HeraldNet: Solar energy: an ugly expense or a lovely necessity?



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Eco Geek

August 7, 2008

Solar energy: an ugly expense or a lovely necessity?

Posted at 9:44 am

The sun has been shining for the past few days in western Washington, and sometimes that’s all the encouragement needed to turn thoughts toward solar energy.
A free brown bag seminar hosted by the Sustainable Development Task Force of Snohomish County is scheduled for Wed., Aug 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Public Utilities District building at 2320 California St. in Everett.

Chris Herman, the owner of Winter Sun Design who has harnessed solar energy for green homes for the past two decades will lead the discussion on making solar energy work – even in the dreary Pacific Northwest.

The event is entirely free. To RSVP, call Terri Hooper at the PUD at 425-783-8275 or email her.

In related news from the New York Times, a progressive town in Germany may have become, well, too green.

The Marburg town council recently voted to require solar panels not only on all new homes, but also on existing homes that are renovated, get new heating systems, or are re-roofed. Anyone who doesn’t comply will be fined 1,000 euros.

The new code is set to be enacted on Oct. 1, but citizens say the town council has gone too far, and is undermining the rights of property owners. Some citizens also worry that historic structures that have been preserved for centuries will be at risk.

The town is already known for its environmentally-friendly practices, including solar lights and heating, windmills and hydroelectric power, but opponents say residents shouldn’t be forced to comply with costly codes in the name of green living.

It’s a question of balance. Should homeowners be required to take on a more expensive version of home repairs and renovations if they don’t want to?

What about historic buildings and homes? Many of Everett’s landmark residences are used by families, who are honored by committees and commissions for preserving the city’s original designs. Would it be fair to require those homeowners to mar a Craftsman or Victorian roofline with a solar panel?

What do you think?

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Mandatory solar energy?
As with all things 'government,' one wonders how it is that a few elected officials suddenly wake up one day, and figure that they have been accorded the ultimate authority to DICTATE how others shall live.

But then? That's Germany for you!

Other than that, we Americans should always have it in mind, that there are consequences to be suffered when something is mandated, merely that a group of people seemingly think that they have the right to lord it over the rest of us.

Those consequences I refer to are the fruits of 'THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.'

Allowing any such transgressions upon the rights of all others, merely that you happen to think that you know better than anyone else, is nothing short of the worst sort of arrogance and deceit, manifesting itself as 'godliness.'

Last I checked, we still have a Bill of Rights, and it DOES protect one's choices in life, regardless the matter of the busybodies down at city hall.

The final choice here as to whether to install a manifestation of technology merely that it will tend to save energy, lies FIRMLY in the purview of the person who must suffer the travail of the finance, and NOT in some government control freak's hands: THEY aren't paying the bills.

THE homeowner is paying for ALL OF THAT, and THAT'S ON TOP OF the taxes.

FInally, as I consider things here, there's that aspect NOT mentioned: WHAT CORPORATION is behind all of that 'mandated' law in Germany?

Seems to me that there's MONEY TO BE MADE, and someone stands to MAKE LOTS OF THAT by dint of mandate ...

In all of this, it pays to look below the surface.
Ed Totty | Aug 10, 2008 6:18 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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