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How about a balance between conservation and consumption?

By Kyle Kreiger, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jul 28, 2008 04:27 PM

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The discovery was disconcerting.

It seems I'm an arrogant, self-absorbed American.

Not long ago I vowed to stop wasting water. Each day for a month I turned off the shower as I soaped up. Not a drop went down the drain as I brushed my teeth. I stressed my washing machine with extra-large loads.

I did my part for the planet.

Then I got my water bill.

Success. I saved about 400 gallons of water; cut my usage by more than 11 percent.

And I saved a whopping $2.80.

Two dollars and 80 cents.

I passed up all those nice warm, relaxing showers in exchange for one large cup of fast-food restaurant coffee at the end of the month.

So I'm wasting water again.

The reality of my self-discovery is that I'm probably no different than most of you.

Americans talk a good game. We say we want to conserve natural resources, to eliminate hunger, to make the world safer.

But unless there's something in it for us — in my case, more than $2.80 — we lose interest pretty fast.

We're more interested in getting the new iPhone on the first day it's available, or scoring a first-weekend ticket to The Dark Knight (waiting until the second weekend is just too much of a sacrifice).

How many of you are driving more slowly these days? Is it because you want to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, or do you want to save a few bucks?

The truth is we require an incentive to give up anything that we consider our right.

But don't fret. We're just following our leaders (or maybe they are following us). We brag that our country is a world leader, the last remaining superpower. Yet we only act when it serves our interests. You want proof?

Darfur.

It's the same at the local level. We face water restrictions while our state and local leaders drool over any proposal for new development that will increase the demand.

Our culture is quick to reward excess, consumption and development, but hesitant to do the same for conservation. When a Hummer can bring a bigger tax break than a Prius, our system of incentives is out of whack.

We need to change. And in the absence of leaders with a backbone, the responsibility falls to us.

I'm willing to do my part. I have a deal for my county commissioners.

I'll sacrifice and go back to conserving water if they curtail the uncontrolled development. With the housing market in the tank, that should be easy.

But just in case, as an added incentive, they can keep my $2.80.

Times staff writer Kyle Kreiger rants about the serious and silly with one question in mind: Why? Contact him at kreiger@sptimes.com.