Green Options

Here’s an Earth Day concept for you—energy efficiency is the “gateway drug” to clean energy.

A person who buys Energy Star appliances, fuel efficient vehicles or hybrids, and home efficiency products is more likely to go on to buy clean energy through their utility, or even look into on-site generation (solar panels, for instance).

But what is the gateway to efficiency? What is the introduction the average person needs to start actually thinking about the energy they use? It’s actually the same easy, everyday idea that can lead people to be more sustainability conscious in every aspect of their lives—conservation.

Granted, the idea of conservation has needed some serious PR for a while, and it’s time we all start spreading the word on what it really means.

With this week marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans residents are looking back … but they’re also looking ahead, to a more sustainable and energy-efficient future. (They’re also praying feverishly that Gustav doesn’t head their way.)

In addition to all the green rebuilding efforts underway throughout the Crescent City, existing homes that survived the post-storm flooding are also getting eco-friendly makeovers. Those efforts received a boost earlier this summer, when the New Orleans City Council approved the Energy Smart New Orleans Energy Efficiency Program.

Among the program’s goals