The 'meter appliances to educate' idea is a typical crock of twaddle from government- you cannot educate pork! Here's some typical behaviour/remarks of friends, neighbours and relatives.
'A' absolutely refuses to recycle a thing-"Can't be bothered, it all goes in the tip anyway." This person will take the car for a 50 yard trip to the local shop. I seriously doubt she has ever moved more than 20 yards in one go under her own steam since leaving school.
'B' uses her washing machine continuously- 4 or 5 washes a day, often with little more than a pair of socks. "I like to keep on top of the washing." When I mooted our idea of a timer to make use of off-peak rates, I got "Oh, that's too complicated for me."
Often her drier is running on a nice "drying day", forcing my wife to bite her tongue!
'C' opens the door (honestly!) if it's "too hot in here" , with the central heating full on, because "Hubby feels the cold." 'Hubby' is a self-centered, idle, useless twerp, but you can't pick your kith!
'D' has a huge garden, but burns all his garden refuse, and uses energy-burning chemical fertilisers. A compost heap? "No, they attract the vermin." 'Vermin' includes sparrows, butterflies, field voles etc.
'E' controls the slightest sign of rodents, insects, worms, weeds, moss etc. with poisons, pellets and sprays. When I pointed out the dangers to wildlife I got "Well, why are they allowed to sell it then?"
'F' Almost fainted with shock when I showed him a (French) common salamander, a beautiful harmless black and orange amphibian, not venomous and with no teeth, (they swallow by contracting their eyeballs). "I'll have to get some slug pellets if we've got those in our garden!"
This guy's father was a farmer, no wonder the songthrushes have all gone.
'G' has a 36W fluorescent tube burning 24/24 in his garage because he thinks it's "cheaper than turning it on and off".
This is a common belief. I've had several goes at him over this, (he's my son!}
The idea that any of the above, ( and they are pretty typical ), would change their energy usage/ environmentally destructive behaviour because of a display on an appliance or 'education' just boggles the mind.
Alan
