Earlier this year, Alaskans witnessed an astounding example of energy conservation in Juneau. An avalanche caused an electricity crisis, and the price of power more than quadrupled. In response, residents slashed their electricity use. They turned off lights, hung wash to dry on clotheslines, unplugged appliances and turned down their thermostats. Demand for electricity dropped by more than 30 percent.
It was an impressive example of saving energy the old-fashioned way: doing without. Residents literally lived in the dark -- and they weren't exactly cozy warm, either.
It wasn't the kind of energy conservation initiative that many Alaskans would want to imitate. The energy savings were driven by necessity and achieved through austerity.
Admirable as it was, Juneau's experience was the kind of energy conservation that can give the concept a bad name. It was the "shiver in the dark" way of saving energy. What Juneauites did was fine as a response to a temporary crisis, but it is no way to live a modern American life.
Juneau-style energy austerity was what Vice President Dick Cheney had in mind when he dismissed energy conservation as nothing more than a "personal virtue."
You want to make that kind of sacrifice to show how virtuous and earth-friendly you are? OK, he was saying ---- have at it, but don't make me join you. I don't want to live in a cave. I'd like to turn my lights on after dark, thank you very much.
Here in Anchorage, Mayor Begich and the assembly recently embraced a much more appealing approach to energy conservation. You might call it "invest a little; save a lot."
At the mayor's behest, the city will spend $2.2 million to replace energy-hogging street lights with more efficient, longer-lasting LED style fixtures.
Light from the LEDs (light-emitting diodes) is more natural than the eerie orange glow from existing street lamps. The new fixtures will aim light where it's needed, reducing light pollution. They last about seven times longer than old-fashioned light bulbs and use half as much electricity.
Anchorage's new LED street lamps are really expensive, but they more than pay for themselves with lower electricity bills and less maintenance while providing better lighting on the streets.
Now that's the type of energy conservation initiative that can appeal to every Alaskan.
BOTTOM LINE: Investing in energy efficiency is more appealing than sermons about how people should live austere, energy-conserving lives.
Ballot confusion
At the polls yesterday morning, my neighbor was just ahead of me in line to sign in.
As he finished up and put down his pen, the nice-but-not-well-trained poll worker said, "Here, you get the Republican ballot."
My neighbor hadn't asked for that particular ballot.
The poll worker didn't tell him he could choose one of the day's three ballots -- the Republican; the Alaska Independence-Democrat-Libertarian; or one with only ballot measures on it.
No, the poll worker just looked at his party registration and handed him the ballot that matched.
She was terribly confused by Alaska's confusing primary rules.
It was an easy mistake to make. If you were an ordinary citizen just showing up on Election Day, you probably didn't know that you had a choice of at least two, and possibly three ballots, depending on your party affiliation.
But for a supposedly trained poll-worker, this mistake was inexcusable. She did not know a basic rule for the day's voting.
I spoke up and in a couple of minutes, the confused poll worker's colleagues straightened her out.
Alaska's confusing primary comes to us compliments of Alaska Republicans. They refuse to let Alaskans of other parties vote for Republican candidates in the primary. So the state had to create a separate ballot for voters of other parties. (To their credit, Alaska Independence, Democrat and Libertarian parties open their party's primary balloting to all Alaskans.)
Tuesday's voting also included a ballot option with just the four voter initiatives. That one was for voters who want nothing to do with any political party or its candidates.
I'm not sure how many of Tuesday's poll workers were as confused as the one I encountered. I hope she was a rare exception. But it made me wonder: Maybe Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell should have spent less time on his bid for Congress and more time making sure his election workers knew how to do their jobs.
-- Matt Zencey