Brits are Best at Wasting Energy
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.24.06
It's true--the country that is best at organic food and fairtrade fashion is the worst in Europe when it comes to saving energy. According to a new study by the Energy Saving Trust; the British are twice as wasteful as the most efficient savers in Europe--the Germans. Eighty five % of Scots surveyed admit to overfilling the kettle when making a cuppa. Are the British guilty about this bad score? Yes! 82% feel guilty, with the Northern Irish feeling worst about it, and those in Yorkshire not caring at all. And are their parents to blame for this bad behaviour? No! Only 6% blamed it on their mother.
Does a country’s position on a comparison of european energy habits reflect its national characteristics? The British are at the bottom of the list of energy saving countries, due to their dependency on tumble driers, instead of clotheslines (but what about that rainy climate…). They also leave their mobile phone chargers plugged in, which accounts for the waste of more than £60M of electricity, not to mention the carbon dioxide emissions. Next up from the bottom: the Italians: leaving their car engines on during traffic jams and having six appliances on standby regularly. And the French? Not enough walking and should put on a jacket instead of having too much heat a la maison. Then the good guys: Spain, only 12% of the Spanish leave on their air conditioners when they go out (compared to 28% of the Britons). And the super stars: the Germans. Almost 80% turn off their engines in traffic and wash their clothes at 60 degrees. :: Energy Saving Trust
Canadians are pretty good at wasting energy too. Of course the cold climate doesn't help, but still, we're leaders at that..
Presumably that's 28% of Brits WHO HAVE AIR CON leave it on when they go out... must be a tiny number. Not surprised by the Scots overfilling their kettles though - my family always does this.
European countries with higher per capita energy consumption than the UK:
Gibraltar
Iceland
Luxembourg
Norway
Belgium
Finland
Sweden
Netherlands
France
Germany
Austria
Czech Republic
Switzerland
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tablee1c.xls
My stepdad has been leaving the stove on recently, he'll boil (probably too much) water for his coffee and never put it in his cup. It seems to me microwaving would be less wasteful.
I've been trying to find comparisons of different countries in terms of kWh used per person per day or month or year.
I'm trying to determine how far off, or better than other averages I am.
Any ideas?
What a ridiculous survey. I'm all in favour of the EST, but 28% of Britons leave their aircon on??? Oh, come on. I live in Britain and I've never met anyone who has aircon.
But yes - Britain could do better. There are still too many idiots needlessly driving 4x4s.