Just turn the light off.

You know, there are soooo many opinions about global warming. Or climate change. Or whatever the current PC term is these days. And, as it is with all things that are politically charged, the opinions run the gamut from Global Warming Is Going To Be The End Of The World all the way to Global Warming Is An Absolute Hoax.

Regardless of any of that, what bugs me the most about all those discussions is the absolute drama of all of it. Do you know what my parents made me do when I was growing up? Turn off the lights when I wasn't in the room. Do you know why? Because not doing so wasted electricity. Do you know why they didn't want to waste electricity? Because they were taught by their parents to avoid being wasteful. To be conservative with the things you have. To avoid spending money needlessly. To. Be. Temperate.

We didn't run the air conditioning at 62 in the summer or the heat at 82 in the winter for the same reason.

I could go on, but you get my point. Sometimes I think all the global warming/climate change brouhaha is nothing more than people needing things to be more dramatic than they should be. We are told, in the Holy Scriptures, to be temperate. (Titus 1 and 2 refer to it). And our good common sense (as well as our parents and grandparents) tell us that most things are fine, as long as they come/are used in moderation.
So why can't we just say, folks, turn off the lights when you're not using them so you don't waste electricity. Don't drive to drop off a package down the street when you can walk instead, so you don't waste gas. Reuse things when possible so you don't waste what you have. Why can't we simply say any of those things any more?

Why does it have to be SO full of guilt-ridden drama?
Sheesh.