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may 06 
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Invest in Energy Efficiency
Economic stimulus payments will begin arriving at more than 130 million households this week. Why not invest that Treasury check in something that will continue to save you money, even as gas and energy prices rise? By spending your tax rebate to improve your home's energy efficiency, you'll enjoy lower energy bills while doing your part to stop global warming and stimulate a cleaner, greener economy. Typical U.S. households spend between $1,000 and $1,800 each year to heat and cool their homes, power appliances and keep the lights on. With energy prices rising steadily, now's the time to invest in lowering your energy use. Home Depot, Lowe's and other stores are offering special promotions and savings on energy-efficient products this month, thanks to Rep. Brian Baird, of Washington, who introduced a resolution urging retailers to offer special promotions to encourage Americans to use their rebate checks for renewable energy and energy-efficient products. When shopping for new appliances, consider long-term operating and energy costs, not just the sticker price. Look for ENERGY STAR products, available in more than 50 product categories, including lighting and home appliances -- including clothes washers, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners. Energy Star qualified products meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and US Department of Energy. Some simple home improvements can reduce your monthly energy bill immediately. As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. Caulking up drafty holes and adding insulation to your attic are easy ways to reduce your energy use. One of the most effective ways to save energy is to install an ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostat, which allows you to control the temperature in your house automatically so you're not wasting money warming or cooling an empty house while you're at work. You could even use this year's tax rebate to purchase a solar energy system and claim a tax credit next year. Unfortunately, many clean energy and household efficiency tax incentives have expired or will expire at the end of this year unless Congress extends them. But there is still time to install a qualified solar energy system in 2008 and claim a tax credit in 2009. You can get back 30 percent of the cost of qualified solar water heating and photovoltaic systems, up to $2000, until the end of 2008. The credit applies to second homes too. You may also be eligible for rebates or other incentives from your state when you make energy-related improvements to your home. For state-by-state details, see http://www.dsireusa.org/
1. 06/11/2008 01:53:01 PM These are all good measures. Problem is that they should have been dogma thirty years ago. Now the problem is much more difficult to work with. All these incremental measures will not meet the challenge unless something is done to dramatically reduce total global consumption. Social iniquities aside, the global ecosystems cannot be expected to support the current level of human populations. Obviously the recently defeated senate bill would have helped, but even if it became law there is very little time to implement even marginal improvements. Evidence? This audience is well aware... 2. 08/21/2008 04:25:03 AM Imagine a future where every nation is energy self-sufficient. Imagine a future with no wars over limited supplies of oil. Imagine no more acid, ozone depletion, or global warming. Imagine that! Did you know that building a renewable energy infrastructure worldwide can create millions of new industrial and scientific jobs, boosting our global economy? Did you know that renewable energy can make every nation energy self-sufficient and really end wars over limited supplies of foreign oil? Did you also know that renewables such as Solar, Wind, Hydro, Geothermal and Hydrogen energy do not emit greenhouse gases, or other pollutants? I’m Captain Ozone. I am an ecological, real-life superhero. I’ve come at this point in time to ask you to help me promote pollution-free, renewable energy or “green energy”. I did not travel far-flung just to ask you to become a vegan, plant a tree, and to ride your bicycle. And I'm not here just to encourage you to vote for “green” politicians. I’m here looking for dynamic agents of change (not armchair activists) to join me in my righteous campaign for renewable energy! Since 1989, I've been teaching citizens of all ages how to be POWERFUL crusaders of renewable energy. I’ve taught school kids how to write, direct and star in their own television Public Service Announcements (PSAs) which support green energy. The U.S. Department of Energy has collaborated in my kids' television PSAs and you can view them in streaming video at www.emnw.org/site/index.php?video=2. I also teach artists how to raise public awareness and support for renewable energy through their art work. I've starred in several environmental radio, television and movie theatre PSAs; an ecological music video titled The Flush; and a video documentary which you can view at www.changents.com/change-agents/CaptainOzone/vids-and-pics/10456/10457. Some people claim that I'm an eccentric humanitarian. Others argue that I'm just another village idiot. John McCain, as a joke, nicknamed Al Gore "Captain Ozone" after me in 1996. Nonetheless, I am here to teach citizens how to help build a renewable energy infrastructure across the globe. YOU can have a POWERFUL VOICE that will incite many citizens to advocate and promote green energy, for FREE! To learn how to become one of my revolutionary agents of change, please read the following… Solar! Wind! Hydro! Geothermal! Hydrogen! How to Promote Pollution-Free, Renewable Energy I helped produce and starred in several Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in favor of renewable energy that reached millions of television viewers in the United States and Canada. Creating PSAs and getting them aired on commercial television can be rather costly, but there are many other fun things you can do for FREE to raise public awareness and support for green energy. Here’s a list of 13 exciting things that don’t take monumental effort and will have large-scale impact: Be Your Own Talk Show Host! 1) You can produce your own talk show on college radio that crusades for renewable energy! Producing your own talk show on college radio is FREE and you can reach hundreds or even thousands of listeners. Radio listeners can call in on your talk show and share their views and comments about renewable energy. Producing your own college radio show is fun and easy and some college radio stations even allow non-students to produce their own shows. 