The funerals in West Virginia coal country had barely slipped from the daily headlines when another fossil fuel disaster projected itself onto our computers and television screens. We found ourselves staring into a river of crude oil spewing from an almost mile-deep well head in the Gulf of Mexico as it embarked on its inexorable journey to our southern coastline, leaving in its wake a trail of death to every living thing it touched.

In practice there are not many things you can do to reduce the amount of energy you consume without seriously changing the quality of your lifestyle. But the following list of simple steps will save between 15% and 35% of the electricity bill for an average family. Some of us are prepared to significantly alter our lifestyle to save energy, but I think this is missing the point.