Not one is sold after 2009, by next Christmas every house in the country is at 100% florescent. Insulate the attic, then insulate the walls, replace or fix the windows, fix any problem doors, slay the zombies.
It’s a creeper, soon the most efficient car is looked for, then solar cells on the roof and a wind turbine on the back fence, with every amp fed back into the grid more money is saved
Paradox. Fabulous. It will not happen, however, without incentives and rebates and money put out in front.
It is not because people are lazy or because people do not care - it is because people cannot afford to eat. Everything on your list requires a tremendous amount of money. A tremendous amount.
I consider myself really progressive and extremely environmentally conscious. A couple of years ago we had a flood and were forced into a remodel. We took that opportunity to do many of the things that you are talking about - not because I did not want to do it before, but because we had no money, time or ability to do a lot of this stuff, that I never would have been able to do without living in a hotel and having the time (or forced into the time) to focus on remodeling.
For whatever heavenly reason we were able to re-finance. However, if I were not already having to spend a zillion dollars for all of the overages and shit that the insurance company did not cover, the expense put forward would have been outrageous and I would not have even considered it viable if I were not already forced into it.
As for insulating the attic, luckily our local power co is one of the last few publicly owned and they are also fairly green (we are able to pay a certain nominal amount on our monthly bill that goes towards a certain percentage of green energy) and they have a program where you insulate your attic, or other areas, and they work with different approved vendors and you get a rebate towards the cost. Bottom line, it still cost us about $800.00. Some small amount in the scheme of things - but not for us and I would not have had it if it were not for the above.
BTW, our house was built in 1973 and the insulation in our attic was an R4 - I increased to an R38. (Which is the recommended, and I did not know how poorly insulated that we were.) I also paid a little more for green insulation.
As for the windows, we replaced all of them - top and bottom, regular house in a regular neighborhood. It cost $15,000. Something I never would have done if it were not for the above, though I had wanted to for years.
We went with bamboo floors because they are environmentally sound - a much greater expense than cutting down rain forests - but it was important to us.
Everything that I did in the remodel, I did environmentally conscious, but it was not easy and I could not afford to do it all green. If you look on the LEED website and Treehugger, etc there are a ton of companies out there, who do green building, but it costs a shitload of money. A whole lot more than conventional remodeling...just like recycled copy paper costs a whole lot more than non-recycled, a shitty little fact of our current American life.
We also converted our dryer and stove to gas - we purchased new appliances, new gas water heater, all kinds of shit that increased energy efficiency.
For a solar visit (and we have excellent south facing roofs) there is not a single company in the area who does not charge for a site visit. The fee is anywhere between $150-300. The money is refunded if you purchase, but that is very expensive.
Most people go with solar hot water first, because it is the least expensive, but it starts at around $8K dollars. For panels it ranges between $12-30K. Yes, we want to, but we may not recover from the expense of the above and we were forced into that remodel. Something that I never would have done of my own accord. When I did it I decided to do it correctly and it increased our costs substantially.
We got a very small amount of it back in our tax return. I took advantage of every tax incentive possible for the above investments, but it was not enough to help us.
I have rethought this a thousand ways to Sunday. Of course there are some things that I would do differently, because hind-sight is 20/20; but I cannot say that any of the energy conservation things would be on my list of "doing differently."
Yet, we may not even be able to survive the new mortgage payment that resulted because of the re-fi. The re-fi was necessary because of the flood and the ensuing remodel (for instance, insurance company paid for new counters, but not the new sink and new faucet assembly or garbage disposal, etc...so all of that stuff, that was necessary, were out of pocket expenses) - so, I do not know what I would change.
Most people are like us...wanting new windows for years and years, but being unable to come up with the re-fi or the home equity loan to justify doing it. Who can justify $15,000 when they are trying to put food on the table?
I do not know of many people who do not live paycheck to paycheck or very close to it. We are supposedly "middle class" but we are not middle class the way that I grew up defining it. We are lower middle class, which simply means that we are barely hanging on and - like millions of other Americans - are barely making it.
I am sure that the hotel owner, if it is not a chain, is in the same boat. To replace every old refrigerator in every room would require a re-finance and who can do that in uncertain times like this? Maybe the hotel owner does not give a shit about the environment. Maybe they do not want to save the money on the energy savings that new appliance investment brings...but I suspect differently.
My plan is a little different. You are correct that the majority of energy costs are in buildings, but there are a lot of buildings that are not privately owned. We need to mandate that all government buildings are 100% energy self-sustaining in 10 years. And that every new govt bldg is 100% self sustaining as built. We own the buildings - we can demand this.
This also requires that local businesses get jobs greening the buildings. You cannot outsource greening a building on American soil. In addition, we need to make certain that the laws passed mandating this require that American made products are used.
Everyone can do thier part, I agree, unfortunately - from someone who has recently priced all of this shit - our part can be too expensive to do. Let's focus on things like keeping the heater set at 67 degrees and putting on sweaters. Though, I expect, that a great many Americans are doing this out of inabiltity to pay the power bill and not because they are environmentally conscious.
One word--HEMP. If not for our "government" hemp is a product that has thousands of uses, can be grown just about anywhere.and is definitely "green". I say we need a grassroots effort to again make this a legal crop.
Posted by Chris at November 29, 2008 09:23 AM...but policy implementation in DC is not the same as running for president.
I think they are pretty similar. People can have a direct influence on regulatory change through the legislative process. And we -at least in theory- effect change in that process through our vote.
