I’ve recently written about the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and did a follow-up post saying how it has really impacted the way I live day-to-day. It has actually impacted those closest to me as well. From replacing regular light bulbs with more energy efficient ones, to recycling more.
My family would regularly have 3 or 4 trash cans out at the curb on trash day. Since seeing this movie we’ve made a real effort to recycle more – nothing out of the ordinary, just making sure that all the junk mail and catalogs and cardboard packaging goes into a recycling bin. Since doing that, we haven’t had more than two barrels out at the curb. So we’re recycling more, saving ourselves some work when it comes to putting out the garbage and saving on garbage bags (surprisingly expensive things). All while doing something good for the environment.
Today brings an article about an engineer in New Jersey who has built a house that is completely off the power grid – he doesn’t have an electricity bill and is completely self-sustaining with no carbon output.
I found myself asking one question while reading it: why is everyone asked about the house so negative towards it? Obviously the guy went to the extreme and it cost a lot of money – more than the average citizen would be willing to spend on it or could probably be paid back by the savings on electricity. But it was built by an engineer and it simply shows that it CAN be done. Naturally, for it to become more common, it has to be cheaper, which will happen.
Consider that when VCR’s came out they cost $3,000. So did DVD players. A 32 inch flat screen TV would have cost you $5,000 a few years ago – we recently bought one for $600. It takes people like this guy in New Jersey to move technology forward. In 5, 10, 15 years from now, this guy may be a hero or may be forgotten, but I bet his house will be an important step towards cleaner living.
If it isn’t living completely off the electricity grid, then maybe it is living 25% off it, or 50% off it, complementing it with your own solar panels or hydrogen manufacturing. That is the part that really gets me -they say that making the hydrogen isn’t efficient, so it’s not worth doing. Well, what does it matter? He’s using solar power to do it, so it could be only 10% efficient, it still isn’t creating any pollution!
Think about how much you spend a year on electricity for your house. Imagine not having to sorry about that. Or only half of it. Or maybe only a quarter of it. Do you still think that this guy is crazy? Do you really not want him to be successful and move the technology forward? That’s what I thought.
So what do you do with all that money you save from your electricity bill? Well, you save it up, get on a plane to Cologne, Germany, and buy yourself some sex. And if you’re over 66, you get it half-price. I do feel like they may have missed an obvious marketing opportunity here: shouldn’t the age limit be 69?
If you’re looking to cash in on this idea yourself, here’s how to do it: become a AED equipment sales rep there. You know there’s gonna be some heart attacks going on with all those senior citizens having cheap sex!