Greening the Generations: Tired of being a non-green turkey

BILLY: It's Thankstuffing and I feel guilty.

GREG: Because turkeys are people too, and you detest cruelty to cranberries?

BILLY: Of course, but also because I haven't done enough to green up the house or the office. It's like I'm saying, "Thanks" and the cosmos is shooting back, "Any time, lazy. Now get moving!" But how?

GREG: Make room at your table for Maria Kingery, co-founder of Southern Energy Management. She specializes in making the world – homes, offices etc. – more sustainable. She's also funny and fervent. Maria, though we're at the top of the interview, let's get down to the bottom of all this. Making a home or office more energy efficient is right in general, but is it right for Billy's wallet?

MARIA: Well. . . my mother always told me not to discuss money, religion or politics in polite conversation. So much for that . . . Perfect! I assume since we're hitting money right off, we'll get to religion and politics later, right?

Since we're being blunt, let's just get it out there – like most things in life, when it comes to being more energy efficient, you've got to give a little to get a little (or as I prefer to think of it – you've got to invest a little to save a lot!). Without taking too many steps up on my soapbox, I will say that, in my humble opinion, we've gotten far too accustomed to thinking about things only in terms of first costs when what we really need to be thinking about is how much we'll pay in the long run.

Obviously improving a building's energy efficiency is going to require at least some investment on the front side. That's true whether you're building new or rehabbing an older building. But when we start thinking in terms of cost of ownership, or cost of occupancy (just how much is that power bill going to be every month?), then all of a sudden those up front costs look a lot less like a financial burden and more like a smart investment. And when we consider that the most efficient buildings also tend to be the most healthy to live in and require the least cost to maintain, then the investment looks even better from a macro-economic standpoint.

BILLY: When it comes to carrots and sticks, we prefer carrots. Carrot cake, even. So, what are the most important incentives that need to go down so people's interest in green keeps going up?

MARIA: Oooh, I love carrot cake. My sister makes a mean one  it calls for 2 lbs. of carrots. YUM! Oh yeah, we're talking about energy, not cake. Ok. . .

So the truth is, those who can afford it the most have little incentive to invest in smart energy. Even though energy costs represent an inordinate portion of overall cost of living for the least fortunate among us (I just saw a state official put the figure at around 60%!), and the environmental and political costs are substantial for all of us, the reality is, the cost of energy is artificially cheap, and that's why we haven't made it a priority to use energy wisely.

That needs to change, and fast, if we are going to maintain our place as a world leader and continue to spread the promise of democracy (oops, I think I just crossed the "politics" line). Seriously though, if we want to revitalize our economy and recognize energy independence as a key component of our national security, we need to start putting our money where our mouth is.

Ok, ok. . .enough of my mouth, what should we do?

At the very least, we need to invest in smart energy for all of our government-owned buildings. We passed a law that requires all state buildings to be 30% more efficient than code (another funny little side note – folks in the industry refer to "code" as "the worst building required by law" – perhaps that should tell us something?). We need to make sure that, no matter how bad the economy gets, we provide funding for this crucial investment in our state's future. Let's face it, if our government doesn't set the example and make smart choices when it comes to energy use, then why should the rest of us be expected to do our part?

GREG: Well, government's got kind of a lot on its shoulders right now. Stage-whisper: economic meltdown!

MARIA: While I'm not one to believe that government can solve all of our problems, I do believe it has the responsibility (and the ability!) to lead us on the right path. We need to bridge the disconnect between those who build our buildings and those who pay the power bills every month. Our government can help with that by giving tax breaks or rebates to those who are willing to share some of the upfront costs of making smart energy choices. Give builders cash back for building to Energy Star standards, for example, and for investing in solar technologies that may increase the price they have to pay in the short term but that will save tremendous amounts of energy (and occupants' money!) in the long run. Give landlords a break for investing in technologies that reduce the cost of occupancy for their tenants and give us all a break when we're willing to boot the upfront costs to make our own buildings more sustainable.

BILLY: Solar energy – ever-reliable b.f.f., or fickle, fair weather friend?

MARIA: Well, given the fact that life on earth would cease to exist without the sun, it's safe to say that solar energy is the most reliable power source in history. It's how we choose to harness that power that's important. Now I admit that I'm a relatively simple person, but the way I see it, we can either continue to invest in digging up the earth to retrieve the limited oil and coal energy it took the sun billions of years to create or we can get serious about harnessing the practically limitless energy the sun shines down on us every day. I don't mean to suggest that this will be easy, but in the overall scheme of things, it does seem to make sense when you think about it: the technology is here (and getting better all the time), we get to create millions of jobs that make people feel proud to go to work every day, and we improve our environment at the same time. What's not to like?

GREG: Maria, in college you worked on the John Donne Journal. Hey, what do you know? We run a lit journal, too ... The Raleigh Quarterly. But back to John Donne. One of his most famous verses goes like this: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main ... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee." Does that pretty much sum up our collective interest in sustainability or what?

MARIA: Oh my, it's on now, isn't it? Look, I don't pretend to understand the poets, especially John Donne, who also wrote, "When thou hast done, thou hast not done, for I have more."

Here's what I do know. . . we've gotten ourselves into a pickle as far as energy goes. Economically, environmentally, and politically, the cost of using energy the way we've been using energy is too high for our children and grandchildren to bear. To get back on solid ground, we all have a contribution to make. And whether it's turning out the lights when we leave a room, working for a company that's saving energy, or investing in a giant solar farm to help feed our energy grid (like the one at SAS), we all get to play our part – we all have more to give.

I believe that the sooner we recognize ourselves as "involved in mankind" and understand our challenge to create smarter energy solutions as an opportunity not just for ourselves, not just for North Carolinians, and not just for Americans, but for "every man," then the better off we'll be. When we will learn to work together toward a common goal, we become part of something bigger than ourselves: "And having done that, thou hast done. I fear no more."

Let's not kid ourselves, this is a big job, and it won't be easy, but I am thankful for the chance to do my part, and thankful for the witty blog writers who have given me soap box to stand on at Thanksgiving.