Solar, Celebrity & Affordable Housing

:) It's about time America produces more celebrities :) so that we can have a solar nation someday.

An interesting concept, I guess every little bit helps.

Not to get off topic, but I see people complaining about tax breaks to "big oil".  Does anyone have any specific data as to what these tax breaks actually are?

Howard suggested taxing the oil company's huge profits.  This isn't really necessary since the U.S. gives huge subsidies (and tax breaks) to the oil companies, despite ExxonMobil making more profit than any company in the history of the world.  If we just move these subsidies to renewable energy, a solar PV system would actually be cheaper than using grid power.

Today, so many people are driving super-luxury vehicles over $50K (Hummers that have never been off-road, for example).  If our President would make it "patriotic" to install a solar PV system - and even unpatriotic to use standard grid power - many more people would invest in a solar PV system as a flag-waving luxury item.  Obviously, many have the money.

I own several rental properties.  If the landlord pays the heat or electric, as in many small multi-family properties, the tenants will literally set the heat to 90 and open the windows in the winter.

I agree that in many cases the "higher energy usage" is due to  poor building construction.  It may also be due to use of "all electric" construction. Electric ovens/eanges are not rally very efficient.  Yes, they are good at making heat from  electricity, but  they take longer to generate that heat, and longer to lose it. No "central air," is probably a factor, also.

   Food stamps are also a factor in that costs tend to force purchase of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, requiring cooking. Foods that don't require cooking, or use of crock pots (low cost cooking), are much more expensive. The poor find themselves locked into poor choices, with little or no room to change. That leads to more energy use.

Please do not associate being poor with elevated use of energy. If that were true then Bolivians would be the largest energy consumers per capita. What we have here is the U.S. is a malfunctioning and very inefficient population of throw away consumers that is seen across all levels of income. In the U.S. we have lost touch with the "share the wealth" democratic concept and much to my dismay appear to entering into that other unmetionable society.

jb (www.nrgmanager.com)

Just thinking out loud; I have a feeling that the energy use by lower income families can be related to mant things. Poor insulation of the homes, leading to more energy used to heat and cool the homes.  The additional energy draw of cheap and inefficient appliances; from window A/C units, water heaters, refrigeration, and inexpensive incandescent lighting. 

 Just the few things I mentioned off the top of my head could add up to a few thousand dollars of renovation or improvements, that those families renting or owning just do not see available to invest for a long term savings.  It is the same with the idea of recycling, people just do not see how it could directly benefit them.

I admire Mr Norton, using his celebrity and environmental consciousness to help others less fortunate; but the many middle class folks that could use a little nudge, some help when it comes to investing money into passive or active (PV) solar systems for their own homes, would be a gigantic market. The nudge for some momentum to build toward a renewable energy society.

Paul Johnson you can find the big subsidies in the 2005 energy bill, it gave oil and fossil fuel companies an 18% increase. You can also look at the recent HB 06 and see where congress wanted to stop the 10.1 Billion tax subsidies to big oil. In the end all they could do was not Increase it.

The present administartion also gives free drilling rights and other big perks to oil. It all started in the 70's after OPEC hit us on the head. Oil companies were supposed to find more AMerican oil but now we import over 60% of our oil. The US hit peak oil in 1970. The rest of the world pays $7 a gallon for gas. We pay $3 so you can see we subsidies over half the price. 

  Of course we also subsidies large vehicles over 7 toine GVW for small business and they buy Hummers and Escalade SUVs that you and I pay for. It used to be a 100K writeoff , then down to 50K now it's 25K so the Hummer H1 was stopped since they can't give them away. 

Why does low income housing include a swimming pool for each 4 to 5 families?  Pools use energy (pumping and heating) and ozone depleating chlorine.  A better use for a hole in the ground is for thermal storage or to store ice or chilled water that is made during the winter and used to cool a house in summer.

Christina Nelson,  The Original Coffee Company

With regard to "taxing the rich oil companies":

Americans' favorite pastime is counting and spending other peoples' money.   Oil companies are owned by shareholders.  Want to get some of your gas money back from the oil companies?  Buy stock, and reap the dividends.  Beware;  the government taxes profits twice:  once while in the companies' hands, and again upon distribution to the owners - the shareholders. 

US oil production (lower 48) has been in decline since 1971.  If the US wants more domestic product to reduce imports, you'll have to open up new oil fields (read;  offshore, and in Alaska).   

On the other hand, if you really want to promote efficiency and reduce fuel-based energy consumption, scrap the existing tax system and replace it with a carbon or emissions tax on every product manufactured in, or imported into America.  Think of it as a national sales tax - but based upon energy content.