Written by: Samantha Evangelista & Kate Bernadette Rañoco
One of the most crucial factors in achieving energy efficiency is human behavior! According to the description given by the EESI (Environmental and Energy Study Institute), “research has shown that 30% of the potential energy savings is lost due to a variety of social, cultural, and economic factors.” Humans have the power to either create a massive change in saving energy or waste it. With our every move we consume massive amounts of energy, but that amount of energy consumption could be lessened or even eliminated with just simple changes in our behavior and routines.
As students from the College of Human Ecology, we are taught that we are the stewards of the world we live in. We have in our hands the future and well-being of the planet and all of those living on it. All of our actions have the power to affect those around us, as well as our environment. Therefore, we must live with caution and care, ensuring that our actions will not negatively affect others.
With this in mind, let’s participate in this year’s Energy Efficiency Day. This is a special campaign that is held every first Wednesday of October every year and it has been going on for the past four years! This year, on October 7, along with hundreds of prominent organizations, companies, government agencies, we share the goal of sharing tips, tools, and stories that promote the multiple benefits of energy efficiency, from lower costs to healthier homes.
This year’s slogan, “Save Money. Cut Pollution. Create Jobs.” promotes the main goals and benefits of practicing efficient energy consumption. Conserving energy is the cheapest, quickest way to meet our energy needs, cut consumer bills, and reduce pollution; it also supports more than 2.4 million jobs in the United States.
Consuming energy efficiently and sustainably simply means using less energy to perform the same task, by eliminating this energy waste we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, reduce demand for energy imports and lower our energy costs on a household and economy-wide level.
While there are cleaner ways to procure energy such as harnessing the power of renewable energy technologies, practicing simple ways to efficiently use energy is the cheapest and most immediate way to reduce the use of fossil fuel – the main source of energy in today’s world. There is a wide range of opportunities for efficiency improvements in every sector of society, from our households up to huge industries, transportation, and even energy generation.
Let us practice smartly conserving energy not only during this day but also every day; because practicing energy efficiency and being conscious about the environment is not a one-time thing but a way of living!
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