I still can only barely understand.
I can see what I think are the origins of such a mindset (I have little
control of many things, but I do have control over how much electricity
I use and I'm not going to use less simply because you ask me to. In
fact, I will use more because you asked me to use less. See? I have
control!)
What I can't fathom is that the end result is money in the bank.
I think that a large part of the "problem" is the fact that American culture
places so much weight on "the individual." The individual is absolved
from responsibility to the larger social construct.
Living in Brooklyn has me awash in "individuals" who believe that their
right to express themselves trumps the needs of neighbors, other
drivers, or anyone in their path. Case in point: a few weeks ago I had
this conversation with my neighbors "Hey, it's two-am, can you stop
screaming in the hallway?" The response (once I had returned upstairs
to defend from the Scions) was to scream even louder.
In an apartment building it's annoying. When it comes to finite energy
it's, at best, irresponsible and, at worst, evil.