JohnnyMM writes: "Maybe we need an additional item on there that shows whether or not you are qualified to use the phone while driving."

YES! I'm all for this!

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Another point:

For some years now, we've been told the virtues of "multitasking". How we need to do several things at once, all the time, to be considered functional adults.

It's as if doing one thing at a time and doing it well is somehow wrong or Luddite in nature.

Now we're seeing that "multitasking" has downsides too.

Maybe it's time for us to emphasize "mindfulness" - a new word for paying attention and doing what you're doing.

The article oversimplifies the problem.

Electric utilities do not simply make more money by generating and selling more kilowatt-hours. They make more money by selling the cheapest kilowatt-hours and the fewest expensive ones. Utilities are not necessarily the bad guys; remember that they are usually heavily regulated, cannot directly control demand, and are expected to provide 100% reliable service 24/7/365 no matter what.

Conservation and efficiency are certainly part of the answer and should be pushed for all they are worth. But there will still be a need to build new plants to replace old, inefficient ones and to deal with population growth.

One *big* problem, as has been pointed out, is that conservation/efficiency measures stand in stark opposition to the "Morning In America"/unlimited resources mindset of the administrations since 1980. They are too 1970s/Jimmy Carter/Al Gore for many folks - even if they actually save us money and mean a better future.

Some things we can do to reduce our own electricity/energy use:

1) Use a clothesline instead of the dryer whenever possible.

2) Use cold or warm water to wash clothes when possible

3) Use CFLs where possible

4) Setback thermostat, properly set

5) Replace inefficient A/C and refrigerator when ROI warrants

6) Microwave, toaster oven, little water-boiler pot instead of the stove when possible.

7) Insulate and seal

8) If it's not being used, turn it off! If you're forgetful, install timers to do it.

In some places you can sign up for wind power. It costs a little more but such votes-with-your-wallet cause more wind farms to be built, which is a Good Thing.

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The Big Dirty Secret is that residential electricity prices vary over a wide range in the USA, from more than 18 cents per kWh from Con-Ed to about 5 cents in parts of the Pacific Northwest and South. Imagine if gasoline prices varied that much...

writes: "2. Electrification -- cars, semi trucks, heat pumps instead of gas-powered heaters, maybe freight trains, etc."

Electric cars and light trucks are a possibility, but the overall efficiency of all the conversions and the storage batteries has to be considered. Solar-power depends in large part on climate and how inexpensively the panels can be made.

The energy demands of large trucks are a different problem, because they are not only enormous, but many such trucks spend a large part of their time on the road at high speed, unlike a commuting or delivery vehicle.

Geothermal/ground source heat pumps are high-efficiency option.

Railroads are more efficient than large trucks; the steel wheel on the steel rail is simply a more-efficient technology than the rubber tire on the paved road. But since about 1940 the surface-transport emphasis has been on the rubber-tire vehicle.

Main-line US railroad electrification dates back to the turn of the century - the 20th century. Electric freight locomotives were developed to a high state of efficiency and reliability by the 1920s. Later-generation locos like the E-44 were even better. Most European railroads are electrified.

But here in the USA there are several problems with railroad electrification. These problems illustrate the energy-policy situation pretty well.

The first problem is that the low price of oil and the high quality of post-WW2 diesel-electric freight locomotives minimized the advantages of electrification for most of the past 60 years.

The second problem is that electrification requires an enormous capital investment in both right-of-way and locomotives. Unlike competing modes, the RRs have to fund, build and maintain their own lines, with their own money.

The third problem is that maintenance and modernization costs of an electrified railroad are higher, and all come off the bottom line. Plus the electricity itself isn't free!

The fourth problem is that railroads in the USA pay local property taxes based on the assessed value of their right-of-way. So if a railroad electrifies a line, their property taxes are likely to be increased, decreasing or even negating the savings. Those taxes do not rise and fall with traffic levels or revenue, either.

Solve those problems and you'll see a lot more electric freight trains.