Debra has been aware of energy use since she was a child. She can easily recall her father’s incessant reminders to “turn off the lights!” or “shut off the water!” But despite her father’s recommendations, Debra admits that once she was on her own as a young adult, she didn’t immediately follow in her father’s energy conscious footsteps. “I didn’t think twice about preheating the oven for half an hour before the chicken was ready to start cooking,” she recalls.

Now that she’s a little older, Debra understands her father’s financial motivation for energy conservation. But she also notes that there is a different kind of energy consciousness in her generation that is focused not only on saving money, but also on reducing waste. Debra has begun to take simple actions to cut waste and lower the energy use in her home. She has made simple and easy changes like doing laundry less often and with cold water, and using programmable timers on lights so as not to leave them on when she is not home. “I have found that making small changes in my routines and in the routines of my family members has had little or no impact on the quality of my daily living, while significantly lowering the energy usage in our home.” It may have taken a little while, but Debra has finally taken her father’s advice.