2) You can produce your own talk show on Public Access television for FREE that’s in support of renewable energy! Your television campaign for renewable energy can reach thousands of viewers and most Public Access television stations offer FREE classes that teach you how to operate their television broadcast equipment. You can find volunteers through the station’s classes who have been certified to operate the broadcast equipment to help you produce your own television talk show. 3) You can podcast your own radio or TV talk show promoting green energy on the Internet for FREE using your computer’s microphone or webcam! You can podcast from your own home and reach millions of radio listeners or TV viewers worldwide! The Pen is Mightier than the Sword! 4) Write an article that campaigns for renewable energy and publish it for FREE through independent media websites like indymedia.org. 5) Write letters that are in support of renewable energy to the editors of your local newspapers and magazines. 6) Write a letter to your regional power company petitioning them to convert to renewables such as Solar, Wind and Geothermal power. 7) Write letters to CEOs of oil and automobile companies petitioning them to invest in, or give grants to scientific research and development of green energy technologies. Be Heard in the Binary Heavens! 8) You can create your own MySpace page that crusades for renewable energy and reach thousands of citizens on the Internet worldwide! MySpace allows you to upload photos, audio and video to your personal page, and it’s all FREE. You can also purchase an Internet domain name for as low as $10/yr, then create your own website that advocates renewable energy and have your site hosted for as low as $25/yr. Demonstrate! 9) You can organize a PEACEFUL march in favor of renewable energy in the downtown area of your city, which will get media coverage! This may require obtaining a permit from your city, but doing a peaceful demonstration for green energy will be exciting. You can ask your local lumber yards and paint stores to donate the supplies to make your handheld signs with. Your handheld signs can say for example, Solar Power! - Wind Power! - Hydrogen Power! - Renewable Energy!, and so forth. Remember to send out press releases about your demonstration to your local newspapers, radio and television stations before you march. Tell them Captain Ozone sent you! Green Your Art! 10) If you’re a song writer, painter, sculptor, or even a stand-up comedian, you can feature renewable energy themes in some of your art work. Invest in Green Energy! 11) Companies that manufacture renewable energy systems are growing as fast as Microsoft did in the 80’s! You can buy stocks in companies that manufacture green energy systems. Listed below are several fast growing companies that manufacture wind turbines, hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels, and geothermal systems: Vestas (www.vestas.com) is the largest company that manufactures, installs and maintains wind energy turbines all over the world. Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (www.ballard.com) makes a variety of pollution-free, hydrogen fuel cells for power generation, automotive, and material products. SunPower Corp. (www.sunpowercorp.com) makes high-efficiency photovoltaic cells and solar panels for residential, commercial and power plant applications. WaterFurnace Renewable Energy, Inc. (www.waterfurnace.com) makes geothermal systems for home and business use. Contribute Your Green! 12) You can make a tax-deductible donation to Environmental Media Northwest at www.emnw.org. This non-profit organization has an outstanding Youth Ecology Program which gives kids the opportunity to write, direct and star in their own television PSAs that promote renewable energy in the United States and Canada! To make a tax-deductible contribution to Environmental Media Northwest, go to their ‘Donate’ page at www.emnw.org/site/index.php?page=6. Spread the Word! 13) If you’re an armchair activist, please copy this page and paste it into your email and forward it to your friends and family – it could bring you good juju and some of your friends and family might have fun creating their own talk show, website or peaceful demonstration for renewable energy. If only one (1) out of a hundred people did just one (1) of the 13 things listed here, hundreds of millions of citizens as a result would get excited about renewable energy! Should you decide to do one of the 13 things listed here, always try to employ an uplifting approach. Talk or write about the positive benefits of pollution-free, renewable energy technologies. Do not turn your campaign for renewable energy into another protest against the oil industry. I know it’s tempting to whine about diabolical oil companies and to sneer at dastardly oil moguls, but this negative approach has proven to be mostly counterproductive. I quote an old Chinese proverb: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” If you really want to protest against something that’s disaster-prone, protest against Carbon Sequestration! This is where carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from power plants and factories is captured and pumped into underground reservoirs and deep into oceans. Since earthquakes can cause massive amounts of sequestered CO2 to erupt from underground reservoirs, Carbon Sequestration is considered to be potentially hazardous. To learn about renewable energy technologies, go to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website at www.eere.energy.gov. New Comment |
Posts from Switchboard, NRDC's Blog
- Is There a "Hints from Heloise" for Energy Saving Tips? posted by Frances Beinecke
- The Gulf Is Dead! Long Live the Gulf! posted by Jon Devine
- NRDC sues Consumer Product Safety Commission for withholding industry correspondence posted by Jennifer Sass
- Show bees the money posted by Melissa Waage
- Streets are for everyone posted by Kaid Benfield
