Converting to compact fluorescent light bulbs, air-drying their clothes and giving up video games were just a few ways these Alaskans cut down the cost of their energy bills. Now, they’ve become the model city for what it means to save energy.

It’s unfortunate that it takes a natural disaster to force people to start caring about the environment.

Although Juneau has done a great job of conserving power, the lifestyle change came only after the cost of electricity skyrocketed from 11 cents per kilowatt-hour to 53 cents. Whether other cities, such as East Lansing, can follow in the footsteps of Juneau without the motivation of a natural disaster is a question yet to be answered.

People don’t seem to care enough about the environment to do the things the residents of Juneau are doing. It wouldn’t take much time or effort — as little as the flick of a switch.

People can only benefit from conserving energy. Doing small things like turning off electrical appliances when they aren’t in use might make a big difference, especially when it comes to saving money and power.

The reality is it’s hard for people to break the habits they’ve grown accustom to doing — like leaving the TV on while sleeping.

But if the residents of Juneau can do it, so can we.

It rains 220 days out of the year in Juneau, yet the residents find ways to dry their clothes without the assistance of a dryer. Even in Michigan’s unpredictable weather, we have a better chance to take advantage of the earth’s natural resources.

We have the choice of using solar power. That’s a luxury Alaskans don’t have year round, because their winter months are comprised mostly of darkness. Still, they’re ahead of us in the race to become environmentally friendly.

A grocery store in Juneau also jumped on the bandwagon of saving electricity by turning off the televisions in the store. Grocery stores in East Lansing could do the same. It’s understandable that the stores might not be willing to lose money from advertising but deciding to run only half of the televisions in the store would help.

Choosing to “go green” should be something people do even when they aren’t forced to do it, like in the case of the avalanche in Juneau. It shouldn’t take something so extreme to get people start caring about the environment.

Alaska’s wake up call was an avalanche. What will be ours?