Bring the Green!

Have you read the ‘Green New Deal resolution that’s been introduced in both houses of Congress? Nope, me neither. First, I wouldn’t have any idea where to find it. Second, if I did find it, I fear it would be written in ‘Congress-ese’, which I expect is nigh on impossible for laypeople to understand.

But I was fairly certain it did NOT say we had to get rid of cows, as one news anchor claimed.

So, when I ran across an article that attempted to explain exactly what was included in this resolution (not a bill, a resolution), I took the time to read that.

It makes great sense to me. I agree with it completely. Basically, it states that since climate change is not only real but already effecting the population of the US, costing us time, money and even heath dangers, that it is the responsibility of the administration to do everything it can to assist and encourage changes to infrastructure, social norms, and a whole host of other things to help all of us deal with those climate changes. Nowhere in it does it even mention cows.

What kind of assistance could the government provide? Where do I begin?

We started looking at installing solar panels on our roof decades ago. But at that time, they weren’t very effective and lasted about 10 years, so by the time they ‘paid for themselves’, you needed to replace them. Plus, we were in the midwest, where there were NO companies who offered solar panels or knew how to install them. We got solar panels installed on our roof within a year of moving to Florida. But we still had to take out a loan to do it, and we may never get any of the cost ‘returned’ to us by the government, because we don’t have enough income.

Here’s the first few ideas I have on how the government could ‘encourage’ this change to our infrastructure (moving our electricity needs to solar panels and/or windmills): Make arrangements for homeowners to get loans for solar panels (windmills) at a really low interest rate. Encourage (or require) power companies to start replacing their fossil-fuel-powered power plants with solar panels/windmills and batteries. Why not encourage businesses to install solar panels/windmills on their roofs? Or the side of their building? There have been some wonderful innovations in solar panels; I understand one guy even figured out how to embed solar ‘panels’ in roads, so... why aren’t we taking advantage of these things?

We’d like to get an electric car, but they aren’t any good if you plan to drive more than an hour or 2. And it’s not like you can pull into any gas station and ‘fill up’ when your battery gets low. When I first started looking at electric cars, it seemed you could drive for 4 hours, then you had to stop and ‘recharge’ for about 8 hours. Assuming you could find a place to do that. About 3 years ago, I heard that ‘high-speed recharging’ only took 45 minutes, but while the Kansas City area had nearly a dozen ‘stations’ where you could recharge, it only had 1 place where you could recharge quickly. Some of the theme parks in Florida offer recharging stations in their parking lots, but I don’t know if you pay extra to get one of those, or how long it takes there.

Why aren’t gas stations hedging their bets by installing recharging stations? Investment in solar panels/windmills, a couple large batteries and the recharging equipment could make road trips so much easier for those trying to help save the world. Motels could offer to recharge your car while you catch some zzs. Rest areas could also offer a recharge while your kids and pets are running off their pent-up energy and the family has a snack.

How many people would be buying an electric car if they knew they could get it charged up while they were out and about, rather than ONLY in their garage? Parking meters could become charging stations, so that you could fill up while you shop. Why not put solar panels and (tiny) windmills on a car, to help it go another mile or 2 down the road before you have to recharge?

There are lots of ways to help ‘encourage and assist’ efforts to save the world, and by extension, ourselves. We just need to stop thinking things like, “That isn’t how it’s done.”