Washington Post: In October, we described an experiment that tried peer pressuring Americans into conserving electricity during peak hours. (Heres why thats important.) On high-demand days, a company called Opower telephoned people to remind them to cut back on their energy use. Each time, it followed up with e-mails telling people how much they saved compared with their neighbors.
Perhaps it was peer pressure, or perhaps it was the telephone calls themselves that did the trick. Either way, people on those days...