Home Energy Geek

How do we solve global warming? I know the answer. It can’t be done by one person, or by reducing energy use in one area. The solution requires changes by us all, and it will require efficiency improvements in every area.

Stereotypes need to be broken down. This is truly an opportunity for humanity to unite together in pursuit of a common goal. People who are “going green” come from all walks of life. This makes sense because caring for our earth and its future is such a simple belief that it can easily transcend career choice, religion, or culture.

Our business sells energy-efficient pool controls, under the brand name “TightWatt“.

One area where I distinctly see orders coming from is the “oil industry”. A recent order came from someone who works with pipelines, and I can also recall other orders from within the oil industry over the years. I haven’t done any in-depth analysis as to where business is coming from, but if you think that this is a group that doesn’t care about the earth, you’re wrong. What’s more, they’re doing something about it.

I think that part of the reason the oil industry, or the energy industry at large, is concerned about their energy use, is that they understand the crisis at hand. Most people have no idea where their energy comes from, or how much of it they use. A power company engineer I speak with regularly exhibits what can only be described as frustration.

I think that it’s important to make a big distinction between thoughts and actions. While many people might consider themselves environmentalists, increasing per capita energy use clearly shows that action is simply not happening on the scale which is required.

With earth day rapidly approaching, I like to hope that it will motivate people to take action. Sadly, one day a year is not enough to make the needed changes.

Join the Energy Revolution! This is a call that should have come in mid-September 2001, but instead we were told to “go shopping”. “What? We were just attacked and I should go buy that chocolate fondue fountain I’ve had my eye on.” I heard the “go shopping” remark as the golden answer to our problems, and it left me with a total feeling of emptiness. In the spirit of common sense (if it still exists), I would like to re-write that 2-word mandate with something that would have actually made a difference:

“Reduce your energy use.  Make your home more efficient. Carpool to work. Take shorter showers. Hang a clothesline in your backyard. We’re going to cut off the funding for these people, and every American can do their part by saving energy!”

Wow! Imagine if this statement had been issued in the days after September 11th. I imagine that a lot of people would have walked to work, home insulation would have sold out at Home Depot. Red, white, and blue clotheslines would have dotted backyards across the country. I personally would have gone to showering every four days, with a sponge bath on the between (schtink) days. But this is not the mandate we were given. We were told to not participate, but instead to keep sending the checks. We later find out that these checks had been misspent. The wealth of us, and our children, were, and will continue to be, wasted in an effort of conquest and control in the middle east.

The grief and anger of September 11th have now passed for most of us, but the direction we need to go in remains the same. Our feelings have largely been displaced by an anger at an administration which profits from war and oil, at the expense of the American people. Now, it’s time to channel that anger into something positive. We can refuse to fund the terrorists and the war profiteers at the same time. How? Reduce your energy use! Steal from the collection plate of the middle eastern madrassas and tell Halliburton that you don’t want what they’re selling. Install those CFL Bulbs, Turn down the heat, and pile more blankets on the bed. Throw more insulation in the attic. Plan your shopping trips (for the necessities). Install a TightWatt timer (shameless product plug). And most of all, carpool to your polling location to vote for change.

 Join the Energy Revolution!

P.S. If this article has offended you in any way - Congratulations! You’re beginning to understand what the real problem is, and are on a journey towards self-discovery and enlightenment.

Many people are outraged by the EPA’s latest decision, which does not allow California to set its own fuel economy standards for vehicles. I also agree that California should be able to do what it wants. States are given independence so that they can make laws which meet local conditions, and fuel economy is no exception. The Los Angeles valley is choked with smog on many days, and California drivers pay some of the highest fuel costs in the nation. Having the Federal government say, “No, you can’t do the right thing for your state.”, is resented because nobody wants to be told what to do.

The same applies to me. I really don’t like the government telling me what to do, but as I have discussed before, we have largely shown ourselves to be negligent. ’Freedom’ is about being able to do what you want, and taking away choices can be equated with a decline in freedom. Well, the feds may be able to tell the states what to do, but they can’t tell you what to do (not yet). We all have the power to make responsible energy choices, and there are plenty of great options out there.

The real question is this: “Is there a green revolution?” A revolution implies action, and so far all that has really been done is talking about a revolution - someday. Why do we have to wait for the government to mandate our choices when we can already make them? Aren’t there enough intelligent/ informed citizens to make a difference?

As we begin a new year, it is a good opportunity to reflect on the world, and also a good time to make changes. If you are looking for an omen for 2008, just think about $100 oil on the first day of trading (Jan. 2). I would like to encourge everyone to start making smart choices now. In a democracy, the people lead the government.

