The Day After

Today is April 23. The day after Earth Day. The Day after the speeches. The school assemblies. The neighborhood cleanups. The television specials.

On Earth Day Americans rally around a shared purpose and vision.

But today is the Day after Earth Day. What now?

Toss a plastic water bottle in the trash – or in the recycling bin? Let the faucet run – or turn it off while we’re brushing our teeth? Let the lamp light up an empty room – or flick the light switch as we leave? Count down the remaining 364 days until the next Earth Day, when we renew our devotion to the environment?

Call me cynical, but is that what Earth Day is about? Is it a day designed to ease our guilt after a year of environmental abuse? Is it like drinking five cups of decaf or Diet Cola with a Big Mac? In other words, is it self-deception that makes us feel good but really does nothing?

Perhaps, it’s the word “Day” in Earth Day that does us a disservice. Perhaps, people feel “off the hook” for the remaining days of the year.

So how can we do more than just talk? How can corporations, including energy companies like ours, act responsibly and make a real impact on the environment? How can individuals and companies, alike, make Earth Day a year-round commitment?

I start with the idea that we are all entitled to heat our homes, turn on our computers and commute to work. Realistically we are stuck with carbon-based energy for the time being, and must continue to inflict some damage both our health and the environment.

But, we can try to control our collective addiction and take the right steps to minimize that damage – every day.

Believe it or not, it is more costly for us to supply more energy than less. Just as utilities are at risk when demand increases and they must build bigger and more costly power plants, unlimited consumption puts us at greater risk of finding economic supplies to meet our customers’ needs. Conservation both reduces our customers’ bills and increases our bottom line. It’s a good idea all around.

Companies like ours also help consumers offset the harmful effects of energy consumption -- the carbon dioxide emissions that have affected global warming, and seem to be everyone’s Earth Day target. These carbon offsets help fund reforestation projects that help to absorb carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere.

In fact, we have bought carbon credits to offset our own company’s carbon usage. This is good corporate citizenship. It also makes our team feel like we practice what we preach – every day.

Businesses should also explore ways to bring the benefits of new energy efficient technologies to consumers. These include insulation, Energy Star appliances, rooftop solar, wind and geothermal energy. Probably the easiest and surest way of reducing energy consumption is real-time metering that sends customers price signals of the true cost of energy. Studies have shown that when consumers know what they are using and how much it costs in real time, consumption drops some 20%.

We want our consumers to become conservers – conservers of energy and the environment.

I can hear critics say that these are Band Aids, like a filter at the end of a cigarette. I agree with them. But until we wean ourselves off the stuff, let’s control the addiction. Call it an energy nicotine patch. Until the day some bright young college dropout comes up with cold fusion in his garage, we will do our part to control the addiction.

In the meantime, when you plug Earth Day into your computer calendar, make it a “recurring” event – one that lasts every single day of the year.