Government Control Vs. Individual Responsibility

Energy conferences held in New York City and Philadelphia had two contrasting views on how to handle energy efficiency.

At the America's Sustainable Future conference in Philadelphia:

"Personal responsibility will likely come to manage energy, but

The take-away message: If people have control over their own energy consumption - and if the right incentives are in place - they're likely to become more efficient. For example, if energy costs are cheaper in the middle of the night, when electricity demand is low, people might program their dishwasher to run at that time."

At the New York City's Sustainability Media Roundtable on Effective Energy Management:

"In this conversation, the message was, 'if you build it they will come.' In other words, cities need to install the right infrastructure so people don't have to think about whether they are being more efficient. As Bruce Katz from Brookings Institution put it, 'in the absence of federal leadership, cities give us the best hope that the U.S. can move forward [with energy efficiency].'"