You might call me a ’softie’, but I wish that there was enough food in the world to go around. There are lots of areas in Africa, but also right here in the U.S., where people just don’t have the economic means to get the food that they need. If the price of food rises (and it has risen substantially this year), this leaves even more people and children with empty bellies.

There are a few reasons why the cost of food is going up. The drought in Australia (which some attribute to global warming) has driven up the price of wheat. The cost of oil also continues to rise, which increases the transportation costs of getting food to your door.

What concerns me is the push toward ‘biofuels’. The most recent energy bill passed by our government mandates a five-fold increase in the production of biofuels. This decision will ultimately increase the price of food as so much of it ultimately ends up in our gas tanks. This seems to be one more case (among many) where our national priorities are out of whack. Right now, someone is going hungry, and we’re taking that food and converting it into fuel for our jet ski. I think that our priority for feeding people should come before fueling our cars. We could get by using much less gas, but it is difficult to get by on much less food. The United Nations has labelled the production of biofuels derived from food stock “a crime against humanity”.

Biofuels have other problems as well. A lot of water is consumed in growing these crops, and many of the fertilizers are fossil-fuel based. It is so inefficient, that it uses almost as much petroleum in its production as it is designed to replace.

I really see our world as coming up against limits. The world is running out of fresh water. The world is running low on oil. Now, the world is running low on affordable food. As resources become scarce, our morality will be tested. Conservation is more than a way to save money. It is an expression of compassion for the peoples of our planet.

Are you concerned with how much energy you use? At first, you may think so, but you’re probably more concerned with how much it costs. I’m using this reasoning to make this article seem relevant to the subject of home energy. I’m also going to reveal something that will completely blow  your mind about our financial system.

You’re probably aware that the dollar is on the decline relative to other currencies. This has been a slow decline that has been taking place, dropping by 8.7% this year against the euro. What this means is that buying something from Europe is going to cost more. They’re going to demand more dollars in exchange for their goods, and this contributes to inflation.

Inflation is something that we really don’t want in our lives because it lowers our standard of living. We’ll probably be making the same amount of money, but the things we need cost more. This also applies to energy. The cost of energy has been rising, and as our dollar deflates, it makes things a little tighter.

At this point, you might be wondering where the value of our dollar comes from. You might be wondering if it’s still backed up by all the gold at Fort Knox. Well, it used to be, but it’s not anymore. The most appropriate analogy today is that it gets it’s value from fairy dust, that ethereal substance which borders on fantasy, but a small number of people claim is quite real. These same people claim that it is the most powerful stuff on the planet.

This week, the Fed had an auction where they ‘gave away’ 20 billion dollars to banks at a low interest rate. The banks were lining up for this money, and while the banks wanted over 60 billion, only 20 billion was auctioned off, so demand exceeded supply for this precious substance - the American dollar.

Now for the part that I find truly crazy - no money was ‘given away’ here. In today’s world, most things are done electronically. The only thing that happened is a couple of numbers changed in a computer, and SuchandSuch Bank went from a balance of 7 thousand dollars to one billion, 7 thousand dollars. All the Fed had to do was their magical chant - “God of consumerism that we hold so dear, Bernanke, Bernanke, make the money appear!”. And after they do this, a couple of RAM locations change their value, and a room full of people rise up, clapping, thanking the Fed for this great gift.

Hard to believe? Well, this is exactly how it works, but in reality, there is much more pageantry than what I have described. My point? I don’t know that there is one. This system doesn’t have much reason to it. I guess it’s just something to think about.

 ”Paper is poverty, … it is only the ghost of money, and not money itself.” - Thomas Jefferson

I ran across something disturbing lately. It’s important, because it’s probably something that is in your home as well. I was moving a toaster oven, when I noticed a tag on the power cord with something like the following - “Warning. This cord contains lead. Lead may cause cancer, reproductive harm, or brain injury. Wash hands after touching this cord.” I was thinking about giving this toaster oven to my daughter, but after I read this, I decided to return it to the store where I had purchased it.

I returned it to the store, and spoke with the store manager. He told me that basically, we just can’t get away from having these toxins in our house. He told me that recently he was looking for Christmas lights and went to two different stores looking for something that didn’t have a warning label. He eventually bought Christmas lights laced with lead. He did sympathize with me, and I urged him to bring it to upper management attention that selling these types of products creates problems with customers.

