Technology, at least through the lens of technologists, can solve our energy and climate crises. With the current fixation on smart grids, smart buildings, smart appliances and smart technology, smart seems to be the way to go. Efficiency can be purchased. Where are the smart people in this scenario?

For example, smart people look for Energy Star ratings. While the energy consumption of an LCD TV is less than an equivalent CRT, there’s more to the story. Size matters. Most people buy bigger LCD TVs than their old CRTs. CNET summarizes it this way: “nearly every HDTV you can buy today, including some of the biggest energy hogs, is Energy Star certified.”  Add in audio components, games, etc. and the overall consumption may be going up, not down. HDTV displays an image like you’ve never seen (except in real life). You’ll be watching more.  

Similary smart buildings are designed and constructed to reduce energy use. Since commercial buildings consume about 40% of the power in this country, that’s an excellent area for focus. If the people working in those hyper efficient buildings circumvent the reductions by plugging in space heaters under their desks when a wardrobe adjustment would be far more appropriate, what’s smart about that?

In the end, smart appliances, smart technology and smart systems are only as smart as the user.  We can't outsource decision making to technology. Technology can't make value judgements. Smart is not a feature, it is taking responsibility for living in alignment with nature’s ability to provide for us, and our kids, and their kids.

The original smart system is nature itself. While technological innovations are providing hope that our current resource consumption can be corrected, the critical actions belong to people – smart people.