Blog Irony… plus the Green movement

The Irony is that this marketing site has been up for a year, riding on a blogging platform.  And I haven’t ventured into blogging in that time.  I’ve recommended blogging to my marketing clients, but have never done it before!  OK, here we go…  THE GREEN THING…

It’s heartening to see the Greening Revolution gaining momentum, including in Pittsburgh.  You had to know back in January when President Bush mentioned our “addiction to oil” that it had moved up several notches in public awareness.  Then came the huge increases in the cost of gasoline… and the prospect of utility deregulation jacking up our home energy costs.

I read with interest last month a consumer survey done by Campos, an excellent Pittsburgh market research company.

This Voice of the Region survey produced 950 responses from our region and pointed to the fact that the biggest driver (46%) for “leading an environmentally friendly lifestyle” is “The Economy/Rising Gas Prices.” No real surprise there:  “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Way down the list of reasons to change lifestyles was “Concern for the Environment/Future of Our Planet” at 3%, which is only slightly higher than “Celebrity Influences.”  So much for a new ethic.

But at least something is happening to change wasteful behavior.

As is often the case, here in Pittsburgh we’re behind the nation.  While only 18% of Pittsburghers have made “major changes” in their shopping and living habits, 28% in a national survey said they had.  Jim Roddey once said “An advantage of living in Pittsburgh is that when the end of the world comes, we’ll still have another 10 years.”  That always makes people chuckle about our charming little-big town.

On the other hand, the Campos study found that 92% of Pittsburghers have made “some kind of change” versus only 83% of the nation as a whole.  Go Stillers.

MY GREEN EFFORTS

Speaking of major and minor changes, for the past several months I’ve been working to improve the energy efficiency of my house… mainly to save money on my utility bills per the primary consumer motivation found in the Campos study. But I also believe deeply in reducing our energy consumption, going way back to the first Earth Day.

Anyhow, I’ve been sealing up a variety of leaks in the basement and attic, as well as sealing and insulating my ductwork in the basement—very dirty work with 120 year old dust falling and all kinds of sticky sealers, glues and foam insulation!.  A new client, Regis McQuaide of Master Remodelers, advised me about these being the smartest things to do first.  So I did, since Regis did all of the hard work this summer to become a Certified Building Analyst.  It seems to be making a difference in the efficiency of my HVAC system, but the winter bills will tell the story.

I like to think I’m moving in the “major change” direction.  Think about it yourself and check out the PA Home Energy and Energy Star websites.  Maybe even have a Home Energy Audit done by McQuaide. At the end of 2008 he won 3 awards for projects.  (press release)