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Americans Are Saving Energy Because Fewer People Go Outside (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Americans are saving energy because they don't go outside as much anymore, researchers say. It's a plus for the environment, though in another light (no pun intended), it's just sad. In 2012, Americans spent an extra eight days at home compared to 2003, according to the American Time Use Surveys. Being at home means using more energy by keeping the lights on and watching TV. But it also means less travel, and it means that fewer people are outside operating offices and stores. So overall in 2012, we saved 1,700 trillion British thermal units (BTU) of heat, or 1.8 percent of the national total, according to an analysis published today in the journal Joule. That's about how much energy Kentucky produced in all of 2015. Specifically in 2012, Americans spent one day less traveling and one week less in buildings other than their homes when compared to a decade earlier. The trend of staying indoors is especially strong for those ages 18 to 24: the youths spent 70 percent more time at home than the general population. At the other end of the age spectrum, those 65 and older were the only group that spent more time outside the home compared to 2003. Next, the researchers want to look at energy consumption changes in other countries as a result of lifestyle changes.
I can smell the boomer on you.
Get a cheap bicycle and rid down to a local park.
A cheap bicycle costs $50+ and there's nothing to do at the park except talking to old people and judgmental moms who look at you like you're about to eat their baby.
Drop by some basketball courts and meet some new people and get some exercise.
Then you need to be able to play basketball. A lot of people are too short for that.
Go down to the city library and find some interesting books to read.
Why do that when you have a Kindle or project Gutenberg? You're just wasting gas money.
Go to some wacky community event involving art or music.
If it's free, it's probably something nobody cares about, and usually for good reason.