Agreed. Most of the little actions are pieties, designed to make people feel and look virtuous. Many of them aren't thought through.
e.g. Leaving a light on at night is a good idea. You're less likely to trip and fall. Breaking a pelvis (common with elderly ladies) and going to hospital is an environmental cost.
e.g. Leaving power adapters plugged in is convenient. Drudgery takes time away from our productive and recreational activities, which make life better for everyone and improve our environment. Also, in wintertime, the heat generated by adapters warms the house.
A lightbulb wastes watts, idle power adaptors waste milliwatts.
You can still save a few <currency> on your annual bill by switching the lights off when you don't need them and using energy-saving bulbs. OK, so that's probably in the order of 1% of your bill, but still, 1% for something that takes virtually no effort at all.
What he's shown is that not all energy-saving tips are equal. Unplugging your power adaptor isn't really worth the effort. Turning your thermostat down half a degree, using a colder washing machine cycle, driving 5mph slower or more evenly or without air conditioning and not reboiling the kettle when it's still hot are all little actions that can have a significant effect on your energy usage.
1% for something that takes virtually no effort at all
For any resource, including electricity, there will be an optimum level of wastage. Perhaps you would place it 0.1%? Attempting to reduce the wastage below this point, wherever it lies, will defeat the purposes that drive consumption in the first place: to live and enjoy a good life.
It's worth remembering that the reason greenies want to squeeze electricity are environmental rather than financial. Pages and pages of our media are filled with pious discussion of small lifestyle changes. This is wasted effort too!
e.g. Leaving a light on at night is a good idea. You're less likely to trip and fall. Breaking a pelvis (common with elderly ladies) and going to hospital is an environmental cost.
e.g. Leaving power adapters plugged in is convenient. Drudgery takes time away from our productive and recreational activities, which make life better for everyone and improve our environment. Also, in wintertime, the heat generated by adapters warms the house.