The Story of U.S.

U.S. economy shifting to—gasp!—efficiency 7

When it comes to urging environment-mindedness, high oil prices have proven much more persuasive than green groups ever did. The U.S. economy, built on cheap, plentiful energy, is shifting into a new mode. Americans are driving less, riding transit more, ditching SUVs, and moving back into city centers. We're seeking energy efficiency in our appliances and our heating, cooling, and lighting. Solar energy is having its day in the sun. Companies are rethinking their global supply chains, and consumers too are seeing the benefits of staying close to home. "The environmentalists have always asked you to eat locally," says economist Matthew Kahn. "But now the businessmen will agree." The adjustment carries growing shrinking pains: layoffs, high food prices, and overwhelmed infrastructure, to name just a few. But many economists suspect that the era of cheap fuel has officially come to an end; it remains to be seen whether the American economy can run as well -- or better -- on efficiency as it did on profligacy.

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  1. bkrell Posted 3:58 am
    12 Aug 2008

    Duh!!!!!!!!!!Great big duh!!!!  This is news???  This is what every one with a brain has been trying to say about the shift to more efficient tech for quite some time!  People could care less about a bunch of wacko, toke it up, greenies.  It's money that people get.  When green cost less...green, people go for it in droves.

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  2. Guinness74 Posted 6:04 am
    12 Aug 2008

    Yes...it is news!The point that Grist is trying to make, in my opinion, is that it's finally taking effect rather than continuing on its catastrophic path.  Rather than having the businessperson bury their head in the sand, they're starting to see that it helps to "go green."  I, for one, am thrilled that even though it's costing more, people are starting to get it.

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  3. bkrell Posted 7:31 am
    12 Aug 2008

    that's the pointThe point is businesses don't bury their heads in the sand (unless they're bad businesspeople).  They have to weigh the pros and cons of each move.  If it's good business to go green, they'll go green.  It's not ideology; it's money.  It took a little boat-rocking to wake up business that oil won't be here forever.  So they're looking elsewhere.  They aren't suddenly eco-friendly, even if their PR depts proclaim them o be.  They're just protecting themselves and the bottom line.

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  4. Delay And Deny's avatar

    Delay And Deny Posted 7:38 am
    12 Aug 2008

    I never liked globalism

    If its any salve to you Grist ecologists, I was never one for globalism.  The though of the marketplace achieving total entropy didn't sit well with me.   Rather have the best of both, lots of identity, but able to ship when needed.

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  5. Angry African Posted 6:16 am
    13 Aug 2008

    But will they buy it?Yes, people will vote with their pockets and go "green" when it hurts them. And they'll buy the Prius and CFL to save money. But they also buy it because it makes them feel like the "activist" because they do something better than others when they switch on the car or flip the light switch. Problem is that too many other products are not helping the consumer to be the activist and is just trying to "sell" them a green product. They can't do much once they have bought it. The "goodness" came in the manufacturing and not in the consumer being part of it. More on http://angryafrican.net/2008/08/13/build-it-green-and-the ...

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  6. Pathos Posted 4:19 pm
    13 Aug 2008

    AA,Let's hope they buy it. And let's encourage the media and business to hype the "green" aspect as much as humanly possible--on the products and practices that actually do good, anyway--so at least the people who can afford to buy with their egos will keep the trend up.
    For everyone else, keep doing what bkrell said--keep bringing the bottom line to their attention. It does work.

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  7. amazingdrx Posted 5:04 pm
    13 Aug 2008

    Yeah just let the market decide"They're just protecting themselves and the bottom line."
    Except the market is owned by the status quo bkrell.  Your argument is similar to every other free marketeeerian fallacy.  
    A corporation wouldn't produce something that killed their customers or destroyed the planet, that would be bad for the bottomline?
    Tell that to a ciggarette or booze company.  Or a mining, fishing, oil, or logging company.  Or an oxycontin maker.
    Yes consumers want to save money, so they buy a Mcdonalds burger instead of real food.  And it makes them sick.
    If I see a solar panel on my neighbor's house and the power bill proving he is saving money, I'll want one too.  Seeing is believing.
    But what if the corporations controlling capital investment want me to stay with coal power and don't allow investment in mass production of solar panels?   Monopolizing capital to benefit the bottomline of their coal and utility companies?
    "People could care less about a bunch of wacko, toke it up, greenies."
    I'm not sure what you have been using to relax, but it isn't working.  

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