Green Washing: When the Only Thing Green is Money
Submitted by advisor on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 1:59pm.
The Sub Zero Green Kitchen website stresses electric fork trucks in the factory, recycled stainless steel, scrap reduction, packaging reduction and reuse, refrigerant recycling, a myriad of other green factory claims, and 16 Energy Star certified models which each use as much electricity as a 100W bulb, or so they say. But how Green is Sub-Zero?
Sub Zero's Green Kitchen website references 16 green products. We looked into just (3)
- Sub Zero 700BF 5.1 cu ft Freezer Drawer which draws 349 kWh / year.
Compare this to the 5.5 cu ft Danby DCF550 chest freezer which uses 248 kWh / year, at one imagines 1/10 the cost.
Compare this to no secondary freezer at all which uses 0.0 kWh / year. The use of a secondary refrigerators or freezers (wine coolers, fridge drawers, etc is by definition, not Green
Sub Zero shows the Energy Star logo next to the product. - Sub Zero IC-27FI 16.3 cu ft Upright Freezer which draws 588 kWh / year.
Compare this to the 21.7 cu ft Amana AQC2213TEW chest freezer which uses 460 kWh / year. This is a 33% increase in freezer volume and a 22% reduction in power draw.
Sub Zero shows the Energy Star logo next to the product. - Sub Zero BI42S 24 cu ft Side by Side Refrigerator which draws 573 kWh / year.
Compare this to the 26.4 cu ft Whirlpool GSS26C4XX Side by Side Refrigerator which draws 499 kWh / year which is slightly larger yet uses 13% less energy.
Compare this to the 25 cu ft Whirlpool GX5FHTXVY French Door Refrigerator which draws only 474 kWh / year
Compare this to the 22 cu ft Whirlpool GB2FHDXW Bottom Mount Refrigerator which draws only 404 kWh / year
Compare this to the 25 cu ft 11 year old Kenmore Top Mount Refrigerator which this reporter insulated with 1" pink rigid foam, reducing energy usage to 350 kWh / year.
Sub Zero shows the Energy Star logo next to the product.
They offer styling choices, ego choices, keeping up with the Joneses choices, but are there green choices at Sub Zero? None that we can see.
Doesn't Sub- Zero's target market deserve an option of efficiency?
Should Sub-Zero be claiming crunchy goodness when all in all, their products are not too terribly impressive......though maybe we can eat off their factory floor?
Appliance Stallion, What
Appliance Stallion, What makes you think Dacor , SZ ,Viking, DCS can't get quality Engineers?
Maybe the problem is Dacor , SZ ,Viking, DCS Marketing, Industrial Design and Upper Management don't give a crap about energy efficiency and choose to focus on asthetics and more power so these sales guys won't have to work to make a sale. Everyone knows a 22,000 BTU top burner has to be better than a 15,000 BTU version. More power is everything. You can't sell a 10K burner to a customer who wants commercial style products.
Maybe the problem is not the manufacturers or the products themselves, but the whiny ass salesman who needs some bogus overhyped specification to taunt to the customer as to why they should pay more for this product. Dealers and distributors drive more design specs than the customer just by griping that Wolf has this or Dacor has this with no real reason behind the arguement.
I mean if your going to buy a sports car do you really care about gas mileage? Really is a $60K Corvette better than a $15K Kia?
You buy Harley to be cool, you buy a Honda to actually ride it somewhere.
You ever thought about how hard it is to design a product with twice the output of a normal range and meet certification requirements. Remember specifications are driven by people in Marketing who don't have a clue what the consequences are when you jack up the BTU rates on a burner 5K (combustions can't be an issue or simmer) or when you enlarge a cavity by 1 inch, but keep the same overall exterior dimensions (where does the insulation go).
PS: I own a hybrid vehicle. It was my first hybrid and will be my last hybrid. Over priced, service is twice as much as a normal vehicle and probably won't last as long. Gas mileage is mediocre if you just drive in town. I'm going back to a good old 100% gas vehicle next. Instant Gratification, that is what it's all about.
