It's a huge problem - global energy wastage.
Doing appropriate boilwashes, isn't THAT wasteful of energy if it's done in an efficient machine that uses low water volumes.
It's not a whole lot worse than boiling a couple of kettles of water.
However, I do think that it's very important that we make sure that our machines are as energy efficient as possible.
If 30C washes do a good job, there's really no reason to do hotter washes unless you need them for a specific reason.
I rarely wash above 40C other than for bed linen once in a while at 95C to wipe out any dust mites.
Also, I use the highest spin speed possible to reduce drying times and try to line-dry as much as possible
It's posible to part-dry the clothes on the line, then throw them into the dryer for 20 mins with some bounce and they come out great.
There are loads of ways of saving energy when you're doing laundry.
However, I do think that the majority of energy wastage is not caused by washine machines / tumble dryers. It's mostly grossly inefficient buildings i.e. space heating / cooling.
I've made a few changes:
Upgraded the insulation.
Installed solar water heating (works great)
Upgraded to a good miele washer and dryer
Got the most efficient cooking appliances I could get (Induction hob [de deitrich])
Installed room thermostats in every room.
OK, it did cost quite a bit to do, but we did much of it as part of a remodel and got government grants for the solar panels.
Anyway, this year we've saved >€600 in energy bills!!!!
I get much better appliances, a more comfortable house, free hot water (most days) and have saved a fortune!
Also, we switched the power supply over to a green energy supply. i.e. all of our power is sourced from wind power. Every KWh we use, goes back into the grid as a KWh of Wind energy.
The price difference was negligable but I feel a lot better about it.