Why do conservatives like to waste energy?

[LuvNewcastle]

Back in 2011, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) declared war on energy-efficient lightbulbs, calling “sustainability” the gateway into a dystopic, Big Brother-patrolled liberal hellscape. When the lights went off during Beyoncé’s halftime set at the last Superbowl, conservative commentators from the Drudge Report to Michelle Malkin pointed blame (erroneously) at new power-saving measures at New Orleans’ Superdome. And one recent study found that giving Republican households feedback on their power use actually encourages them to use more energy.

Why do conservatives, who should have a natural inclination toward conservation, have a beef with energy efficiency? It could be tied to the political polarization of the climate change debate.

A study out Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined attitudes about energy efficiency in liberals and conservatives, and found that promoting energy-efficient products and services on the basis of their environmental benefits actually turned conservatives off from picking them. The researchers first quizzed participants on how much they value various benefits of energy efficiency, including reducing carbon emissions, reducing foreign oil dependence, and reducing how much consumers pay for energy; cutting emissions appealed to conservatives the least.

The study then presented participants with a real-world choice: With a fixed amount of money in their wallet, respondents had to “buy” either an old-school lightbulb or an efficient compact florescent bulb (CFL), the same kind Bachmann railed against. Both bulbs were labeled with basic hard data on their energy use, but without a translation of that into climate pros and cons. When the bulbs cost the same, and even when the CFL cost more, conservatives and liberals were equally likely to buy the efficient bulb. But slap a message on the CFL’s packaging that says “Protect the Environment,” and “we saw a significant drop-off in more politically moderates and conservatives choosing that option,” said study author Dena Gromet, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

http://grist.org/climate-energy/why-do-conservatives-like-to-waste-energy/

[southernyankeebelle]

1. Here is another solution but I don't think we could get republicans to do it.

If the would only keep their mouths shut that would save alot of energy. LOL

[MrScorpio]

2. Conservatives believe that they have an inalienable right to be irresponsible assholes

That's why they cry like spoiled children whenever someone tries to rein that shit in.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. That's about the size of it.

They also hate social programs because they don't like being told that they have to share with others. They're fucking bratty, spoiled children.

[cui bono]

3. Wow. So based on that it's not so much that they don't want to conserve energy

but that they'd like to destroy the planet.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. If they destroy the planet, Jesus will HAVE to come back and

take them to heaven.

[cui bono]

10. If he still wants them. n/t

[LonePirate]

5. I do not understand conservatives' hatred of energy efficiency and sustainability

It's not based on their devotion to free market principles of cutting expenses or on a biblical respect for the land and the planet.

My best guess is that because progressives have embraced these principles, they must automatically oppose them instead of agreeing with those on the left. It makes no sense to me at all. It really is biting off one's nose to spite one's face.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. For some reasons they see conservation as a "librul" issue,

therefore, they can't support it. Add that to their belief that gawd gave them dominion over the world and everything in it and they feel it is their right, even their duty, to exploit nature at every turn. After all, gawd will provide.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. Let go and let Gawd!

[lunasun]

9. One stupid once told me that not using energy IS wasting energy

like it s food that could spoil and not be used later I guess.......
Who knows how the mad minds of these idiots work?? good question

[LuvNewcastle]

12. He probably heard that from Rush.

He says some of the most ridiculous shit and they swallow every bit of it, like the little birdies eating worms from their mother's mouth.

[TheMightyFavog]

11. Reminds me of a bumper stcker I've seen up here a few times.

Usually on the back of large pickup trucks festooned with Scott Walker and other GOPer Bumper stickers:

"I'm not having fun unless I'm burning gasoline."

[LuvNewcastle]

13. That's like saying, "I'm not having fun unless I'm littering."