About Our Green ChoicesThis site is dedicated to the people and technologies from all over the world, that are working towards a greener energy choice for all of us. We are constantly challenged to learn more about the forces of nature that provide us with wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy.
On this site you will find Renewable energy-focused pages, including:
- Green Schools and the impact they have on our student’s health and their learning abilities.
- Creation Care and how places of worship combine faith and sustainability.
- Energy news about available and future technologies.
- Green build and the trend to sustainability housing.
- Links to great web sites that help you understand and learn more about making greener choices.
- Money saving tips.
- Notable Numbers, a number show off all about energy.
…plus lots more to come!
At the end of all the calculations about how much climate change is going to cost us we have to ask ourselves: How much is it going to cost us if we don’t make changes. Even little ones can help save a bundle of CO2.
Updating your appliances, replacing windows can be an initial investment but can profit you immensely in the long run. Do the math and calculate how much you’ll be saving in energy cost over the span of 5 or 10 years. A new energy efficient heat pump could lower your electric or gas bill by up to 30%! Will buying a hybrid or plug-in hybrid save you on gas cost? Do you think gas prices will go up or stay constant? How much will you save on an annual basis? Doing the math can cost you or save you a bundle.
Having created over 350,000 new jobs, the European Union has gone renewable energy ‘crazy’ over the last 8 years. Booming economies, particularly in Germany, have brought great confidence to the developers of renewables. By 2005 their renewable energy output was 8 % and their aim is to reach 20 % by the year 2020. Some American States have already adopted similar proposals; many more have yet to follow.
It is time that we act as a part of the environment because we do actually need this planet. It feeds us and provides us with shelter. It gives us all the energy we can possibly want through means of renewable sources. We can’t stop global warming but we can slow the process. Our needs, our wants, our behaviors set the tone when choosing where our electricity is coming from. As the Prince of Wales put it:
“The lives of billions of people depend on your response and
none of us will be forgiven by our children and grandchildren if we falter and fail”.
I encourage you to spread the ‘green’ news and to share it with your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues. Host an ‘Inconvenient Truth’ film event at your home or show the PBS version about global warming at your place of worship or your school. Invite speakers who can answer all the questions you might have about global warming. Make a list of money saving energy changes. Get involved in your city and press your mayor to join the Cool Cities agenda.
College campuses today are breeding grounds of green thoughts. This generation of upcoming leaders, engineers and teachers are quick to respond and see right through the challenges that are mounting before us. Let’s encourage one another to demand and support cleaner energy sources.
Every voice counts when making green choices. With high hopes for our future on this planet, our fragile earth.
Sabine McDowell, LEED AP
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sabine was born and raised in Northern Germany until she moved to the States in 1994. She grew up watching wind turbines on the North Sea shores and loved the dedicated engagement of the German community for recycling and reusing things. Totes and canvas bags are still used for shopping. No free flimsy plastic bags or even paper are offered unless you want to pay $1 each.
When moving to the Midwest everything seemed bigger: The cars, the homes, the people....Everything was much cheaper here too. The fuel, the building costs for a house, the food. It seemed like a great and easy place to live. Filling the gas tank with then $0.89 a gallon was a big difference to the $5 you had to pay in Europe. So, when living overseas again for 2 years in France her interest regarding climate change was sparked after viewing 'An inconvenient Truth'. She realized that spreading the word about our suffering planet was her call. And the States had to be nudged off the easy chair in order to move in the right direction.
Back in the Midwest she became a LEED AP and a Sustainability Consultant to teach, educate and help people gain an understanding to fight Global Warming with emphasis on what we are doing in the U.S. versus what other countries have already accomplished. Empowering moms, dads, students and businesses with knowledge to change our future to be a healthy and safe one.
God gave us a perfect place to call home but it's becoming weaker every day by our polluting and destructive behavior. We are ruining our biosphere with too much carbon emissions and we need to get off the Titanic....now. Help her spread the word!