Like the maths.
We're told that a computer left on overnight consumes as much electricity as 800 photocopies. So... do we leave the photocopier on overnight, photocopying 800 copies instead? Nope, because that wastes enough energy to laser print 800 pages. Hmm... I'm starting to spot a trend here. Toner, fuser, and the magic number 800.
So... how about the lights story - leaving your light on overnight could power 1000 cups of tea. Oh. Is that filament or fluorescent tube? How many bulbs / tubes? How big are the cups - espresso sized, or beer stein size? And is it ceylon tea, or Rooibos, which needs to brew? And, if I only get 999 cups out of the saving, can I sue for false advertising?
And then we have the classic - cut down on office air-conditioning.
Excuse me? There are offices with air conditioning?? Where are they, and how did they get that right? When we had people fainting in the heat upstairs one summer, Lillian Campbell arrived and agreed it was infernal, but ruled out aircon as the Registrar had declared it Not To Be Allowed. (They now have ceilling fans, to have hot blizzards instead of hot static air.) Please, spill the beans - we'd love to know where these air-conditioned offices are so that in midsummer, when people start fainting again, they can wander over for a "meeting" or two until they recover.
But it gets better. Overfilling a kettle equates with 26hours of TV. Ulp! Have you ever seen anyone survive 26 hours of TV - with their brain intact? Even spreading the pain, so that 26 people each get one hour is not doing the planet a favour - it's causing mass destruction of brain cells. Can the TV - can't we translate that into photocopies instead? (about, say, 800....)
And just when you thought it was safe.... Forget all you've been told about saving water! Forget all JZ told you about HIV prevention! Word is out - shower bad, bath good. I still haven't figured that one out - I think everyone agrees that showers consume less water than baths, on average; that water, in its production (filtration, treatment, etc) as well as in its heating, consumes power.... So how could a bath possibly use less water than a shower - unless it's a party affair?
Perhaps that's what they mean by the statement at the bottom which says
We are all in this together....?