This is Scientific American 60 Second Science.

I'm Cynthia Graber.

Got a minute?

It's obvious that, say, turning the lights off saves money, but being reminded that using

less energy saves money may not be the most effective way to

motivate consumer efficiency.

Instead, citing environmental and health benefits appears to be an even bigger influence.

That's according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Air pollution from coal and natural gas plants has a demonstrated impact on childhood asthma

and cancer, but that point has not been well communicated as part of a conservation effort.

So the scientists monitored 118 Los Angeles apartments.

The residents received access to real-time information on household energy consumption down to the level of

individual appliances. For slightly more than three months, half the households

received weekly updates comparing their energy use to their most energy-efficient

neighbors along with the related cost savings.

The other group received weekly messages about the emissions and pollution they generated

and the resulting health impacts.

The cost savings group did not change their behavior significantly,

but the group that received the health and environmental information

reduced consumption by 8% compared to the control.

And in households with children, the effect was even stronger

they reduced their use by a whopping 19 percent.

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