Why do Conservatives like to waste energy?

[alarimer]

Back in 2011, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) declared war on energy-efficient light bulbs, 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 today 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 light bulb 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.

I've come to the conclusion that conservatives are just children, really. Big babies who will say "no" just because someone wants them to eat their vegetables or whatever.

Do conservatives even realize that every time they purchase guns and ammunition, a portion goes to wildlife restoration efforts? The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 provides establishes an excise tax specifically for this purpose.

If they knew this, maybe they'd stop buying so much of it. In a way, as much as I hate guns, I'd hate to see a drop-off in this fund because wildlife programs would suffer (they already are due to sequestration, but that's another argument).

Still, they are defiant and oppose ANYTHING on the grounds that some liberal proposed it. Some Democrat could propose a bill declaring the sky blue and they would oppose it just because, I guess.

[JackN415]

1. because they already spend all their energy to conserve their self-interest n/t

[CJCRANE]

2. Some people just like to be annoying and stubborn.

They don't like being told what to do even if it's good for them or other people.

[bemildred]

3. They like waste period. The more the better. nt

[TrogL]

4. They believe God takes care of them. Increased usage proves their faith

[summerschild]

5. Because they are stupid and stubborn.

They made fun of Jimmy Carter 30 years ago when he installed solar panels on the White House, established the Energy Department, put on a sweater and turned down the thermostat, calling on the nation to become energy independent during the oil embargo. One of the first acts of the B-grade actor pretending to be presidential was to rip off the panels. We could have been 30 years ahead if not for their stupidity. Macho crap - no common sense - blind ideology - and nothing's changed except oil is now $l00 a barrel and we can see the visible effects of climate change.

And when first elected, when Obama repeated statistics from the Automobile Association citing huge savings from simply adjusting tire pressure, they laughed at him, too. And people bought Hummers so they could spit on the environment. Tough guys.

They make me sick.

[stillwaiting]

6. Because they're a god-damned American, and it's their birthright.

They can do whatever the fuck they want.

Their thinking is juvenile and not civil or responsible to say the least.

[Aristus]

8. Exactly. Their "birthright."

One doesn't have to look at very many 400lb conservatives, driving their SUV's and drinking a Super-Mega-Monster Gulp, to realize that they consider wild, unhealthy, crazed overconsumption to be their birthright as Americans.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. Conservatives are conservative because they stopped growing mentally at about the age of 16.

[pangaia]

9. They stopped growing much earlier than that.

And the OP's comment that (today's) conservatives are children is the biggest point in the post.
They ARE children...emotionally, intellectually, physically, psychologically... their 'religious concepts' are childish, their social relationships are those of adolescents...And I think that like children of a certain age, they somewhere know they have deep problems, but can not confront them.. or even face them.. I suspect many of them KNOW they full of shit.. but-- can't stop themselves.... there is some psychic disconnect.
What to do...

[gejohnston]

10. to piss people off

and gives them the feeling that they are "sticking it to the man" forgetting that they are the "man".