That constant rate explains a lot. I have a contact at their nuke plant who has been telling me some pretty gruesome stories about the state of their payroll. At first they started cutting the "frilly" stuff such as the cafeteria, a few janitors, things and people deemed to be nice but unnecessary. It progressed to the point of significantly reduced manpower across the board and the requirement that employees vacuum their own cubes and remove their own trash. (Oh, the humanity!) They would never, ever sacrifice safety but they were forced to sacrifice everything else. I hope for his sake that they can bring a few jobs back on site.

As for saving energy around the house, we can do so much more! My favorite class in school was a seminar called Solar Energy Analysis and Design. Most people would be absolutely floored if they knew what the design of a house could contribute to energy savings year-round. The sun may be an impractical means of supplying grid power but it could take a huge load off of the infrastructure over the coming decades if only we could take the extra time to build in simple passive systems into our new construction. If I can be taught how in a single trimester, our society ought to be able to put it to use!

Tim