Congressman Brian Baird: Let's prevent lethal global overheating via a national program to vacuum every refrigerator cooling vent on the same day

Brian Baird: “This is not government mind control” | Grist

Rep. Brian Baird (D) brings a unique perspective. He has a PhD in clinical psychology and published two books in the field before coming to D.C. to deal with dysfunctions of a different sort. He has represented Washington's 3rd congressional district for 12 years, but after this year, he's calling it quits and heading back home.
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...the evidence is clear that with relatively simple changes in our actions, we could reduce our [nation's] energy consumption by 20 percent in 20 weeks.

Here's how I would do it: get national leaders, clergy members, political leaders from both parties, Nobel Prize-winning scientists, economists, throw in some pop stars if you want, together and say, "Look, the quickest way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, to save consumers money, lower the deficit, and improve the environment is to begin to save energy. Here's how we're going to help you do that. Every week, we're going to have one simple, easily accomplished task. On Monday, we're going to turn the temperature down on our water heaters slightly. Monday next week, we're going to vacuum the cooling vents on our refrigerator. It takes about five minutes." It doesn't make a massive difference, but it makes a substantial difference, and nationwide, it will add up.

It would be the single quickest economic stimulus we could do for the entire country. If we saved just 10 percent in automobile use, which you could easily achieve by slight changes in driving behavior (tire inflation, obeying the speed limit), that's $50 billion back in people's pockets. Or you could double that by carpooling once a week; then you've got $100 billion.
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People say, "I like long, hot showers." I understand that. Do you like passing $1.3 trillion in debt on to your kids? Do you like having them possibly enlisted in wars to go fight for foreign oil? Do you like the plausibility that by the end of the century, most coral reefs could be dissolving? Not engaging behavior change is also a sacrifice -- it's a sacrifice of our children. We are sacrificing the economy because we're racking up deficits, partly because we spend so much on energy. We're sacrificing the environment through ocean acidification and lethal overheating of the planet.