TK6831
Frankly there are not that many good engineers that want to work in this industry any more. There is a push for them to work more in high tech jobs that pay more and the interest seems to be lagging. Most of the good engineers from the industry are getting near or have retired. I can think of 10 very good ones. Besides that guys like Jack Meany who owned Thermador and was well respected and did things right is gone for years. Surjit Kalsi who built DCS is not getting any younger and there is no one like him around. Dacor has never had a top notch engineer that has stayed long enough to have an impact. Al Wilkins at SZ was the solid engineer on refrigerators and Viking has gotten by on glitz. Your comment on upper management and designers is right on the button. I lived it and it nearly ruined my health at Dacor,the impossible things the two top guys asked for. You must have been involved because you are too accurate. They all suffer from bragging about things that make the sale and make the consumer somewhat happy.I will buy products from the big guys before any of the little ones now.I bought a high mileage vehicle and stayed away from the hybrid. Good mileage and handles as well as the overpriced beanmer I owned for less than half the money. I feel your pain. I think we know each other or would get along for sure.
How we got here
A million new features, new products, new widgets. How many have actual consumer benefit? Near zip. Most new crap is a marketing department's answer to some other brand's old crap. That's the story year to year. Look at the story over decades and the good stuff, most of it anyway rises to the top. 2010 products are better than 2000 and 1990 products.
Would it be better if engineers skipped most of these worthless exercises..........spending their time in the pursuit of the good stuff? Perhaps it would, but that is just not how the system works.
You know what else......it's not always obvious at the time you're doing it, where any new idea resides on the crap line. Some stuff looks good on "paper".....mostly because the "paper" is written by the marketing people themselves trying to convince management to invest in some new idea. Over time, engineering tools away reaching for the claims in the "paper", and the project continues to get funded based on the unchanged claims in the "paper". No matter what the actual technology does or does not do, the claims on the "paper" rule the day.
Engineers
It all sounds good to say Engineers aren't the quality they were in the past, but in reality Engineers don't have a lot of say anymore when it comes to features. Engineers basically have to take what has been handed to them by the Marketing department and make it work safely and as good as possible with the resources available.Compare the Engineering resources of SZ, DCS, Viking, etc to the resources available to Whirlpool, LG, etc.A SZ, DCS, Viking Engineer is probably doing the interface with marketing and industrial design, managing the timeline of the project, doing the initial design, CAD work, prototype build, testing, finalize design, BOMS, service support and helping with assembly line support while the average high volume manufacturer has an Engineer for each function. Which is the better engineer?The sad fact is the average customer is ignorant of what is actually needed to cook or keep their food cold. They are reliant on the Salesman to guide them in the right direction. When this happens, the higher BTU's, the better stainless, the better asthetics all come into play more than the actual function or energy efficiency of the product.
Engineering
The fact is that most engineers at the Vikings , SZ , Dacors and the old DCS operate mainly as Manufacturing Engineers that get a good lab tech to test the marketing/designer theories of what to feature in a product. I said that the really good engineers these days want to be far more than luddites for designers and in fact think they have more to offer on new technology , call it green if you want. I have my Directors recruiting engineers these days and in an industry close to the appliances they really don't feel it will make an impact on the environment and new technology.Nor are they interested in what they consider blue collar engineering in the appliance field. This whole dynamic is changing in regards to the goals that the very creative engineering minds want to put their efforts at. They are not interested in old technology but want something better. Frankly I think it is refreshing. Of all the smaller companies I thought DCS had the most simple yet effective products with the least amount of warranty issues in the long run. That is because the owner was an engineer with others having good engineering thoughts. Thus they employed probably the most skilled group of design engineers around. So , there are good engineers , they just want to work in what they think are more relevant industries and make a bigger impact on society. Again , I am impressed with that. Given all that you seem to be one of those engineers who had to listen to the BS spewed by owners and designers who thought they could will good products out of contemptable behavior. In fact the products differ little outside of the outer envelope designs preferred by each organization.
Engineering
Sadly, I have to agree with you :( It sucks to want to make a better product that will actually be better for the customer, but get shot down by Marketing people with no concern for the customer, but only the dealer who will complain if product A isn't more powerful than competitors Product A on the newspaper sale ad. If Engineers ran the world, it might not be as pretty but it would be a lot more efficient.
