Desperate Housewives Mirror U.S. Energy Dysfunction

Just as the wacky inhabits of Wisteria Lane on the hit TV show Desperate Housewives want happiness, they seem to do everything in their power to prevent being happy. Notwithstanding the stereotypical slutty latina with a criminal husband and the young black male carrying a gun to feed a mysterious missing father figure hidden in the basement, the pristine suburbs are straight Americana. The whites on the show are pretty dysfunctional too, with murderers, slutty SWF, nutty kids and fornicators everywhere. A typical manicured, SUV-in-the-driveway suburb?

Well isn't this like our energy situation in America. We want energy conservation and freedom from being addicted to foreign oil, yet we salivate for huge homes and SUVs. We don't want a gas pipeline, powerplant or factory near us, but we want 6 televisions, 3 cars, 3 computers, cell phone chargers, printers and every other gadget we can think of in our homes. We say we want solar and wind power when we know it will not work to provide enough electricity. We fear nuclear power when it emits no polluting gases. Nobody wants a coal fired electric power plant in their neighborhood but coal provides 50 % of the nation's electricity. Our energy behavior is right out of Wisteria Lane.