the Worldwatch
Institute.
FUN MORE FUN, LESS STUFF!
Spring is in the air, and many of us are
BOX
gearing up to plant summer vegetables
and flowers. This year, add a new dynamic
to your gardening by creating your own
backyard wildlife sanctuary.
Cre at e a Backy a r d Wil d life S a nc t ua ry
A s cities sprawl to accommodate larger populations and more
businesses, developments encroach on the habitats of native ani-
mals. Highways and strip malls replace fields and wooded areas once
inhabited by raccoons, beavers, turtles, squirrels and a variety of birds.
By planting a few bird- and butterfly- attracting flowers and building
some homemade animal feeders, you can create a safe, welcoming
environment for displaced animals.
Summer-fruiting plants such as mulberry and honeysuckle attract
catbirds, waxwings and robins. Like Simon and Garfunkel, butterflies
love parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Squirrels and rabbits munch
on wild plums and cherries. Be sure to plant species that are indige-
nous to your area—once established, native plants don’t require fertil-
izers, pesticides or water, so they’re low-maintenance and safe for the
environment.
You can also build feeders and shelters to attract critters. A
small, circular hole in a dried-out gourd makes a great hiding spot for
finches, swallows and wrens. Scrap wood can easily be turned into
funky, creative bird feeders or bat houses. With a little paint and inge-
nuity, old ceramic pots or even old toilet bowls and bathroom sinks
can become beautiful bird baths.
Don’t forget to establish your sanctuary in a prominent location,
such as outside a kitchen or living room window for optimal viewing
delight. If you’re in an apartment, plant a window box full of purple
bee balm to entice butterflies. Library books on indigenous animals
can help you and your family learn to distinguish a nuthatch from a
downy, a weasel from a mole. So, get outdoors and let the fun begin!
T i p s fo r Ge tti n g St a r t e d :
National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Habitat program offers a free
brochure, “Creating Habitat for Wildlife at Home, School, Work and in
Communities,” which is packed with useful advice for beginners and
resources for additional information.
National Wildlife Federation, Backyard Habitat Program
8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22184-0001
Or check out their web site at www.nwf.org/habitats.
The Wild Ones Handbook focuses on the importance of finding and
planting native species and has tips on landscaping for wildlife. Call
Helen Tsiapas at EPA, 312-886-7901 for more information, or read it
online at: www.epa.gov/glnpo/greenacres/wildones.
SPRING 2000 ◆ 1 3