Arts...YOU ROCK!!! I love your song by the way....very catchy!

quote:

Originally posted by Paula:
Where's Iris?

LOL! Now, I wonder where on earth you got the idea that I would have an opinion about this issue?

Sheepgirl, don't freak yourself out. Cell phones don't emit the kind of radiation that causes cancer. They emit a different kind of radiation... remember that radio signals and heat are also types of radiation, and they don't give us cancer. We need to slow down with the development of farmland into suburbs, but we're also not about to run out of space just yet. And I expect that the bee population will recover eventually. Windmills aren't a terrible thing-- in fact there's this guy who invented some really neat windmills that can be stuck on top of buildings and aren't ugly. Biofuels aren't a very efficient direction... but solar power is where it's at, where we need to be. There are some really cool solar panels being worked on that will hopefully be pretty cheap to manufacture.

That said, I think that unfortunately, Al Gore is right. Just because there were errors and exaggerations in his little movie, and he's a hypocritical politician, doesn't mean his point was wrong. (Not that I agree with him on everything.) The science says that the earth would probably be increasing in temperature even if we weren't dumping carbon into the atmosphere, but it's pretty silly to knowingly accelerate the process. I mean, changing the climate of the earth is not exactly something you want to trifle with. And there really is a good consensus among climate experts-- a few people in disagreement doesn't mean that it's not true. Science doesn't work that way; science is about data and the data that keep coming in tend to support Gore's case.

But a lot of this "going green" stuff is lip service, because people don't seem to want to do anything to significantly reduce carbon emissions. If we would really embrace "green technologies," there are all sorts of technologies that could be developed. I believe in in the force of American ingenuity. But are people willing to change? Are people willing to invest? Personally I think it would be really beneficial, and there could be an economic incentive if people would get past the politics.

People said that the Clean Air act and the Clean water act would stifle the economy... but the opposite happened, because people can make money off of change. I don't think anyone's sorry that we have cleaner air and better water. The companies that suffer are those that are stuck in their ways and refuse to change (*ahem* RIAA)., but a lot of those are really big companies with lots of money to invest in PR campaigns and lobbyists.

(Umm... John Stossel doesn't exactly have a good track record when it comes to reporting science. He has been known to bring in quack scientists to "challenge conventional wisdom." )

Paula, I didn't know that about the Bush ranch. That's pretty awesome... I want a house like that!!

A show I watched on HGTV last night featured Jay Leno's house. He had solar panels installed on his roof that create energy during the day and those little windmills Iris spoke of that generate electricity after the sun goes down. The solar panels were installed by a company that does this for you at no upfront cost for the panels, but you sign a 25 year contract to buy the power they produce from them at a much lower cost than normal electricity. The great thing about that 25 year contract is that your price for electricity will never go up. They lock you in your price per unit of electricity for the entire contract. So, you save money and help the environment. I think the company is ingenious for doing what they do. I think more people would use solar power if not for the huge initial cost of the solar panels and set up.

I don't remember the name of the company, but it was near Venice, CA I think. I watched this in bed and was half asleep, but was interested so really tried to stay awake.

My dad had solar panels installed on top of his house. They use them to heat the water for the pool/hot tub and the house water. They say the water gets so hot so fast. They love them. Plus I think they get a huge tax write off and a refund from the government for them...but I'm not sure on that. My dad's get the extra cash to handle that up front cost...$10K I think it was.

quote:

Originally posted by Paula:
A show I watched on HGTV last night featured Jay Leno's house. He had solar panels installed on his roof that create energy during the day and those little windmills Iris spoke of that generate electricity after the sun goes down. The solar panels were installed by a company that does this for you at no upfront cost for the panels, but you sign a 25 year contract to buy the power they produce from them at a much lower cost than normal electricity. The great thing about that 25 year contract is that your price for electricity will never go up. They lock you in your price per unit of electricity for the entire contract. So, you save money and help the environment. I think the company is ingenious for doing what they do. I think more people would use solar power if not for the huge initial cost of the solar panels and set up.

I don't remember the name of the company, but it was near Venice, CA I think. I watched this in bed and was half asleep, but was interested so really tried to stay awake.

Nifty! I'm going to look into that. I wonder what kind of qualifications go with a 25 year contract, though. I suppose the next owner of the house would also have to agree to the contract to take ownership.

They give tax incentives here, too, but solar power is still prohibitively expensive. A system that covers only a small part of your energy consumption costs upward of $30,000.

I also want to look at geothermal cooling systems... although I can't remember exactly what the technique called.

Hehe... I'm kind of into this stuff. The engineering department is just next door to us!

I was wondering too what happens when you sell your home or exit the earth before the contract expires. Like you Iris, I would also think the new buyer or whomever owns the home next would have to agree to it. I couldn't imagine someone saying, no, I want out of the contract the previous owner set up because I want to pay more for electricity and do my part in using up the earth's finite resources.

quote:

Originally posted by Paula:
I was wondering too what happens when you sell your home or exit the earth before the contract expires. Like you Iris, I would also think the new buyer or whomever owns the home next would have to agree to it. I couldn't imagine someone saying, no, I want out of the contract the previous owner set up because I want to pay more for electricity and do my part in using up the earth's finite resources.

Never underestimate people Paula