Why Now?
Timing is everything, and the way we see it, now is the right time to start spreading the word about Home Energy efficiency options. We’ve got Obama (almost... hurry, hurry) at the helm, spreading the gospel on a macro level, and we’ve heard from oodles of people who are ready to take a few steps – sometimes tiny ones – sometimes expansive ones – to reap a return on investing in the energy efficiency of their homes.
But of course, in celebration of the season, we’ve also heard from Scrooge. “Pity about the timing,” he says. “Gas prices this low... people simply don’t care about the need to save, conserve, or invest in improvements at a time like this.” Sometimes, he launches into a rant then, about how immediate needs trump long term goals and humans are invariably short-sighted.
Poor Scrooge. He gets no respect, again. Partly because keeping homes comfortable and sound is not a fad, and partly because we have never had a better collective sense of the importance of making change. We owe some thanks for that understanding to efforts by Bill McKibben and others who flip dire consequence talk into playful and inspiring calls to action. And then there are organizations like Conservation.org that simply refuse to embrace the concept that there is such a thing as a bad time to think about saving the planet. They recently highlighted conservation efforts in China, in the wake of the devastating earthquake there less than a year ago. What does it take to help people living in Zhongba, in the buffer zone of Bai Shui He National Reserve, in central China think about sustainability and long-term ecological viability when they are terrified and suffering? A sense of connectedness, a belief in the long term benefits of taking action, and leadership from within the community.
The truth is, now is the time. And there's never been a better time, to whip our houses into shape. For the sake of the planet and also for our own return on investment. Just before bed, my kid asked to see the back of a CFL lightbulb package for a school assignment. "See," I said, "This will last 10 times longer than the incandescent bulbs we used to use." She counted up the tiny lightbulb icons and did one of those comical kid double-takes. Mouth open, head bobbing. "Wow. That's cool."
Actually, yea, it is. Tomorrow morning, I'll replace the last few incandescent bulbs in the house, just so I can tell her I got rid of all those hot-burning energy sappers. That's why, too. Just so I can tell her.
Please tell us what moves you to make energy-efficient changes in your house. (And, yea, because the neighbors went solar is a perfectly good reason in our book! Shoot, because we knew the panels would make the neighbors crazy works, too).
Thomas Friedman recently talked with Elizabeth Kolbert about his new book, Hot, Flat, and crowded. He ended the book with this line from Donella Meadows, “We have exactly enough time, starting now.” Yeah, so let's get going.
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