More wood to stack today. We hope to burn 5 cords this winter. I'm also planning to add insulation and plug up any air leaks - this won't be easy as our home is built well.
I'm a little worried about those that are unable to burn wood. Some in my family are having a difficult time with energy bills - one of my relatives recently told me that they cut their wood order in half because of the rising cost of cord wood.
This is simply not going to get cheaper, only more and more expensive. Our country is in dire need of alternative forms of energy that can be retrofitted to homes. Government subsidies that accelerate these technologies and make it more affordable for homeowners would spark an entrepreneurial revolution in our country. New homes could have these technologies built-in, while existing homes would receive retros.
This cannot be more difficult than when we moved plumbing indoors, or sending a man to the moon, or splitting the atom. We can do this.
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Energy Policy
It seems to me that the Republican energy plan can be summed up in three parts:
1. Increase the noise level about more drilling.
2. Block any Democratic initiative to craft sensible energy legislation.
3. Blame the Democrats for rising fuel costs.
Pretty specious, but not surprising.
It just doesn't seem to matter to these petty people that there are millions of Americans who are struggling. More drilling is a political argument, not a viable solution - more drilling will have no economic impact for at least 20 years.
On top of this, if you can stand the debauchery, is the Republican mockery of Obama for suggesting we inflate our car tires to the proper pressure. McCain and his minions are hawking $25 tire pressure gauges while laughing at the notion of saving a few hundred dollars. I suppose McCain's financial worries were over when he married a multi-millionaire heiress, so he can laugh all he wants.
The truth is that there is no panacea for reducing rising oil costs. It's going to take a few hundred initiatives similar to proper tire inflation to take the first few steps. We need to buy some valuable time to develop alternative energy because we've wasted 8 years with an incompetent administration.
Interestingly, Republicans are in an unfamiliar position on energy. Basically, what they're telling us is that there's nothing we can do as individuals to help reduce our demand. We must depend on the "adults" in their party to make these energy decisions.
Oy!
1. Increase the noise level about more drilling.
2. Block any Democratic initiative to craft sensible energy legislation.
3. Blame the Democrats for rising fuel costs.
Pretty specious, but not surprising.
It just doesn't seem to matter to these petty people that there are millions of Americans who are struggling. More drilling is a political argument, not a viable solution - more drilling will have no economic impact for at least 20 years.
On top of this, if you can stand the debauchery, is the Republican mockery of Obama for suggesting we inflate our car tires to the proper pressure. McCain and his minions are hawking $25 tire pressure gauges while laughing at the notion of saving a few hundred dollars. I suppose McCain's financial worries were over when he married a multi-millionaire heiress, so he can laugh all he wants.
The truth is that there is no panacea for reducing rising oil costs. It's going to take a few hundred initiatives similar to proper tire inflation to take the first few steps. We need to buy some valuable time to develop alternative energy because we've wasted 8 years with an incompetent administration.
Interestingly, Republicans are in an unfamiliar position on energy. Basically, what they're telling us is that there's nothing we can do as individuals to help reduce our demand. We must depend on the "adults" in their party to make these energy decisions.
Oy!
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