By: schuyler

schuyler — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:17:06 +0000

One thing I’ve considered for a long time is that the housing industry in America has no regional competition and consumers / buyers have extremely limited choices. Part of the problem has been the way that, historically, all levels of government have been leveraged by developers and special interests in ways that actually interfere with progress. In the long run, we would all benefit from having homes that are better thought out ergonomically, more energy efficient and build on economies of scale so that people can afford such improvements in relation to what currently exists. Homes could be modular and engineering concepts from many disciplines integrated into their design such that they could be comfortable, safe, weather resilient, easy to maintain, extremely durable, and most important, energy efficient. One future trend that is obvious is that finite resources will become more valuable and therefore more expensive, especially in the context of population growth and therefore increased competition for those resources. We need to work on improved housing NOW while we still have relatively inexpensive liquid fossil fuels to ‘bootstrap’ ourselves into a sustainable economic approach, and into a 21st century that will be a hopeful and dream filled one, not one that becomes a story of self induced crises and economic dead ends. Don’t forget to take into account NET energy and resource usage when considering new investments. It’s certain however, that conservation and efficiency are the first steps to be taken toward sustainability. The time to begin is now!

By: Uncle B

Uncle B — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:35:05 +0000

Its time to tell the American people that they have been mesmerized by the ads to build totally impractical McMansions when they could push the architectural world to produce practical, geothermal/solar heated, fireproof! yes sweetheart, it’s possible! tornado/hurricane resistant, super-insulated, realistically, not stylishly sized, solar-electric powered, LED lighted, low running cost homes that would help cover the owner’s ass in hard times instead of pushing it into the fire. A small garden, composting unit, and greenhouses could be worthy accessories.
P.S. There should be special asylums for people who cannot live without the roar of multi-cylinder internal combustion engines. The rest of us will make do with Viagra and very fast electric cars charged by desert solar electric power installations feeding the existing grid.

Comments on: How Marin Can Dramatically Boost Renewable Energy And Save Money

By: schuyler

By: Uncle B