Televisions Forever

I recently returned from a visit to Palm Springs. I stayed in a 3,500 square foot house, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and 10 televisions. Homes this size and larger are the norm in the Palm Springs area, and they are becoming increasingly filled with more and more stuff, bigger televisions, larger refrigerators, multiple home computers and “outdoor kitchens.” For most people living there, notions such as conservation or volunteer simplicity rarely cross their minds. These are people living the American dream and they are enjoying it.

The Palm Springs area, in general, is strange for me. Cities, or development amalgamations rather, line Interstate 10 from Los Angeles, starting with Palm Springs, leading to Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta and Indio. Where I stayed is in the “city” of La Quinta, it takes about 20 minutes by car to get anywhere. In the seven years I have been visiting, I have yet to see an actual downtown, although I have heard that Palm Springs has one.

As I sat by the pool enjoying the sunshine (and worrying that my children might be absorbing too many of the toxic chemicals regularly sprayed on the adjacent driving range) I wondered what the obsession is with all the televisions. Have our lives become so vapid, that the only way to fill it is with constant stimulation—in every room of an entire house? Is this really a lot of people’s idea of the “American Dream?” Have most of us become consumers first and citizens a distant second or third?

As Julian Darley from the Post-Carbon Institute in the face of Peak Oil encourages us to “reduce consumption and produce what you need locally,” I see very little of this in the Palm Springs area. Big houses, big cars, chain stores everywhere, dramatic entrances to gated communities and country clubs are the norm. And considering the constant sun and the enormous amounts of wealth in the area, you would think you might see a solar panel here or there, but I have yet to see one. Are America's upper classes so completely out of touch with reality?

Last spring, Mother Jones magazine published a great illustration of “This New House.” (http://www.motherjones.com/news/exhibit/2005/03/exhibit.html). It appears that my Palm Springs experience is not unique. Home size in the U.S. have doubled since the 1970s while the average household has shrunk by 1 person. Following are some other interesting statistics from the same illustration:

1. Americans spend more to power home audio and video equipment that is “off” but still plugged in than they do to power such devices while actually in use.


2. Such “energy vampires” consume 5% of the nation’s electricity


3. The National Association of Home Builders’ “showcase home” for 2005 is 5,950 sq. ft. That’s 15% bigger than last year’s model.


4. 1 in 4 Americans want at least a 3-car garage.


5. More than 50% of exurban lots are 10 acres or larger. Exurban homes account for 80% of residential development since 1994.

It appears we are all consuming more and more at an alarming rate. Luckily, we have groups like the Post Carbon Institute who are working to assist societies in their efforts to relocalize communities and adapt to an energy constrained world. They recommend starting slow and would like to see all communities reduce energy consumption by 10% over the next ten years. They have their work cut out for them in Palm Springs.