This post was inspired by Robatoy's post re energy waste using single
lever faucet.

Some years ago I read the results of a study conducted by a local
power company. They installed a TV camera to record which members of a
household made what adjustments to the thermostat.

The results, as would be expected, showed the bill payer was able to
be comfortable at a higher temperature in the months requiring air
conditioning and a lower temperature in the months needing warming.
The remainder of the family needed more energy expenditures in both
the heating and cooling seasons.

No big surprise here, it all seems to depend on who's ox is gored.

"DGDevin" wrote

For example, if there were no laws against littering would you toss a
burger wrapper on the sidewalk, or would you walk fifty feet to a trash
container because were you raised not to be a slob? I'd like to think
most of us will generally do the right thing because we know it's the
right thing, not because it puts (or leaves) a dollar in our pocket, but
not everybody feels that way.

Most of us would today. Years ago it was common and acceptable to toss
candy wrappers and cigarette butts out the car window.

A few hundred years ago it was acceptable to toss the contents of you
chamber pot out the window and onto the sidewalk too. Discover channel had
a series called Filthy Cities a few weeks back. It is amazing how us
civilized humans used to dump all sorts of filth in the streets.

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...


For example, if there were no laws against littering would you toss a
burger wrapper on the sidewalk, or would you walk fifty feet to a trash
container because were you raised not to be a slob? I'd like to think
most of us will generally do the right thing because we know it's the
right thing, not because it puts (or leaves) a dollar in our pocket, but
not everybody feels that way.

Most of us would today. Years ago it was common and acceptable to toss
candy wrappers and cigarette butts out the car window.

The question is did the public's view change first, followed by the law, or
did the law lead to changed views? I suspect it took the force of law with
unpleasant fines to bring that about. Ditto with drunk driving, that was
largely winked at too until the law gained some teeth on the issue. So it
appears that quite often we need unpleasant consequences to make doing the
right thing a cultural habit, until it becomes instinctive for most people.

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

"DGDevin" wrote

For example, if there were no laws against littering would you toss a
burger wrapper on the sidewalk, or would you walk fifty feet to a trash
container because were you raised not to be a slob? I'd like to think
most of us will generally do the right thing because we know it's the
right thing, not because it puts (or leaves) a dollar in our pocket, but
not everybody feels that way.

Most of us would today. Years ago it was common and acceptable to toss
candy wrappers and cigarette butts out the car window.

A few hundred years ago it was acceptable to toss the contents of you
chamber pot out the window and onto the sidewalk too. Discover channel
had a series called Filthy Cities a few weeks back. It is amazing how us
civilized humans used to dump all sorts of filth in the streets.

EP:

A famous phrase out of European literature of those
times was "Yield the wall!". The safest position in a
multi-storey city was right alongside the wall as inhabitants
did not want to paint their own buildings with dumped garbage.

Accounts from the period show that violent encounters
were not unusual when oncoming parties were both
determined to maintain the favored position.

A sewage system is worth a lot of policemen and plenty
of epidemiologists.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey