Efficiency is practical; Not only when it comes to water use and lighting choices but daily, from speed weeding the garden and getting in a half-hour swim before my growing baby lets me know that his little belly needs more fuel.

Our society by and large rewards being efficient; the ability to get things done often results in premium salaries and senior positions.

Human beings are naturally selected toward efficiency, take babies for example, they eat and poop at the same time, which is often followed by a smile as if to say, “look mama, I can multitask too.”

Perhaps it’s too much to expect the built environment to run as efficiently as humans or maybe by watching my infant son grow I can learn something more about applying efficiency to the world that we build.

Professionally in an 8 month period working 20 hours a week I left the COO of a Bay Area low income housing developer acknowledging the following:

“With the help of Lisa Goddard, our Green Associate, EAH secured over half a million dollars in grant and loan support from the Marin Community Foundation.  This will help us begin our “green” effort, and give us best practices as we move the project to more regions.  Our commitment to sustainability encompasses many actions throughout our company and properties, both managed and in development.  This currently include water audits, recycling training, efficiency lighting upgrades, solar installation and upgraded Energy Star appliances.  EAH Housing is well on its way to become a certified green business — please stay tuned to see how you can support our efforts!”

Since that press release, EAH is being recognized in February 2011 by the California Sustainability Alliance for their leadership in sustainability.

I’m thrilled that I contributed to the success of EAH.

Technology and our addiction to being connected hasn’t really made us more connected at all.  iPods do what their name says, they put you in  your own pod and allow you to disengage with the world around you.  iPhones are just like iPods in that they remove you from experiencing where you’re at, but they allow you to Tweet about the experience, even though its limited because you are clicking a little touch screen instead of simply being where you are.

It seems to me that we are communicating less with each other and reporting more about what’s up in our pods (in 140 characters or less).  As I write these words it doesn’t escape my notice that I am also guilty of the very behavior that I point out.  Perhaps its time to set aside my wandering iRant and be where I’m at for awhile.

Tomorrow I start a part time job after 6 months of looking.  I have an opportunity to implement green practices and energy efficiency into low income housing.  A challenge that will require multi-tasking but also focus, collaboration and effective communication. Instead of writing about my lack of participation I will begin to participate again.  My self appointed role of observer of the game must take the backseat for awhile;  I’ve been called into the game and although I didn’t make the rules, I know I will make a difference.

Now lets relate that concept of health to energy efficiency.  One of the ways that efficiency has been marketed is with the concept of creating a healthy home.  A healthy home implies that the home is currently sick, unwell or diseased but when I look around my home, I see a few dust bunnies in the corners and some hairline cracks in the walls caused by living in earthquake country. I don’t see my home as unhealthy because I am not unhealthy. Conceptually, referring to the health of the home doesn’t carry the same meaning as physical health. Yet the marketing for a healthy home is the consistent message for energy efficiency.

Exploring this a bit further, when we get a cold or come down with a cough we often treat the symptoms and perhaps get a bit more sleep but the majority of people don’t seek professional advise immediately.  We procrastinate until the symptoms worsen before calling a doctor.  A non-emergency situation has many of us adopting this wait and see approach.

Now bring that mindset to energy efficiency: If I’m going to wait and see if my physical health declines before calling a doctor then I certainly will wait for energy efficient improvements until my home gives me abundant signs that it needs a remedy.  In other words, the healthy home metaphor doesn’t speak to the procrastinating masses.

A study conducted almost two years ago by Smart Power revealed that to change consumer behavior toward energy efficiency consumers needed to be inspired.

They do not want to be preached to. They want to feel that they are a part of a “we” approach. They want to understand and feel the real-world ramifications of their actions. They’re busy. They’re over worked. They want quick, simple tasks they can do that will make a difference. They want to feel smart and cool. They want to feel empowered and knowledgeable about saving money and saving energy.

What this study identifies is that the conceptual frame of strength speaks more clearly to energy efficiency than health. A strong home, a stable home, a structurally sound home, a firm foundation, all represent an empowered consumer. These metaphors represent moral character as physical strength.  Implementing energy efficiency to strengthen your home represents a level of moral goodness.

Efficiency as Morality now there’s a frame that just might be a game changer.

Energy efficiency, the so called lowest hanging fruit on the tree of sustainable energy, should speak directly to our American consumer culture.  It’s fast, cheap and easy but we are far too busy to make a conscious effort toward sustainable energy choices.  People aren’t picking this low hanging fruit because energy efficiency actually requires some effort from the end user.  It’s not that impulse buy at check out, rather energy efficiency is on the bottom shelf in the back of the store waiting for you to ask the clerk where it is and how, exactly, do you install it?

Efficiency is not sexy, it’s not centralized and it’s not new.  Is it any wonder why people aren’t buying? Neighborhood groups and city wide climate initiatives have promoted energy efficiency with the Low Carbon Diet program and support groups try to make it a community challenge but time, the elusive commodity that we never have enough of, prevents full participation and buy-in.

Green collar jobs slated to make America more energy efficient have led to boutique start-ups companies who will come into your home, perform tests and assess what fixes you’ll need to make your home leak less energy often at a low cost.

It’s encouraging to see the market rise to catch this low hanging fruit but creating that impulse demand for our fickle consumers is a challenge yet to be reckoned with.