Don't go that Far.
Engineers running the world ? What a thought !!! Everyone with a blackberry,everyone with a pocket protector. Everyone skipping over the lines in the sidewalk.
What Does Green Mean?
The average retail price of electricity for February 2010 was 9.52 cents per kilowatthour (kWh).
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html
This means it would be $9.62 more per YEAR to operate the Sub-Zero freezer drawer than the Danby chest freezer. $12.19 more for the SZ upright freezer than the Amana, and $7.04 more for the BI42s than the Whirlpool side x side.
If you consider that I drive 26 miles to work to sell appliances in my truck that gets 13 miles per gallon, I use 4 gallons of gasoline per day just to help customers decide which refrigerator to purchase. Gasoline @ roughly $2.50 per gallon here in the Tennessee valley, would cost me $10 per DAY, but the thing that upsets Advisor is that SZ is trying to make their products as green as possible. If you want to target someone for the problem, consider E-Star themselves... Sub-Zero only has the right to display their logo because Energy Star gave them the approval.
To bash SZ over 100 kWh would be the same as bashing a luxury hybrid car manufacturer like Lexus because their hybrid gets 35 mpg while a 1993 Geo metro with a pink gas tank gets 41.
The Whirlpool refrigerators might be a few kWh per year more efficient, but Whirlpool can't even print a current up to date product catalog. We throw away 2/3's of our National forests in out of date Whirlpool literature every quarter, while Sub-Zero urges their customers to visit their website which thoroughly explores their full product line. Have you tried to find any information on the Whirlpool website in the last 2 years? I think that there is a bigger picture in the quest for a green company than shaving off 100 kWh per YEAR in a 4' wide 7' tall fridge. Step back, as you say in your other reply on this post and consider more than the paltry $9.62 that someone might have saved on Danby chest freezer.
I have been fighting the "green" battle for several years now due to regional emphasis on the issue. Check out these guys for a little insight into what really matters when you start talking about going green.
http://www.greenspaceshome.com/
http://greenspaceschattanooga.com/
Keep in mind, this is not a tirade on Advisor, merely an opinion on this post.
Great Points
How many major appliances in the United States? 500 million more or less? 500 million purchasing decisions, nearly all of which could have been better, and 500 million sales spiels, in which efficiency was not discussed or was avoided or exagerated or lied. The $9 matters a little, but this is our industry, this is what we do. We build the 500 million appliances. Isn't the efficiency of our products our responsibility? Isn't policing the over the top claims, the exaggerations, and the lies our responsibility?
I think most of your other points are mis-directed.
-Our complaint is not that Sub-Zero is trying to make their fridge as green as possible. If only that were true......... Our complaint is that they are promising something that they are not delivering.
-Whirlpool. Do better Whirlpool....but otherwise besides the point.
-A Sub-Zero is not the equivalent of a 35 mpg Lexus. It is the equivalent of a 10 mpg Lotus
-You are spending over a $1000/year in gas. You would be better off driving a Sub-Zero.
-We did not complain about Sub-Zero's use of the logo. We complained about their claim that they had green products.
When asking about the $9 you are deep in the thicket.......
Consumer Ignorance
ENERGY STAR was supposed to help consumers identify green appliances.
In reality, it's enabled manufactures like Sub-Zero to produce massive inefficient appliances under the green mantra.
For consumers, ENERGY STAR takes the guesswork out of buying green.We don't have to worry about annual energy usage; the good folks at ENERGY STAR have already evaluated the product and deemed it worthy of ENERGY STAR designation.
Will consumers get wise?
You can't fault manufacturers (and their marketing and PR departments) for digging deep to come up with "proof" of their respectiveness "greenness", or for that matter, the need to be tweeting, blogging, youtubing, etc. Everyone is looking for any competitive edge with consumers, or least defending themselves from being perceived as being "behind" the times and out of touch.
