Zoey, it isn't nearly as easy for the rest of the country to cut back on energy consumption as it is for those of us lucky enough to live in Hawaii.
We don't have to heat our homes or use AC, plus we live on an island so distances are shorter. I find a lot of people in Hawaii pat themselves for on the back for being green; by driving a Hybrid, and not using AC, but don't give a moments thought to flying back and forth to the mainland several times a year. It is roughly 100 gallons of gas/jet for roundtrip mainland flight, so a family of four who takes one flight to the west coast and one flight to east coast a year, has the same carbon foot print as family with a monster SUV.
I'm no saint, I should replace my water heater with a solar heater, but without the benefit of tax credits it is not at all cost effective so I don't.
While I agree that it is overall warmer here in Hawaii, there are many areas that are too hot, or too cold and it would be very uncomfortable not to use AC, or heat. In the mountains the temps are very cool and this winter was an especially cold one. We're at sea level and it was quite uncomfortably cold in the mornings. I would have hated to be at higher elevations this past winter.
I personally suffer from the heat in the summer and we're on the windward side, which is wetter and cooler. The leeward side of the islands would be too hot for me to tolerate and many, if not most people, use AC in the summer. Even though some days I feel sick from the heat, I've resisted buying even a small window-type air conditioner. I've definitely been tempted, though.
So, it isn't as easy as you make it sound to go without heat, or AC in Hawaii. I doubt that most people on the mainland turn their thermostats down to in the 40's or 50's, but that's how cold it was in some homes here this past winter. The inside temp in my house, at sea level, was in the low 60's and I doubt that most people turn their thermostats down even that low on the mainland. When I lived there, we were urged to turn our thermostats down to 68 degrees and most people didn't do it.
As for being on an island, so distances are shorter. I don't find that to be true. Many people drive 2-3 hours to get to work, or to go to a doctor, or to get to a discount store. That it's inconvenient, is one of the major complaints that people have about living here. When I lived on the mainland I pretty much stayed in the town I lived in and it was easier to do so, since we had everything we needed.
Most of the things we do to cut back on energy consumption anyone can do anywhere. Things like driving less. We consolidate errands, so we don't have to make multiple trips. Anyone can do that.
As for electrical use we turn off lights when we leave a room, unplug electrical devices when not in use, changed to CFL light bulbs, don't use the dishwasher (do dishes by hand), don't use clothes dryer (we hang them on a line under our house since it rains a lot here), cut back on computer use, watch very little TV, and when we needed a new refrigerator we purchased a smaller and more energy efficient one (this alone cuts our kw usage by quite a bit).
We don't take trips to the mainland, ever, let alone several times per year. We can't afford a solar water heater, or a hybrid car (but, don't drive an SUV). So, we just do what we can to reduce our usage and it's working out pretty well.
The point is that there are many things Americans can do to reduce their usage of gasoline, electricity, natural gas, propane, etc. that if everyone did would make us less dependent on foreign oil.
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