One step forward, one step backward.
Am I hardwired to immediately spend our energy savings?

A 7-year-old hybrid car sits proudly in the driveway surrounded by owners and friends. Champagne bottles and cheese are on a table next to it. Everyone is raising their glasses  towards the car and saying “cheese” for the camera. What’s going on?

The owners are celebrating their well-loved little car, their only car, which today has 200,004 miles on the odometer.

“Who knew? When we bought it in 2003, no one  could tell us how long the original battery would last. 80,000 miles, maybe 100,000.”

Think of all the carbon (and dollars) these people saved over those many miles. Right?

Wrong! They aren’t mentioning (aren’t even aware) that with past cars they clocked 20,000 miles a year. With this car, it’s been almost 30,000! They’ve been thinking,

“Our car gets 45 miles per gallon, so for goodness sake, let’s use it.”

It’s called the “Take-Back or Rebound Effect,” one of those perverse bits of human nature: what you save on the Carousel you decide to spend on the Ferris Wheel. The net result: no savings at all. These people didn’t reduce their carbon emissions (or gasoline dollars). They just spread them over more miles.

They probably drank more of that cheap champagne too.