innsbruck-bikers.jpgIt seems to me that Europe is outpacing the US in energy conservation. We just returned from a trip to Europe, during which we saw so many examples of things that we in the US could do to conserve energy without totally upsetting our lifestyle. Actually, I think Europeans have a much healthier and productive lifestyle than we do anyway.

As we traveled through Europe, we were surprised to see the extent of wind and solar energy “farms”. Some of these solar energy collection farms covered hundreds upon hundreds of acres. Read more about wind energy in Europe.

In Germany the use of solar energy is growing partly because of legislation. The (Renewable Energy Sources Act) demands the production of power from renewable sources. It obliges the network operators, to obtain electricity from photovoltaic plants and to pay a fixed amount for it. Switzerland will soon introduce a nation-wide net-metering according to the German model. Read more about solar energy.

Energy is, by design, very expensive in Europe; people can’t afford to waste energy. Front-loading washers are almost exclusively used because they save water and energy. These washers have a heavy-duty spin cycle to extract as much water as possible before the clothes are put into the dryer or are hung outside or on little drying racks inside. Refrigerators are very small and hold a limited amount of food, therefore people shop daily for fresh meats, breads, fruits and vegetables. They shop in their neighborhoods by foot or by bike…no half-day excursions to Costco to buy a crate of apples.

We noticed other examples of energy conservation at the hotels where we stayed. Hotel door key systems turn off all electricity when you leave your room. All the hotels used energy efficient light bulbs and motion sensors to light hallways, bathrooms and stairwells.

In Europe, cars are small and gas is expensive, which encourages conservation. I didn’t see a single Hummer! The whopping European gas price, which is responsible for keeping down the size of European cars, is the result of a huge gasoline tax. The governments of European countries have taxed gasoline to encourage gasoline (energy) conservation, thus creating the market for smaller, more efficient, cars.

There is an abiding commitment to mass transit which is clean, efficient and inexpensive. In every city, we noticed electric trams as well as buses. Larger cities have underground mass transit. Mass transportation is used by the vast majority of of the people who live and work in the city.

But, it was also amazing to see people of all ages riding bikes. Men in suits and women in dresses were biking throughout the cities. Biking is an integral part of most everyone’s life. There were bike racks on almost every street and they were filled. Interestingly, I noticed that theft must not be a problem because people secured their bikes to the racks with light weight cable locks.

Let’s take a lesson from Europe conserve…conserve…conserve.