The reality is that most of the "green" stuff these companies have come up with are things they were doing long before it was fashionable to be green, and the reason they were doing it had to do with costs and profits, and not environmental consciousness. Recycling of scrap metal and stainless steel has been done for as long as there has been a market for leftovers (if they weren't able to recoup some costs from selling to a recycler, they would be throwing the stuff away). Recycling refrigerant was pretty much mandated by the government years ago. Reducing packaging had more to do with cutting cost and squeezing out more profit, than with saving trees.
You really can't fault a Sub-Zero, Viking, Dacor, etc. from trying to position themselves as "green", despite not having come up with really new ideas, or engineering that makes a truly "green" difference (alluded to by Stallion). The government, not environmental altruism, has mandated most if not all energy efficiency gains. The manufacturers had no choice but to go along (many of them kicking and screaming along the way).
I can't help wonder though, that the more sophisticated consumer, isn't getting wise to the "green game" being played everywhere they look, and that there isn't a chance that this kind of "reaching" won't eventually backfire on some of these brands. Anyone who has ever been involved with manufacturing, or marketing a manufactured product knows the real score. A built-in refrigerator or a pro-range is not one of life's necessities - even in the context of the world's highest standard of living - they are luxuries. Do consumers really rate their perceptions of luxury items in terms of "greenness". The best selling hybrid cars are not the luxury makes. The best selling luxury makes are not their hybrid versions either.
I just hope the race by Sub-Zero, Viking and others to outclaim each other doesn't end up resulting in claims as twisted as I recently saw for a bottle water "green pitch". This company, that trucks its water from distant mountain springs, packages it in energy intensive, petroleum based plastic bottles, and wastes huge amounts of water in the process, was touting itself as "green" for shrinking the size of its plastic cap by 50%. Ugh!
Consumer should have a choice - Energy Star is still a Joke
I don’t blame the manufacturers (including Sub-Zero) for their green marketing efforts. What manufacturer wouldn’t take ENERGY STAR’s green designation and run with it. I just can’t believe that a massive Sub-Zero refrigerator qualifies as a green appliance. Putting an ENERGY STAR logo on a Sub-Zero fridge is like putting an efficiency badge on a Hummer.
Appliance Advisor’s wrath is misplaced; it’s ENERGY STAR that’s causing the problem by allowing the Star label to be placed on practically any appliance. In an effort to keep the appliance industry on their side, ENERGY STAR has devised a program that appeases the major manufacturers by lowering consumption standards for larger appliances. If ENERGY STAR had the guts, they’d tighten the standards to make the Star label really mean something.
Unlike Advisor, I think companies like Sub-Zero have the right to sell their products to customers who prefer expansive stainless refrigerators over 11 year old pink refers with custom installation. It’s just ridiculous to allow these huge refrigerators to display the ENERGY STAR label. By the way, I just read that Al Gore purchased a massive multi-million dollar home on the California coast. I wonder what type of fridge he’s running. I have a feeling it’s not a pink Kenmore.
Ode to a Beloved Pink Fridge
Why do you guys keep kicking my pink refrigerator which gave all for the sake of science?
We have been all over the Energy Star program:
http://applianceadvisor.com/content/energy-star-editorial-comment-10047
http://applianceadvisor.com/content/energy-star-editorial-comment-20045
http://applianceadvisor.com/content/energy-star-editorial-comment-30041
Nevermind our very exciting serial on the continuing exploits of Energy Star's LPF, which you may be happy to know is getting it's next installment shortly.
http://applianceadvisor.com/content/energy-star-lpf-10038
Yes, Energy Star is a big problem, which you, I and Sub-Zero are all fully aware of. Everyone in the industry knows that Energy Star is a problem. Should Sub-Zero be using this misleading program as proof of their Green bona fides? We all know it's not true. Yes, sure, if people want big fridges and there's no regulation against them then by all means build them. Still the manufacturer is responsible for its marketing.
You may not remember that 10 years ago, we called out Fisher and Paykel for advertising their dish drawer as the most efficient dishwasher in America. They referenced the DOE tests which showed their unit on the very tip top of the DOE list. F&P knew that the DOE test was based on width, not height. The drawer was 1/2 the height and volume of every other dishwasher in the list. The DOE list and the regulations it was based on were certainly in error, but F&P was clearly at fault for leveraging this error.
