Leave it to Patrick Mazza to underscore the latest global melting at Antarctica with some dire facts about sea level rise. Record droughts, walls of super cells, heat waves, cold snaps, super tropical storms; they all remind us that climate change is happening all around us with a terrible din.
It is so easy to lose hope under these circumstances, but there really is a lot we can do and it boils down to this: Stop Burning Stuff.
Stop burning it at home, stop burning it at work, stop burning it for transportation, and stop burning it for recreation. Just stop.
For homeowners this is a fairly simple proposition:
- Walk, ride a bike, or drive an EV (or PHEV).
- Take steps to reduce your home’s energy use (insulation, air-sealing, LED lights, appliance upgrades).
- Replace gas heating and water heating with heat pumps.
- Dismantle fireplaces and make better use of that space and material.
- Install solar energy systems to offset the additional electricity usage.
There has never been a better time to do these things:
- You can lease a Nissan Leaf for $169 / mo.
- There are rebates for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters.
- Low cost financing is available and home values are up.
- Financial incentives for solar are at a high point, and the costs are low.
Do we have any excuses left for inaction? Of course, some of these measures take a bit of planning, effort and expense but think, for example, about how much planning, effort and expense goes into purchasing season tickets and attending the games of a major sports team? Isn’t this just a question of priorities? How much priority does Planet Earth have in your life?
This is why we have a deep appreciation for our customers; they have made conscious choices to put the planet and future generations of its inhabitants first. This does not imply that they have a degraded lifestyle as a result – far from it! Their homes are more comfortable, their energy bills are lower, they don’t have to waste time pumping gas and smelling the fumes, and their consciences are clear.
If you haven’t already, would you care to join them?
