Energy Swap is a half hour, three part BBC Radio 4 factual described as this on the page for the program:
"Two families, one from the heart of gas-guzzling Texas and the other from rural Cheshire, exchange their lives for one week to compare their carbon footprints."
Featured are the UK Thomas family and the Spencers in Texas. Mr. Spencer is an airline pilot, his wife works as a food caterer for film crews. They have two children. With the UK couple, he is a building surveyor, she works for an environmental group. The Spencers live in a big house near Dallas in a gated community. They have lived here for three years and have never seen their neighbors. These people live in a consumerist bubble. Basic information apparently can't get through the entertainment news gate. I was a bit shocked in the part where the English woman is showing the Texan woman what a florescent bulb is. She seems to have never heard of it.
Mr. Spencer, the airline pilot, doesn't believe in global warming, or he doesn't believe that human activity is the cause. I there is little doubt that climate change is going on, but room for doubt that humans are the cause. But does one have to believe in global warming in order to see the value of conservation? And by the way, what's the deal with conservatives being the least interested in conservation?
The Spencers use over $800 worth of electricity a month in their uninsulated house. This is a rather stunning fact in itself. Well, at least they seem somewhat open to learning something.
It's a fascinating half hour and we have the other two parts to look forward to in Energy Swap.
