The Budge Prime Minister David Cameron, when he was leader of the opposition, is trying

to get elected. He wanted to convince people that he was a soft-carrying guy and he installed

a little windmill on his house.

That's Tim Hartford. He's an economist and author who lives in Oxford, England.

Now, it turns out wind power can be pretty effective, but you need a really, really big

windmill in a really windy location to be efficient. These little windmills, especially

in an urban environment where you don't get a consistent flow of wind, they generate

an incredibly small amount of energy, really, really ineffective. Indeed, there's a fantastic

example from the British physicist David McKay, who points to building top windmills in

Japan that actually have little electric motors in them to keep them spinning around, because

otherwise they would look really stupid on top of the building and not actually moving.

So, these windmills actually cost energy.

From APM, American Public Media and WNYC, this is Freakonomic Radio. Today, why owning

a Prius could mean you care more about your image than the environment, and is booing verbal

vandalism or the last true expression of democracy. Here's your host, Stephen Dubner.

You will note that David Cameron did get elected Prime Minister of the UK. And whether

is little windmill had anything to do with it? Tough to say. But while it may not always

be easy being green, these days it's certainly attractive. Roof top windmills, those I

am not a plastic bag reusable shopping bags, and a certain make of automobile.

Hey there, Richard! Oh, hey, Gerald, Newcombe. Yeah, it's a hybrid. I just couldn't sit back

and be a part of destroying the earth anymore. Well, good for you. Oh, thanks!

That's from the TV show South Park, poking fun, and how some people get a little bit sanctimodious

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