Save and Conserve

The NY Times tells us about a report to be released today by McKinsey Global Institute that concludes the following:

The growth rate of worldwide energy consumption could be cut by more than half over the next 15 years through more aggressive energy-efficiency efforts by households and industry

McKinsey claims that these cuts can be achieved through currently available technologies and require merely that "some product standards would have to be tightened and some policy incentives changed."

To their credit, McKinsey acknowledges that "many steps are not taken because energy users lack information or do not value efficiency enought to change their buying habits."

Somehow, that seems to be putting the matter a bit too lightly. In reality, "energy users" will not change unless they are forced to. That force will arrive in the form of reduced energy supply. I'm currently banging the shortage drumb because I'm convinced shortage is the only think that will dent our consumption and force us to change behavior when it comes to treatment of energy.

Until "energy users" comprehend that energy supply is scarce, they will not truly value energy. Until they truly value energy, they will squander it. That is the nature of the situation. However, it's great to know that once the shortage comes along, we'll be able to deal with it by reading the McKinsey report.