Justice
The Typical Morning Routine Requires a Shocking Amount of Energy
If humans had to power their own showers, the world would be a much smellier place.
One of the benefits (and dangers) of modern living is that we can use energy without having to work for it or think about where it comes from.
To make it easier to contextualize the energy usage of basic daily activities, researchers at the online energy marketplace SaveOnEnergy.com converted these tasks into units of human activity. Any physical action—walking up a flight of stairs, lifting weights, taking out the trash—uses energy, just like turning on the light switch. Comparing those units, though, shows just how much we benefit from electric power permeating our lives.