Why green small steps are important

So leaving your phone charger plugged in is bad they would have you believe. Realistically I can leave my phone charger plugged in all year is not even a spit in the ocean of electricity consumption, compared to cooking or that 15 minute shower (10,500 Watts) every day that people are so fond of. So why is that kind of minor economy being being pushed, why should it be pushed.


Green small steps are important, not because they make any real difference though. But because it changes the mindset, so that the real big steps that need to be made by government and major corporates can happen.


There are two energy related issues to be concerned about, carbon emissions and consequent global warming, and the imminent scarcity of fossilised carbon to burn. What we really have to do to redress the ensuing issue of carbon emissions is so big and unacceptable that we need to be softened up so as to accept the inevitable impact on us the consumer. Small steps are going to be important in moving people to a mindset where these bigger steps become more acceptable.


What are these bigger steps? Well there's a book (available free online) by David J.C. MacKay called 'Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air' which covers this in some depth. Its available at www.withouthotair.com. There's also a short 4 page summary of the book if you are in a hurry.


Am I right about the mobile phone charger? Well take a look at this.