Courtesy Gromet
MORE.....
Posted on 05/05/2013 4:57:10 AM PDT by raybbr
Back in 2011, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) declared war on energy-efficient light bulbs, calling "sustainability" the gateway into a dystopic, Big Brother-patrolled liberal hellscape. When the lights went off during Beyoncé’s halftime set at the last Superbowl, conservative commentators from the Drudge Report to Michelle Malkin pointed blame (erroneously) at new power-saving measures at New Orleans’ Superdome. And one recent study found that giving Republican households feedback on their power use actually encourages them to use more energy.
Why do conservatives, who should have a natural inclination toward conservation, have a beef with energy efficiency? It could be tied to the political polarization of the climate change debate.
A study out in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined attitudes about energy efficiency in liberals and conservatives, and found that promoting energy-efficient products and services on the basis of their environmental benefits actually turned conservatives off from picking them. The researchers first quizzed participants on how much they value various benefits of energy efficiency, including reducing carbon emissions, reducing foreign oil dependence, and reducing how much consumers pay for energy; cutting emissions appealed to conservatives the least.
The study then presented participants with a real-world choice: With a fixed amount of money in their wallet, respondents had to "buy" either an old-school light bulb or an efficient compact florescent bulb, the same kind Bachmann railed against. Both bulbs were labeled with basic hard data on their energy use, but without a translation of that into climate pros and cons. When the bulbs cost the same, and even when the CFL cost more, conservatives and liberals were equally likely to buy the efficient bulb. But slap a message on the CFL’s packaging that says "Protect the Environment," and "we saw a significant drop-off in more politically moderates and conservatives choosing that option," said study author Dena Gromet, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
The chart below, from the report, shows how much liberals and conservatives value each argument for efficiency: While liberals (gray) valued all three equally, conservatives (white), were significantly less moved by and most at odds with liberals over the carbon-saving argument.
Courtesy Gromet
MORE.....
Here's mine:
"The reason, she thinks, is that given the political polarization of the climate change debate, environmental activism is so frowned upon by those the right that they’ll do anything to keep themselves distanced from it."
Absolutely wrong. The reason is that most conservatives have researched the "green" label and found, in most cases, it is used as a) a sales gimmick b) as a sales gimmick based on erroneous data c) a sales gimmick rooted in the cause of "saving the earth" which has proven to be pure hyperbole d) a sales gimmick that when, in depth analysis is done, most often results in the discovery that the "green" item actually utilizes more energy in its production than the item it's replacing.
None of the above are mutually exclusive and any combination of the above may be true.
I do not automatically believe anything is "green" until I research it. The progressive/liberal is mentally roped to labels and therefore does not bother to find out the truth and blindly follows the label's path to their own self-aggrandizement as a "saver of the earth".
As a conservative I’m always looking for ways to conserve or save but I also want products that work and can be bought at a reasonable price.
The real reason they are pushing the public to “energy efficient” (lower wattage, harsher lighting) bulbs is to shift that power usage to recharging electric toy cars.
And the new televisions use more power than the old ones.
How Do You Get Conservatives to Buy Energy Efficient Products?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Make them cheap and effective.
Right now all energy efficient products are bascially fetishes. They look cool, signify high status among liberals, and do not really do the job because they sacrifice performance, reliability and quality. They are also too expensive.
However when the economy fails due to these fetishes, we conservatives will be riding horses while liberals are left in the dirt pulsing their electric cars into rust.
My problem with the “Green Products” is that the marketplace DEMAND has been removed from the equation. Rump pumping faggots have more rights than citizens who just want light bulbs and toilets and showerheads that work.
THOSE things have been outlawed by “bedroom”, “bathroom”, “kitchen”, “living room” police without outrage from liberals who are content to engage in abnormal sexual activities in daylight at pride parades or darkened bedrooms.
I gave up on the CFL bulbs because they didnt last as long as advertised and the reported negative health effects. I am systematically replacing my incandescents with LED lights though because they do offer real savings over the long term, they last for years and the price is coming down. I won’t buy a hybrid car for the same reasons I won’t buy CFLs. I will buy a diesel though.
As someone said above, I’m not married to the Green meme. I do my own research.
gotten
to do or buy
anything ???
You GET
your kids to clean up their room, to the meeting on time, a chance, promoted, etc.,
But to GET a Conservative to BUY ...
How do you fight an idea?
With another idea"
(GREAT line from "Ben Hur")
False premise.
You totally misunderstand (purposefully?) what's going on.
I have absolutely no problem with conservation.
I DO have a problem with the forced, false conservation that is FORCED upon us.
There you go again. You are supposed to go with your feelings and not common sense, which, unfortunately, isn't all that common.
...or...”How do you get Conservatives to buy BS?” (Same question I think).
Yes, when I see a new item I will often try it out.
But when I see "Green" on anything I automatically assume it is a low quality piece of junk they want to charge me a premium price for.
So it stays on the shelf.
Is everything labeled that way a low quality piece of junk? Probably not, but that is how they have presented themselves.
Superb analysis.
What you said.
Reducing foreign oil is a huge canard. We don't use foreign oil to provide electricity and there is a natural gas glut and a predicted long-term huge supply of it.
Our biggest use for oil is in transportation. The only thing that will reduce foreign oil is more drilling and production here.
Perhaps the conservatives simply recognize BS better than the leftist sheeple.
I also refer to the Honda Prius as the Smug-mobile.
Absolutely! This cannot be a scientific study! Without seeing the samples and how they were scored...this is BS! I also try to save every way I can. There just happen to be some things that are necessary...as in driving a van when you have a large family (especially large in comparison the the lefties NO children). I’m certain they did not evaluate the celebrities households. They are 99% leftie and they preach conservation to the rest of us while they fly off in their private jets, host megawatt galas, etc. Another tool used here to fuel anti-right hatred!
Absolutely! This cannot be a scientific study! Without seeing the samples and how they were scored...this is BS! I also try to save every way I can. There just happen to be some things that are necessary...as in driving a van when you have a large family (especially large in comparison the the lefties NO children). I’m certain they did not evaluate the celebrities households. They are 99% leftie and they preach conservation to the rest of us while they fly off in their private jets, host megawatt galas, etc. Another tool used here to fuel anti-right hatred!
Conservatives aren’t anti-conservation. We are anti-Green(tm). Green(tm) is a marketing movement designed to teach Americans to lower their standard of living. Green(tm) rarely does what it advertises, but we are told to do it anyway because its gooooood.
Its all sizzle, but no steak. Its all hat and no cattle. We like steak and cattle. Leftists tell us that we should demand more sizzle and hat.
I use CFLs in most of my house. But some light fixtures just need a white hot burning tungsten filament, like the lights over the bathroom mirror.
I drive a car that gets 23 mpg, which isn’t great by Green(tm) standards, but when you factor in its 306 hp, that’s pretty darned good!
I replaced my A/C unit last year with a new high-efficiency unit just to save money and energy.
I would put a solar array on my house, if I could afford it. I’d have a windmill if I lived in windmill country and, again, could afford it.
But, half of my salary goes to pay taxes so missing links to sit on their ass all day and collect welfare or warm the chairs in government offices, so my Green(tm) options are limited.
I guess that’s the real difference. When a Conservative wants to conserve, he pays for the equipment to do it and uses it wisely. When a Leftist wants to conserve, she demands that I pay for it, and doesn’t care if it works at all, as long as it makes her feel good.
The company I work for has several products which are “green.” They are sold in states where the products that actually work are outlawed. Sales are near $0.00 in places where the green products are not required. People buy them because htey have to not because they want to.
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