F&P 2001 New Product Report
Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown
Sorry y'all, but expecting forthrightness from a brand that has to hide behind paneling? I think not. Just a little more BS from the people who brought you paid-for wine blogs and sell more sizzle than steak.BTW, how's that new dishwasher plant coming along I wonder?
I've been a Sub-Zero
I've been a Sub-Zero customer for 25 years love it and am in the process of a remodel and can't wait until the new one is installed. The two issues I had had with the 25 year old unit were taken care of an an instant (and warrantied) and the people I spoke with at Sub-Zero were very nice and helpful. One little fact that no one has mentioned in their comments is that food lasts longer in SZ than it does in other refrigerators. Throwing away less food is pretty green, now isn't it? NO ONE knows what "Energy Star" really means and from shopping to seeing ads on TV, those little blue stickers are everywhere so it seems like someone must have an agenda to fill to specifically call out Sub-Zero. I considered myself lucky to find Appliance Advisor today b/c I thought it might help me search for decent dishwaher and laundry equipment but instead I find a disparaging cartoon and apple/orange comparisons. I had no idea Sub-Zero was going to build a DW. I willl buy a inferor mass brand to fill the gap until the new SZ DW finds it way to store shelves. Bye Bye A.A.
Really ?
I think Sub Zero makes a fine product and is quick to handle customer service issues. Like all the others don't overestimate their engineering skills on efficiency ratings. As for a dishwasher ..if you are comfortable purchasing one from a novice that is certainly your right just as Advisor can make some well appreciated comments on the latest Green fads. The green issue is a funny one for sure. How will you verify your power usage ? It is a lame concept for anyone to brag about until a break through product comes about.Sub Zero may have a hard time getting the dishwasher water warm you think ? Lighten up Mr. Sub Zero.
Funny. You don't look like a Sub-Zero.
I know very well what Energy Star means and doesn't mean. The DOE test procedure for refrigerators used by Energy Star is most accurate for units without a water dispensor. The numbers are not accurate in anycase because the ice makers are shut off, BUT they should be equally inaccurate. In other words, it's apples to apples and not apples to oranges. We have called out many many manufacturers over the years for all sorts of issues.
You sound offended, but you should not be offended by facts as they are clearly explained. This is a simple concept: Ferrari is not a green car choice for so many reasons (mileage, usage, and second car-age) and should not market themselves as a green product. Sub-Zero products are not green products as they claim simply because their manufacturing process employs recycling and waste reduction. The products themselves in the kitchen are far from the most efficient choice a consumer, like you, can make. A large part of their business and several of their "Green Products" are designed as 2nd and 3rd and 4th fridges, which are the WORST possible green choice a consumer can make.
For these reasons and many others they should not market themselves as the Green choice.
Spoilage reduction would be a positive result, and green to some extent, if true, but how much better is the SZ in spoilage reduction than other more efficient refrigerators of similar vintage? Their press release references an average of $500 in spoilage per family per year. Huh? The facts are out, but when the facts are in, perhaps we could be swayed.
Here is their press release on the subject.
Be very very careful buying a dishwasher from any company new to the business of dishwashers. No one reading this post from the industry will agree with your decision to save yourself for the SZ dishwasher. If they launch a successful dishwasher from scratch, they will have had to step over the failures of many before them who have tried. It is ALWAYS better to wait a few years to see if they really succeeded.
By the way, the last information we got was that this project was on hold.
Finally. It's just a refrigerator. Chill.
Green Washing
Advisor you are an idiot. Sub-Zero does not set the Energy Star requirements they only have to hit levels to attain them. As if someone who is looking for a built-In refrigerator is now going to repalce that with a Free Standing because it saves them $5 a year!!!!!!! These are the type of posts that make you guys look stupid. Energy Star is Energy Star what is your point?
The Idiot Speaks
I do appreciate the diagnosis. It certainly explains a lot.
Energy Star is a government sponsored system to certify appliance efficiency, with many many holes in it. Energy Star is not able to define what it means to be efficient......far from it, though it is occassionally helpful.
