We met Arthur Weaver Jr today. He left perfectly good job at Cornell University to start up a solar company and has now moved on to building small wind machines. He is chosing to make a difference personally based on scientific evidence of climate change.
Arthur encouraged us to pursue PV solar as the primary solution. The costs have come down so much recently that it is the most financially feasible option to become net zero. The cost and complexity of solar water heating can be avoided by simply adding another PV panel or two to cover an electric water heater.
We talked a bit about electric cars. He said if we are going that far, we really should consider eliminating all our use of fossil fuels:
- The gas cooktop can be replaced by an induction cooktop which has similar performance.
- Electric lawn mowers are common.
- A gas grill is not a necessity.
- Electric heat is cheap when coupled with an efficient house that is powered by PV panels.
We talked about the passive house concept and while that is about energy efficiency, it really doesn't address the living green components. He encouraged us to look at Living Building Certification as a more comprehensive standard.
It was an insightful hour of discussion - and inspiring to see someone chose to make different choices because it was the right thing to do.
Arthur encouraged us to pursue PV solar as the primary solution. The costs have come down so much recently that it is the most financially feasible option to become net zero. The cost and complexity of solar water heating can be avoided by simply adding another PV panel or two to cover an electric water heater.
We talked a bit about electric cars. He said if we are going that far, we really should consider eliminating all our use of fossil fuels:
- The gas cooktop can be replaced by an induction cooktop which has similar performance.
- Electric lawn mowers are common.
- A gas grill is not a necessity.
- Electric heat is cheap when coupled with an efficient house that is powered by PV panels.
We talked about the passive house concept and while that is about energy efficiency, it really doesn't address the living green components. He encouraged us to look at Living Building Certification as a more comprehensive standard.
It was an insightful hour of discussion - and inspiring to see someone chose to make different choices because it was the right thing to do.