On my Psychology of Energy Efficiency post yesterday, Marc Gunther (columnist for Fortune and CNNMoney) left a comment as to another reason Energy Efficiency gets so much less attention than it deserves:
Compared to wind, solar or nuclear, [Energy Efficiency] is boring–and therefore gets less media attention than it should. It’s rarely controversial. And just try writing a headline that will grab people for a story about efficiency. I have. It’s not easy.
I’d like to open up the comments on this post to a challenge: come up with an attention grabbing headline for a story on energy efficiency. Entries will be judged by me and Marc (who was kind enough to volunteer) and I’ll post the best entries on my blog on March 5th. The best entry will win a Kill-a-Watt appliance tester, or a half hour investment consultation by phone from me (your choice.)
Feel free to submit headlines from published articles as inspiration for other contestants, but please tag them as such. Part of the goal here is to come up with catchy titles Marc can use in the future. Only new headlines will be eligible to win (and I will check.)
Let the games begin!
Preston said
Okay, I’ll have a go at this:
How to Stop TXU from Polluting Texas
A Kilowatt Saved is a Kilowatt Earned
Get Ready for Summer by Consuming Less
I Bet You Didn’t Know You’re Squandering Hard-earned $$
Top 10 Ways to Pay More Money to Your Utility Provider
I wrote an article on 12/2/06, that received good views – “Green Economics: City of Phoenix Saving $600k/year Due to Energy-Efficiency Program.”
Marc Gunther said
Thanks, Preston.
I like No. 2 — “A Kilowatt Saved is a Kilowatt Earned”
Tom, I hope that under the rules of your “contest” I am free to expropriate these headlines without attribution or payment!
tomkonrad said
That was my intent: you use the catchy headline, and more people learn about EE. I thought #2 was good, too.
Preston said
Marc, feel free to use them all. Plus, if you use one, it’ll give me another reason to promote your articles on my blog. Open source journalism, at its best…
Patrice Sarath said
Here’s my entry:
The Wonderful Wizards of Oz: How Australians are saving the planet one compact fluorescent at a time
Check out Hoover’s bizmology.com blog — my blog entry on Richard Branson’s prize should be up tomorrow.
TK: I actually think the title of Patrice’s entry might be in the running if it had not already been used: “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but carbon footprints.”
Chris Baskind said
Pity I didn’t notice this post earlier. In any case:
Every Watt a Wanted Watt
Screw in a CFL and Screw the Power Company
Forget Speed Dating: Start a Carpool
Find Love in the Carpool Lane
It’s Not the Size, It’s the Efficiency: Sexy Small Cars
Look Great Naked in a Water-Saving Shower
Don’t Bogart that Volt
tomkonrad said
Chris,
You’re still in the running. I’m not going to end the contest until tonight.
Nopanacea said
These are all great contributions:
@Preston: It should read a Kilowatt-Hour saved is a Kilowatt-Hour earned.
I realize that it probably isn’t as catchy, but you can’t really save or earn a Kilowatt, and we shouldn’t sacrifice knowledge for marketing.
Here are a couple more fairly silly suggestions:
*Watt ya gonna do ’bout it?
*Car dealer caught duping buyers into contracts for thousands more per year. No, wait, that’s just the rated mpg.
tomkonrad said
The contsest is now closed. Marc and I are deliberating. I wish we’d gotten more entries, but, as Marc said… writing energy efficiency headlines is hard. Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks to Maria Energia for publicizing the contest.
Don’t Bogart That Volt! « EE/RE Investing said
[…] March 5, 2007 at 11:38 am · The winner is in for my Best Energy Efficiency Headlines contest. […]
Dan said
THE CHEAPEST, THE CLEANIST, AND THE MOST AVAILABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY