Patronised?

I could see why people might feel that way about seatbelts (e.g. people feeling "don't tell me I'm a bad driver!"), but I don't see how that feeling could attach to environmental issues like the aggregate emissions from (reducing from 100W to 10W * 2.5h/day * about 1 bulb/person * 400 million people =) 3.75 GW over the continent?

Well, I think to some extent, the eurosceptic UK tendency, encouraged by the tabloids, was to seek out things to be offended by (sometimes simply making them up; see bendy bananas.)

Never really heard of this anywhere in Europe _outside_ the UK, tho.