It's working, it's working!
 

Seen this yet?

Home electricity use in US falling to 2001 levels - CenturyLink

Maybe because 46 million Americans are living in poverty. :eek:

Wow, thats very good news. 10,000 kWh seems like a lot still! I used ~3,400 kWh in 2013. If you convert my natural gas usage to kWh its a lot higher than 10k though...

So I need to buy a new 40" TV to help out?

I am going to wait until 80s use less energy than current 40s, then I will save the world.

Actually, I hope to purchase a flatscreen for my parents for next Christmas, since I cannot imagine convincing them to actually turn off the television.

Depends on your definition of poverty. You also may notice that by & large the 'poverty by government definition' class tend to be more profiligate in their energy use than a lot of more prosperous folks.

Take for instance me vs my neighbors. While we're not poor by any means, they live paycheck to paycheck, while I have a comfortable sum in investments & retirement accounts. They complain of $200+ power bills, high heating costs, idle their SUV for 10-15 minutes before leaving for work... My power bill hasn't been over $50 for several years, heating & gas are similarly a fraction of theirs...

It gets even better when they're renters- in the bitter cold of winter they'll have the stat at 80 then open a window.

The comment on poverty is spot on, there is no better motivator than insuffient money to keep lights and power on to conserve, if your too stupid they get shut off.

There is a lower level of "ownership" and property rental today than there has been in many decades, the number of persons per residence is higher, plain english people can't afford their own places and this saves money as it IS much more efficient to live communally than individually.

122.6 kwH/mo average for me since I replaced my 45 year old fridge; or 1471/year. Average family uses 10,000/year now after they've "cut back"?!? :eek:

45 years WOW!

To think my refrigerator has only been in use for 26 yrs. It is actually older but was in storage for several years because it wasn't big enough for two people and we are talking about a full size.