The UCLA researchers decided to take on a project to find out if liberals backed up their claims to be energy conscious or did they waste just as much electricity as conservatives. Depending on which side that you lean, you might say that this can cause trouble or be a confirmation of thought.

When the researchers compared electric bills with 280,000 household voter registration, it seems that the liberals were indeed less likely to leave air conditioners or lights on and they did conserve more energy than the Republican households. This is of special note, because it was more apparent during the warmer summer months. Another key area to remember is that the research was done in the American West, and this may or may not reflect the rest of the country; however, it’s a pretty good indicator. It seems that liberal households were more likely to accommodate voluntary restraint as compared to the conservative households.

Here is another interesting fact, while there was a difference between conservatives and liberals in energy waste, there was even a greater difference between those household that were proclaimed as Green Party and everyone else. During summer seasons, it appears that Democrats consumed 6.6% less electricity than Republicans and Green Party households consumed 19.1% less electricity than the Republican households. These numbers are interesting, and reinforces the Green Party attitude, but again one would assume that the gap was just a bit wider between Democrats and Republicans. The statement that it makes is that Democrats will agree to be slightly less comfortable to participate in the conservation of energy than the non-interested conservatives, however, they aren’t willing to be too uncomfortable and Republicans don’t want to be uncomfortable at all, no matter what the cost in dollars or to the planet.

The experimental research is an excellent indicator as it produces facts as opposed to opinions or hearsay. The consumption of electricity is a private and personal matter that is not observed by the outside world. The results of the research are explained not by peer pressure but by ideology; and the ideology is fairly apparent on all sides. The concept of voluntary restraint is indeed driven by political beliefs, and is yet another statement on the ever challenging topic of climate change. Those that might be cynical now have some statistics to show that the gap between behavior and belief is not quite as wide as they might have assumed.

It might be old school thinking, but in our middle class home, the topic of lowering the electricity was always based on financial reasons. Today it seems to be a combination and includes planetary awareness. While this is a wonderfully good thing, it is very telling when for those that choose to not only leave the air conditioning on, but have the financial ability to pay the extra and lack of sensitivity toward the reduction of energy to save the planet. If anything refreshing came out of the research, it’s the fact that those that stand for the Green Planet support their cause in their lifestyle choices.

Sources: http://grist.org/news/conservatives-vs-liberals-who-wastes-more-electricity/

6 Responses to “Liberals vs Conservatives: Who Wastes More Electricity?”

1. 1
   Gamegirl Says:
   

   I started laughing as soon as I read this. Can’t wait to tell all of my tight-xxx conservative associates. They ARE more interested in their own well being and now I can spew some statistics back at them.

   April 15th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
2. 2
   VirusScan Says:
   

   Oh, duh, are we actually surprised? As they always say, actions speak louder than words, but in this case, the words match the actions.

   April 14th, 2013 at 11:17 pm
3. 3
   Sandylane Says:
   

   I am most impressed with those that consider themselves to be highly conscious of ecological efforts. They put everyone to shame. It brings new information and a bit of enlightenment to all of us.

   April 13th, 2013 at 4:37 pm
4. 4
   MightIsRight Says:
   

   The investigation was probably conducted by a bunch of liberals. They wanted the numbers to come out the way they did.

   April 12th, 2013 at 2:02 pm
5. 5
   MrGunMan Says:
   

   I question who actually did the survey. Students aren’t exactly considered disinterested parties. They probably skewed the results to their favor.

   April 11th, 2013 at 11:40 am
6. 6
   LadyCanary Says:
   

   I guess the results are what one would have expected. Typically, Liberals are much more concerned about the environment than conservatives. Although a number of my friends are conservative, they are typically self-centered and will only give to situations they approve of. Apparently, they approve of themselves in this case.

   April 10th, 2013 at 11:44 pm

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