Can the SUV nation conserve?
As America confronts its first major energy troubles in two decades, President Bush is loath to push conservation as the centerpiece of his national strategy. But with energy prices spiking – and likely to be volatile for up to three years – a renewed conservation ethic is taking root that some experts say could defy White House expectations of how much gasoline and kilowatts Americans are willing to save. True, Americans have always been reticent to change their lifestyle, and a decade of prosperity has reinforced the notion that “the pursuit of happiness” includes big SUVs, big houses, and tons of electronic gadgets. Yet there’s early evidence that pocketbook energy issues matter – and that a prolonged price spike might usher in the biggest conservation boom since the 1970s. “I don’t even have to call it conservation. I’m just not letting the kids leave the TV on for two hours while they wander off and do something else,” says Amy Jaffe, an energy expert at the James A. Baker Institu
