?Conservation is the name of the game in President Obama’s energy plan. And the way the plan is looking, if approved, it will play out like an agenda pushed by the electric-utility industry and environmental groups.


The plan includes government spending of more than $30 billion toward making the nation energy efficient, allocated in the following areas:


• $3 billion for home energy retrofits, which could include rebate checks for purchases of energy-efficient appliances;
• $3 billion for energy retrofits at public buildings that may include hiring laborers to conduct energy audits and install so-called “smart-meters” that more efficiently allocate power;
• $3 billion to promote energy efficiency in commercial buildings, largely in the form of tax breaks to developers;
• $3 billion for school-facility efficiency projects;
• $3.5 billion to expand current state energy-efficiency programs;
• $5 billion more for states that enact stricter building-efficiency standards and restructure utility conservation incentives;
• $6 billion for local governments to make power plants and transportation networks more efficient; and
• $4 billion for other initiatives and incentives, such as construction of a better electricity grid, efficiency at military institutions, workforce training, additional smart meters and an expansion of the weatherization program to better insulate homes.


That is $30 billion that will undoubtedly create jobs and generate at least a temporary focus on conservation. Several points of Obama’s plan are practical steps towards energy efficiency—restructuring power plants to make them more energy efficient, making transportation networks more efficient, and the installation of “smart meters” and hiring individuals to conduct energy audits at public buildings.


These practical changes could easily be implemented, but can the overall mentality of Americans toward energy adjust to one of long-term conservation?


At least up to this point, Americans’ attitude toward using energy has been, “If it’s there, use it.” Unless the U.S. energy supply runs dry, will Americans stop spending it?


And of course, Americans love gasoline. While the fourth-quarter 2008 decline in gasoline consumption was the steepest price pushback since the early 1980s, the dip came only after gas prices spiked beyond $4 per gallon in July. Oil legend T. Boone Pickens predicted consumer recoil in June 2008 at Oil and Gas Investor’s Energy Capital Forum in Houston.


“I think it would be better for this country if the price of gasoline was higher, not lower,” he told an audience of more than 500 energy executives, investors and financiers.


“…The lower the price, the more it sends a signal to the consumer: ‘We have plenty of gasoline. Go ahead, and use all you want. Be as wasteful as you want to.’”


It’s now, only after Americans have felt the sting of paying more than $50 to fill an ordinary fuel tank, that drivers are more conservation-focused. At under-$2 a gallon again, the longevity of this gasoline conservation may be diminished.


In Houston, energy users discovered a powerful lesson after Hurricane Ike in September: They could survive with less energy. The U.S. Department of Energy estimated that 2.6 million power customers in Texas and Louisiana lost service due to Ike. Houstonians may not have enjoyed granola-bar and government-issued MRE meals, but they made do after throwing out the milk, eggs and cheese from warm refrigerators.

And, a few days without air conditioning may have helped them realize it isn’t necessary to crank thermostats so low.


While a blackout is not a sustainable means of energy conservation, it does help put much into perspective. Nevertheless, conservation will not be fully realized until the average American embraces it as a lifestyle.


An allocated $3 billion for home energy retrofits is a great idea, but will Americans be willing to spend more up-front to reap the long-term benefits of more energy-efficient appliances? That is what Obama hopes.


Energy conservation is a mindset. And only if Americans realize on a minute-to-minute basis the importance of conservation, will substantial change be won.

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