May 06, 2008

In honor of Earth Day last week, the tax deadline the week before, and the coming end of the legislative session next week, I’m offering this list of the best customer-friendly environmental legislation of the 2008 session. And all of them not only help the planet, but save consumers either time or money.

New houses with solar
 
This is a pioneering bill that makes the building industry justifiably nervous, because for the first time, it would mandate that all new private homes be built with solar hot water heaters, starting in 2010. This should give us all pause, because it’s a bit creepy and controlling for the government to tell architects and developers what a structure should include besides basic safety requirements. But in this instance, the idea is worth considering, for the sake of consumers and the environment. Here’s why: The increased additional cost of the solar package on a house is around 3500 bucks but in a 30 year mortgage at six percent, that’s about 21 bucks per month. The average monthly energy savings with solar hot water heating is more than double that. So everyone can benefit from this new law.

• Average annual household savings – $600 to $1,000 per year.
 

Making the bottle deposit law work

Many people support the concept of the bottle deposit law but are outraged at its implementation. Making a special weekend trip to a hot, dusty parking lot to redeem a few dollars worth of cans and bottles is maddening, and it’s absolutely unnecessary. If we just did this like every other place where there’s a bottle deposit program, and required retailers to take the bottles and cans back, consumers would be content, recycling rates would rise, and we could finally stop arguing over this relatively manini issue.
• Average annual household savings – two to four hours per year.


The right to dry clothes

There are homeowners and condo associations who have a ban on using clotheslines to dry clothes, presumably because they think a bunch of laundry on the line makes a community look less “classy.” First of all, this is Hawaii, and we have plenty of wind and sun, so if a local family wants to use a line, they should be able to do it, whether they’re in Hawaii Loa or Holualoa. Second, in the balancing act between keeping a neighborhood fancy looking and immaculate and fighting global climate change, I pick fighting global climate change. No homeowner or renter should be prevented from doing what they can for the environment and their pocketbook.
• Average annual household savings – $250 per year.


Changing our light bulbs

This one’s really straightforward. Compact fluorescent lights save consumers tons of money and reduce energy use, but the big stores keep selling us the expensive old stuff. There’s legislation to require that the transition be made by 2011.

• Average annual household savings – $100per year.

As the economy softens, political leaders ought to continue to look for ways to deal with our planet in peril, but be sensitive to the fact that most people are under pressure just to make ends meet.
These pieces of legislation strike the right balance – green bills that save you green bills.

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Brian Schatz