Low energy light bulbs damage the environment
Posted by DavidM in Save energy | 9 December 2006
This has to be one of the funniest pieces of logic I've read in a long time.
I was searching on Google to buy some more low energy light bulbs when I came across an article on David Paul Young's personal page at Reading University.
Basically, he wonders whether low energy light bulbs damage the environment because by saving you money they increase your spending power. Therefore you are going to buy more manufactured goods, increasing the damage done to the environment.
He even calculates that if everyone in the UK replaced their existing light bulbs it would increase damaging spend by £840m (about $1.6 bn).
Okay, so the underlying message is that it's our over-consumption of all things that's causing the problem. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. But to use that as a reason not to bother reducing energy isn't right.
The idea really is to reduce your impact across everything you do, not to trade one saving against another increase in usage.
Also, the UK has a well documented debt problem and £840m doesn't even begin to cover it. So instead of buying more patio heaters people could pay off some interest.
I can't see the major political parties following David's logic either. The message that "the poorer we can make you, the better it is for the environment" is unlikely to get anyone elected.