Do Sub Zero consumers care about efficiency? Many do, and in light of the fun in the Gulf, the number is certainly growing, but really consumers are not the point of our comment.
Our comment questions Sub Zero's claim that they manufacture Green Products, when substitute products exist which are signficantly more efficient. Sub Zero in our opinion, is exaggerating their Green bona fides so that consumers such as yourself, with a passing knowledge of efficiency and green issues, can rationalize the purchase of a Sub Zero.
Will Gulf Stream Jet customers downgrade to a VW bus to save fuel. Nope they probably will not. Still someone should point out Gulf Stream's duplicity if they were to claim to be part of our brighter, greener, more sustainable future.
The Green Consumer
A Sub Zero is most likely is a "greener" choice than the consumers current refrigerator. The fact is that the issue of "green" is not especially important in the mind of the consumer. Consider:
I'm just sayin.........
The Green Fridge
Now that my beloved pink Kenmore has gone off to the happy hunting grounds replaced with the smaller, super-efficient bottom-mount refrigerator we can say this. It's nice having a new fridge though it seems sad that they can't beat an 11 year old Kenmore with a hack insulation job.
Mooks. I can't wait to hear your defense of BP. That should be rich
So to summarize your points:
"We're Green cause we're better than the 15 year old piece of crap you already own."
"Sub Zero consumers don't care about efficiency, so over the top exaggeration and lying is just peachy."
"If you are newly rich and insecure, treat yourself to a Sub-Zero"
It seems just a little bit lame that someone would store his or her feelings of self worth, personal feelings of status, and definition of success in the kitchen refrigerator. Just take a step back for a second. Aren't marketing people frightening in their awesome power!
Greenie Weenies
In response to your comment "It seems a bit lame that someone would store his or her feelings of self worth, personal feelings of status, and definition of success in the kitchen refrigerator" You could just as easily substitute "green movement". At least half of the people who profess to be green (and probably more) do this out of what they believe being green says about them, not out of any deep belief that the earth is melting, moral responsibility or anything else. You can easily conclude this by the many survey results that show consumers will make the "green" choice as long as it does not cost them more money or change their lifestyle. This is just as lame as those who buy Sub Zero's and kitchen appliances and Ferraris to stroke their sense of self worth. You just happen to agree with one group and not the other.
Almost, but not quite as lame
Interesting comment.
People make:
Sub-Zero owns #4 and is attempting to leverage itself into #3 with it's Green Kitchen website. Selling less efficient products by leveraging some people's desire to do the right thing.
Some people do employ #2 in their lives as you say. Buying a Prius for what it says about them. The right decision for the wrong reasons.....though for most people, a Prius isn't even the right decision.
Between #2 and #3, #3 is preferred because the ship is aiming in the right direction. It just requires additional education to get to #1. The big problem for #3 and folks hoping to educate them is that the subject is covered by a myriad of claims, certifications, and shifting standards, as the concept and goals are all new. What it means to be Green, is based really on what it means to be "Sustainable", an English word that should be banned from use within the boundaries of Canada, USA, Europe, and Australia. What we do is various grades of awful, some more, some less, but nothing we do is sustainable, though with a whole lot of work, perhaps we can get there.
#2 is trendy, flighty, fad oriented. Followers not leaders. As long as efficiency becomes or remains "the thing" they will stay on the path. Otherwise, they are off to the next thing. They are why SUV sales plummet when gas reaches $3 on the way to $4, but recover when dropping to $2.50 and returning back to $3 again. They are not really bought in.
As for #4? We'll just have to wait for them to die.
On the Button
Genius Advisor
You missed the point
Nerd ... I think it may be you who is missing the point ! Sub Zero makes a great product. They've set styling trends or years. (Hell, I own one). But SZ has never been a leader in energy preservation and probably never will be. For them to jump on the green bandwagon is a bit disingenuous and for you to call Advisor an idiot for pointing out that completely misses the mark.
far from green but right
far from green but right at the top for repairs so i hear. So NERD chill out and go sell some SUBS cause thats what you do RIGHT
Is Green good?