What Obama showed is that small donors can pony up more money than a few big donors. If we can organize we can come together and outspend business interests. Congress whores will vote their wallets every time. The people need to grease those wallets in a mighty fashion.
Conservation is a good idea and beneficial, but more radical thinking will accomplish more than mere conservation ever will. The $750 billion dollars in the rich fat cat bailout would put almost half of all homes in the United States on solar, wind, or a combination of the two. The next big ass bailout would complete the job, and that is without conserving a drop.
We need a change in the mentality that gives unlimited welfare to corporations and calls it "capitalism" when it is actually mere greed. We need a change in the mindset that takes us from being 1st in the world in solar cell production in 2001 to 8th in the world in 2008.
Posted by phidipides at November 29, 2008 09:39 AMFWIW, the Morro Bay power plant exists because at the time it was built (the 1950s) the coast was simply the cheapest place to build power plants. Coastal communities provided access to transportation (rail, sea) for construction and fuel, ease of cooling using sea water (those are smokestacks, not cooling towers), open space, and workers (as the fishing industry was dying). There are power plants like this at several locations up and down they coast. They provided the majority of electrical power to places like the SF Bay area, San Joaquin Valley, LA, etc. Most started off as oil-fired, I believe they are all now fueled by natural gas.
That particular plant is likely to be shutdown permanently, as it is not cost-effective to upgrade it to meet current environmental requirements. By using sea water directly for cooling, it raises the water temperature near the outlets, which causes all sorts of havoc with local sea life. The alternative would be using massive cooling towers, which would be expensive to build and even more of an eyesore. It is also redundant, as 10 miles down the coast, in an area that you likely missed, is another power plant that does without ugly smokestacks and cooling towers. Instead, it has picturesque nuclear containment vessels, which may actually work if there is an earthquake on the nearby fault.
Energy policy is a complex thing. I lived through the rolling blackouts resulting from the Enron managed gaming of the power supply. Much SF Bay area power is currently supplied by coal-fired polluting eyesores in Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, etc., but the local people out there are too poor to have the luxury of complaining about it. Yes, we have hundreds of windmills near the Altamont Pass (AKA bird-killing eyesores), but they provide only a tiny fraction of the power needed. We need conservation *and* better technology to solve this problem...
Posted by Marc Ramsey at November 29, 2008 05:17 PMWho are you? I hate floresent bulbs and they cause me terrible headaches. But that's okay in YOUR world of forcing people to abide by your wishes? You're going to force people to buy new light bulbs, insulate and go without their food and/or medicine? How are you planning to "enforce" your edicts? Fool!
What the hell are you doing in a fancy hotel that you can't stand anyway? What a f***ing hypocrite! I do plenty to not cause pain or waste, but I draw the line at ever more impositions on my freedom.
What if I can get somebody to shut you up? What if I can get somebody (of course some governmental "authority") to tell you you can't stay in those hotels you abhor? Or you can't travel? Or you can't wear leather shoes. Pick one. This crap has to stop. How about I have you arrested for picking your nose in public? Or scratching your ass?
Either we all have rights, or we all have NO RIGHTS. You're headed down the path of NO RIGHTS. Please put a pillow over your face and go to bed.
I'm going out and buying all the incandescent light bulbs I think I'll need for the next 15 years! If my stupid homeowners association wasn't sooooo concerned with their "property values" which dropped without my help, I could and would install solar and wind power. BUT NO!!!! Another group of nannies trying to tell me what I can and can't do. THIS MUST STOP!!!!
People will generally do the right thing if given the opportunity. But they won't do it if FORCED! That makes them angry and want to fight back.
Posted by SeeofChange at November 29, 2008 06:03 PMAnd another thing. If you were so disgusted with the "waste" in the hotel, why didn't you just check out and go rent a room in a hovel that the hotel workers live in, who have NO electricity or running water? Those poor people aren't causing any "carbon footprints". And you could have paid them a little and they could have fed their family for a month!
Posted by SeeofChange at November 29, 2008 06:27 PMAnjha is right. There are many things I need and would like to do, but finances determine what I do. My house was built in the 30s and still has the original windows. It would cost $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 for the porch alone, and six of my windows inside would have to be custom made. It would also be hard for me to give up 10 windows with art glass in them. Don't see window replacement in my future.
Posted by Judith at November 30, 2008 12:18 AMSeeofChange
sounds like you might need to go down to the local home improvement or hardware store and check out the newest generation of fluorescent bulbs.
Much has changed. The ones I've bought this year are great- and I've even been able to find lower watt, soft light versions of everything I need.
Shop around.
(And they really do last a long, long time!)
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As for the other suggestions- as a renter with limited income, it will be a while before I can afford to live in any of the many newly built green buildings in my area- they're priced for people with MUCH MUCH more money than I have.
Most of us live in older structures whose landlords are not likely to retrofit. And when they do- they essentially become NEW - and... unaffordable.
I'm worried about how long it's going to take for the Green Movement to "trickle down" to the rest of us. 20 years? 30?
I see colder winters in my future- while my richers neighbors across town have roof top gardens, solar energy, recycled air, heated floors... and on and on.
I want this- but I have to accept reality. It's not coming to the apartments in my price range any time soon.
Posted by light it up! at November 30, 2008 04:08 AMOne way to involve more than a tiny amount of citizens is to implement a responsive voting system. Does it not make sense that if our problems are going to be solved democratically that a binary voting system is inadequate? I don't think a plurality-winner system provides for much subtlety in the expression of voter preference.
Posted by wilson rivers at November 30, 2008 12:26 PM