By Dan Tortorice

Our country was nearly two centuries old before we had to start thinking seriously about how we use energy. In 1973 the major oil-exporting countries of the Middle East began to embargo oil shipments to the U.S. in response to our support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. When the price of oil quadrupled, our consumption of oil, which had been increasing for decades, suddenly looked like a bad idea.

This event forced us to look at energy conservation as a means to improve our economy and to protect our air and water from costly pollution. We made an investment in energy conservation that has produced tremendous results in the last 40 years. The federal government forced automakers to build higher-mileage vehicles. Institutions at every level of society realized they could benefit by conserving energy. Ideas such as recycling of resources, renewable energy creation and just plain walking instead of driving have steadily spread.

These efforts toward increased efficiency have contributed more to our energy outlook than the combined contributions of oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear. Our total energy use peaked in 2007 and has trended downward since then. Homes and businesses are using 12 percent less oil now than they did in 2005. We are now getting one-eighth of our total energy from renewable sources like wind and solar, which are the fastest growing areas of energy production. New technologies, like LED light bulbs, will have a big impact as they grow in the marketplace. These bulbs use only one-fifth of the energy consumed by incandescent bulbs.

In Wisconsin we created the state program Focus on Energy (FOE) in 2001. FOE provides information, assessment, assistance and rewards to energy consumers. Their Home Performance with Energy Star® program provides homeowners with cash rewards for doing smart things like sealing air leaks in their homes or replacing an old furnace with an energy efficient model. MGE has a service to help their customers calculate home heating bills to look for possible significant savings. These programs can assist seniors who may be living on a fixed income.

Those of us who choose to live on Madison’s Northside make our own contribution just by living in an area that has convenient services and mass transit. Our investment in energy conservation will continue to benefit us in the future.

For more information visit https://focusonenergy.com/residential and http://www.mge.com/saving-energy.