Is buying a high efficiency product really good for the environment? What do you think will happen if everyone buys a high efficiency electric product? The amount of electricity needed is lowered, but you still have to provide electricity and it takes equipment and manpower to provide this electricity, so they up the price of electricity to cover the cost.
Guess what, you use less electricity, but you pay more for it.
Does anyone other than me think the increase in gas prices was a pre-emptive approach to increase cash flow before cars are designed to get better gas mileage. So your car get 50 MPG now, you pay $2.50+ for gas we used to get for $.99 and you will pay more for the service on the new gas saving car as well as it probably won't last as long either. In other words, you pay for it somewhere. Drilling technology hasn't changed that much in the last 50 years, but the income of the Gas companies has gone up significantly. If you buy less gas or electricity, they will up the price to compensate.
I say use it up and once the oil is gone, then we can figure out how to conserve energy the hard way. However, by then, the current Oil conglomerates will own the Wind Turbine fields, the GEO wells, the sun farms and all the other alternative forms of energy so nothing will really be any different.
Rest Easy
We will all be buying more efficient products of all types and the price of electricity will continue to go up. The gas situation is simply this. All oil companies make tons of money. All have the politicians in their hip pocket. Gas powered vehicles will not go away any time soon. There is plenty of oil and reserves in the ground. No matter the mileage and car size it will still cost $60.00 to $70.00 to fill the tank even if the tank holds only 10 gallons. Oil people don't hire dumb people. In fact that is where all the good engineers go. Oil companies still buy up good patented ideas that would reduce consumption. Happens all the time. Come up with a great savings and see how far it gets. The oil companies will control the next phase in power source probably late in the 21st century. We can have our green cars , electric cars and rickshaws , won't matter , they would charge for peddle power.
I like Blue myself.
You are confusing several ideas here.
Electric utilities are regulated, and make more money the more power they sell. There is a move to be sure that utility profits are seperate from electricity volume so that they continue to make some, though less, profit as usage drops. The goal is have the utility as an active part of efficiency. Could be good, but it depends on the formula for protecting profiits. I think only California has this, but the more the better.
You also mention the cost of distributing power. The cost of distribution, the hardware, the repairs, etc, etc, all that is needed to bring power to your home, even if less power, is a separate line item on my bill, so they are protected there. I can buy power from company A delivered on the power lines of company B.
Is buying a new energy efficient appliance good for the environment.....or at least less bad? Depends on how much energy went into producing the new one, what the efficiency improvement is compared to the old one, and what happens to the old one.
Gasoline is much less regulated.......really unregulated except for the state and federal taxes applied. Price may be occassionally set by shananigans in the futures market but mostly it is simple supply and demand. It may not cost any more to pump out and refine a gallon, but the value of that gallon has gone up because there are more folks demanding gas. The Oil Company's holdings have risen, the selling price has risen but the cost to produce has not. There's your profit.
Finally the oil will never be 'gone', because that's not how supply and demand works. There will be less and less of it matched by ever higher prices, slowly (or quickly) pricing out the low value uses, and low income users, and increasing the attractiveness of substitutes.
Drilling technology hasn't changed that much in 50 years? I believe that this statement is completely untrue.
Hybrid's are complex beasts since they get power from both gas and electric. Cars like the Chevy Vibe, should be simpler since they only get power from the electric with the battery getting recharged from gas. What's the simplest car on earth? Straight electric. In the future 2 car family, a 100% electric is likely to be at least one of the cars.
Drilling for oil
I worked in the oil industry in the early 90's and the actual drilling of the well hasn't changed much. They do have more control over the drilling due to the dicrectional drilling ability (This is what I worked in) and they typically knew there was something there before they started drilling. No more just blind drilling a hole. However, the equipment is all pretty standard. The rigs I was on pushed for speed, that is where they made money. The faster they could drill a well and move onto the next one, the better. The technology improvements were in equipment and processes to keep from having to stop drilling and pull the pipe out of the hole to do testing to determine what was there or where they were actually at location wise. So I guess in a way they have improved the efficiency of drilling over the years, but it still takes old school tactics to get there.