It isn’t really a battle as in good versus evil.  It is a battle to define the terms and see where the responsibilities lie.

Let’s establish some working definitions:

Energy efficiency is what it is.

Energy conservation is what we do.

If the device we plug into the wall uses less energy than the device it replaces or it uses less energy than similar devices we could have purchased, that device is energy efficient.

If we decide to unplug our electrical appliances when we aren’t using them or turn down our thermostats and put on a sweater or put our computer on standby, we are conserving energy.

Here are a few conservation videos:

Some information about easy energy saving measures outside the house and in the basement

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-6-v-72.html

Some information about easy ways everyone can save energy inside the home

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-6-v-15.html

http://endependence.info/research/videos-c-6-v-44.html

Now, what about energy efficiency.  Here is a great article from Time Magazine which explains the concepts of energy efficiency.  As Duke Energy says, efficiency can be the “fifth fuel” (I guess oil, natural gas, nuclear and coal are the other four in the thinking of a utility).

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1869224-1,00.html

It turns out to be much less expensive, destructive and time-intensive to reduce demand through efficiency than to increase supply through new drilling or new power plants. A nationwide push to save “negawatts” instead of building more megawatts could help reverse our unsustainable increases in energy-hogging and carbon-spewing while creating a slew of jobs and saving a load of cash.

The concept of “Endependence” is energy independence that ends dependence on polluting fuels.  Both conservation and efficiency are necessary components of this movement.  Each of us can do something to conserve right now (I just turned off the gaming system in the kid’s room).  As a country, we can accept the short term extra costs of energy efficient devices and embrace government efforts to stimulate sales of energy efficient products and services.

As the soon to be President said in his speech about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan today, “The first question isn’t what’s good for me, but what’s good for the country my children will inherit?”