Most of us live in a world where energy conservation is constantly recommended to us. Whether it's ads on our phones telling us to take fewer showers or a TV ad telling us to turn off the lights, we are provided with many short and sweet mantras that remind us to make an extra effort to conserve our resources. However, the Asian Pacific American (APA) community has often been overlooked and left out of the conservation conversation. With cultures steeped with conservation practices, the APA community can contribute much to how everyday energy conservation is practiced.
“Even though we were never verbally told to conserve, we followed [our parents’] actions” recounts Zhou Xue Mei, a first generation immigrant from China. From her home in rural China, conservation wasn’t an additional effort or an ad campaign. It was a necessity. Zhou explains that the lights in her home in China “followed the person” turning on only when someone needed it and off at every other time. She explained that all of the conservation practices from turning off the lights to “stuffing bath towels in the door cracks to prevent the cold air from escaping” weren’t a conscious effort to save the environment, but a cost-saving necessity.
Since immigrating to the United States 12 years ago, Zhou has been able to fully experience American conservation practices. Specifically, she notes the prevalence of central AC units in American houses, providing air circulation to all rooms in a house from just one unit. In Zhou’s eyes, this practice is as wasteful as leaving all the lights on in the house. As a result, she replaced her home’s central AC with individual AC units in each room and, as a result, reduced her electrical costs for AC. Along with all of her other cost-saving methods she utilized in China, Zhou continues her energy conservation practices here in America as an automatic part of her routine.
Although no longer a financial necessity for her, the conservation habits that Zhou implements into her lifestyle are conservationally impactful. Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) notes that leaving the lights on and inefficient AC usage are among the most energy-wasting habits in America and that implementing conservational habits with just these two facets of living can “reduce your carbon footprint” and save hundreds on your energy bill.
Although no longer a financial necessity for her, the conservation habits that Zhou implements into her lifestyle are conservationally impactful.
Zhou’s story, while significant, is not unique. Most people in the APA community can relate to parts of her story whether it be learned conservation practices from parents or habits instilled from a young age. As the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S, the Asian community will continue to play a larger and larger role in American conservation. With energy conservation becoming a necessity, looking to Asian cultural traditions and practices can provide great examples of conservation. Not only is it important to have cultural representation for this growing population, but others outside of the Asian community can benefit from implementing these cultural practices. Following Zhou’s example, current and future generations can develop and spread cultural conservation practices that anyone and everyone could benefit from. The next time you can, ask your friends and family about how they conserve energy and see if you can implement their practices in your everyday conservation routine.
This piece is written by Andre Ching, Jenn Galinato, and Meiyi Ye as part of the 2021 CAUSE Leadership Academy program.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA), is a nine-week paid internship program for college undergraduates that prepares the next generation to lead and represent the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. Founded in 1991 as the California Asian American Student Internship Coalition (CASIC), CLA’s goal is to develop a pipeline of civic leadership for the APA community. Graduates of this program have gone on to run for political office and become leaders in politics, business, and nonprofits.
Read more about this year’s Leadership Academy cohort here.