The Big Chill

At the Washington Post, Allyson Chiu, a reporter who focuses on climate solutions, gives readers useful tips on how readers can save energy:

Burr: Hitting Too Close to Home

While there are home improvements that can help you cut back on the energy it takes to heat water, including installing a heat pump water heater, one easy solution is to switch to cold water…

About 17% of the water Americans use in their homes can be attributed to showers, according to the EPA.

James Freeman, in the WSJ, presents Ms. Chiu’s chilling guide to conservation.

“Your steamy showers also consume energy: Nearly half of a home’s hot water is used for bathing. A cold shower uses less energy than a hot one.”

Thank goodness, reassures Mr. Freeman, “not all of the post’s sources are quite as eager as its purveyors of alleged solutions to promote regular exposure to frigid water.”

The Washington Post’s Reassuring Correction: 

Misinformation 

A previous version of this article incorrectly indicated that Jennifer Amann, senior fellow in the buildings program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, suggested that people take cold showers instead of hot ones because cold showers use less energy. She said that letting the tap run while waiting for water to heat up leads to water waste and suggested that people think about how to minimize it.