What’s really disturbing to me is that we are allowing this situation to happen, and it’s probably going to get worse. Why do we allow these unsafe products in our homes? It’s easy to imagine a kitchen with limited outlets - unplugging the toaster oven to plug in a coffee maker, touching the cord, not seeing the warning, and shortly afterwards, ingesting lead. Lead is a potent toxin. Why would it get worse? Europe has been working for years on adopting standards for healthy products. They care enough to pay a little bit more for products, and to have healthier families. As Asia produces ‘clean’ products for Europe, that leaves ‘dirty’ manufacturing processes and ‘dirty’ excess inventory for the United States consumers.

I’d like to say that we do have a choice in these matters. There are stores that sell electronic products that meet European standards. You can also hit two birds with one stone - reject ‘consumerism’ and ‘toxic products’ by not purchasing the Christmas lights, or whatever it may be. I would personally rather go without these products than to: (1) support the manufacture/distribution/sale of toxic products (2) have toxic products in my home.

Most people probably don’t think too much about where their electricity comes from. We certainly expect it to be there, and we also grumble when our rates go up. I think that there is a large disconnect between what is really going on in the energy world, and the public perception/non-perception of the challenges that we face.  When we fully understand our energy predicament, energy conservation becomes a necessity.

For this thought experiment, we’re going to become an employee of a power company, but don’t worry, it’s only a temporary job. For the next few minutes you’ve just been hired on as an engineer working for a power company. After a brief job introduction and a cup of coffee, your boss comes in to give you your first assignment:  “We’re expecting 50,000 new homes in our service area two years from now. We have enough excess capacity to get us through the next year, but after that, we’re going to have to find a way to provide electrical service to all these new customers. I’d like you to look at all the options.”

So, this sounds like an interesting job. Let’s start to think about some of the options that we have:

 Nuclear - Very expensive to build, and would take years. Environmental permits, waste disposal, and public opposition are just some of the problems. Not a good option, probably won’t even bring it up.

Hydroelectric - All of the rivers are already dammed up. If a hydroelectric plant can be built, it already has, so this option is also a no-go.

Coal power plant - This is possible, but there will still be some public opposition. People are concerned about mercury contaminating the environment, and then there’s the CO2 emissions. Maybe the carbon dioxide can be stored underground, but this will triple the cost of producing the energy, and no one has done it yet. Suggesting an unproven technology probably isn’t the best bet, so we’ll move on to some other options, and keep dirty coal as an inexpensive, but sure to be unpopular, option.

Wind - Now here is a somewhat affordable alternative, and the public would be pretty happy with it. There might be some location issues, but let’s just assume that we can work that out. But, what will we do on days when there’s no wind? People want electricity no matter the weather. So, we’ll have to buy back-up generators (maybe natural gas) to meet the demand when there is no wind. This will increase the expense.

 Solar - Still very expensive, but also has some of the same issues as wind. How do we provide power on cloudy days? How do we provide power at night? This solution requires back-up power as well. At night, when there is no solar power, the back-up generators would have to supply all of the power.

Natural gas turbine - Somewhat affordable, but supply of natural gas is an issue. Prices for natural gas are going up, and a good investment would have to be made in infrastructure to pipe in the natural gas. It produces greenhouse gases, but this might be my best choice so far. But if I need it as a back-up to wind or solar power, then it doesn’t make sense to have the wind or solar. It makes more sense just to get the natural gas turbine, and not invest additional money in wind or solar.

Well, that’s pretty much all the options available. The choices are pretty limited, and this is exactly the problem that we are facing. This exercise has been done over-and-over in real life (in much more detail), and power companies are running out of good options for producing power.

 And right then, another idea hits you - “If I could have the other customers use energy more efficiently, then there would be enough energy to meet the new demand.” This is increasingly the solution that power companies are coming to. However, getting people to change their habits has become a challenge. Even getting people to change their lightbulbs to something 75% more efficient has been difficult. Power companies have tried to motivate people through rebate programs, but sadly, these are rarely taken advantage of.

It’s imperative that we reduce our energy use. It’s good for the environment, and it can be one of the best financial investments that you can make. As you can see, there aren’t any great solutions for increasing energy production. Conservation allows us to work together to meet the energy needs of our communities while minimizing the environmental impact of energy production. Okay, your work is done here. You can go home now and think about how you can make your home more energy-efficient.

A friend of mine recently was irritated, and said “Pretty soon the government is going to even tell me what lightbulbs I can, and cannot buy.” I guess that he’s pretty attached to the incandescent bulbs in his home. Most of us get emotional when the government starts telling us what to do. Well, I’m here to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and while I don’t like to see the government involved in anything, consumers as a whole could be said to be ‘grossly negligent’, and our government needs to take action.

