CO2 Emissions

Published on August 14th, 2009 | by Susan Kraemer

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State Takes Lazy Way to Cut Carbon 13%

August 14th, 2009 by Susan Kraemer 

[social_buttons] Utah’s move to a four-day workweek of 10 hour days for government workers has cut energy usage by 13 percent, and once they figure out how to turn off giant office air conditioning and heating units while they’re out of the office, it could rise to the hoped for 20%. Out of a state budget of $11 billion, they have saved $3 million on electricity and gas for 125 state-owned buildings.

Other states are looking at trying this idea, and expanding it to include shutting schools, or stores or businesses. Power use in office buildings alone is a huge emitter of carbon.

The elimination of a work day would also eliminate two rush hours each week across the country, cutting your commuting costs and carbon emissions by 20%, just by driving to work four days instead of five.

Rush hour driving in itself burns up more gas. Snail-pace stop-start commuting causes more pollution than regular driving. (Well, unless you live in an area with great places to go on weekends; then those weekend commutes can sometimes be just as bad.)

Of course, expanding the idea to include shutting everything down one day a week; (not just government offices) is more likely to cut more carbon. But still, for Utah government offices, not bad going. Those Utah government workers now can boast of having “Green jobs.”

And it certainly makes it less stressful for you to get those building permits and contest your speeding tickets in traffic court when government offices are still open when you get out of work on a cool Utah evening.

Via Good

Image from Flikr user xollob58

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Tags: behavior changes carbon reductions, four day work week, rush hour carbon emissions, ten hour work day, Utah government buildings reduce carbon 13%

About the Author

Susan Kraemer writes at CleanTechnica, CSP-Today, PV-Insider , SmartGridUpdate, and GreenProphet. She has also been published at Ecoseed, NRDC OnEarth, MatterNetwork, Celsius, EnergyNow, and Scientific American. As a former serial entrepreneur in product design, Susan brings an innovator's perspective on inventing a carbon-constrained civilization: If necessity is the mother of invention, solving climate change is the mother of all necessities! As a lover of history and sci-fi, she enjoys chronicling the strange future we are creating in these interesting times.    Follow Susan on Twitter @dotcommodity.