California typically leads the way in energy legislation, and beginning in 2008, they are getting more aggressive on reducing energy use. For years, they have been offering consumer rebates, installer rebates, tax credits, and more. If that weren’t enough incentive, they have the highest electric rates in the U.S. - it is in the best financial interest of the consumer to lower their electric rates. But in spite of this, most people just go on doing the same thing. A power company engineer explained it well - “The products pay for themselves, we give them a rebate, it’s the right thing to do for the earth, we increase the rebates, and still people do nothing.”

California is taking the step of mandating energy-efficient appliances. For example, when your pool pump breaks down, it will be illegal to replace it with a single-speed pump. You will now be required to replace it with an energy-efficient 2-speed pump and controller. This will be a signicant investment (~$600), but it will quickly pay for itself. This isn’t the only area where they are forcing change. A 194-page document, called CEC Title 20 standards, covers everything from wine chillers to traffic lights. If it uses electricity, you will probably find it in this document.

To me, the crux of the problem lies in different groups of people, and their understanding of the problem. The power companies know that an energy crisis is on the horizon. The last thing that they want to do is police everyone on their energy use. The public, in general, has no idea of the new energy economy that we must transition to. The Bush administration is partly to blame for it’s public denial of the problem, but the public should also be smart enough to do their own research when their government cannot be trusted.

In my view, government is best doing it’s job when it’s serving the public interest. It is only natural to get angry when you are made to reach into your wallet to pay for something that you don’t want. But before you get angry, take some time to look at the savings you will get. Reducing your energy consumption can be a great investment, and we all need to make changes to transition to a sustainable world.

While some estimate that we hit peak world oil production in the summer of 2006, others estimate that it is still a few years off. It is difficult to argue exactly when it will happen because some numbers aren’t reliable, and others are not available at all. The point is that if it hasn’t happened already, it will be happening in the near future.

It is in our best interests to give this some thought as to how it will affect our lives, and how we can better prepare for it. The simplest conclusions to draw are that prices for oil will go up. This will affect virtually every good and service available. For those who are already living at the edge of poverty, this will mean an increase in food prices which will push them into malnutrition or worse. This simple picture of the crunch leaves the moderate- to well-off with little impact on their lifestyle, while many of the poor slowly fade away.

However, this simplified view is not very accurate because it assumes that the market, and the people within it, will be well-behaved as these changes occur. I would like to list a few events that might occur as oil supplies tighten and people/governments react to a changing world:

-  increased attacks on oil pipelines and infrastructure.
-  hoarding of oil and other energy related products.
-  inflated prices due to trading of a diminishing resource.
-  exclusive oil supply contracts.
-  martial law control over oil-rich areas.

These are just a few scenarios which could occur during this transitional phase to a new energy economy. There will areas which will receive no oil due to hoarding by others. This, combined with higher prices for basic needs will drive social unrest. Our ‘Department of Offense’ runs on oil, and may very well engage in more desperate acts in the interests of maintaining the U.S. empire.

As citizens, the best that we can do is educate others about the changes that are coming, and make changes to our lifestyle. It’s time for a more fuel-efficient car. It’s time to start that home garden. It’s time to make our homes more energy-efficient. It’s also time that we speak up when our government takes actions which do not reflect our values.

I think that most of us agree that the environment is in need of some serious help, and this is going to require real action. The ‘Carbon offset’ has become the popular way for us to maintain our consumptive lifestyle while getting rid of our guilt. A Google news search for ‘carbon offset’ shows over 2,000 items, most of which are companies trying to improve their image through a ‘carbon offset’ program.

‘Carbon offsetting’ is only a Band-Aid for the problem. It basically says that we can keep on living our life exactly as we are, and we will clean up the mess later. We are facing a multitude of environmental problems. Peak oil, carbon emissions, overfishing, overfarming, and water scarcity are just a few of the problems that we face. The real solution lies in reducing our ‘carbon onset’, which is reducing our carbon emissions, and stopping the problem right at the source. I’m sure that all the corporate giants who advocate ‘root cause solutions’ in their daily life will agree with this remedy.

Saving the Earth: Mission Accomplished
___________________________________

Forgive me earth, for all my sin.
I know that you are sick within.

It is so hard to change my life.
Oh, who will help? I ask my wife.

A savior is just what we need.
The finest group of banks, indeed.

Chase, Wells Fargo, B of A,
They’ve come here to save the day.

Bankers, brokers, all the crew,
those gems of Madison Avenue.

To save the earth is not so hard -
with a ‘Green Earth’ Master-Card.

It will clean the water, cleanse the skies.
What would we do without these guys?

It will make green the latest fashion.
They say it might give Bush compassion.

Now no more days are filled with dread.
Oh look! A condor overhead.

So hit the mall, shop as you please.
Your food court shall abound with trees.