The Environmental Maniac
We live in interesting times.
The good news is that the economic downturn will help the
environment.
Less consumption yields less pollution.
The bad news is that the economic downturn will shift the
focus and money away from environmental projects.
The answer is to create environmental products that yield
a substantial return-on-investment.
If there is
no Return, it’s not an Investment, it’s an expense.
I learned
that in 1972 when I was a senior at U.C. Irvine. Greenhouse Gas/Global
Cooling was the problem so I built a car that met 1986 air pollution
requirements.
I was excited and went to the B of A on campus and talked
to the branch manager. He said something like, “Where’s the
money?” I still had
the college haze and was thinking pure environmentalism.
In 1993 I
created the best multi-family recycling program in California. It was a
business decision. I was the maintenance man for 241 condos and it made
good business sense that if I diverted half the garbage through
recycling, I’d save half on the garbage bill. That was a $25,000 a year
savings. That answered the critical question. When you are trying to
change human behavior, the critical question is, “What’s in it for me?”
The answer in this case was, “$10 per month savings in your homeowner’s
dues.”
A side
effect of that good business decision is that complex recycling enough
cardboard and newspaper to save 50,000 trees. That’s a lot of trees for
a side effect.
I’ve just
spent that last 3 years developing a couple of new technologies that
have reduced my air conditioning costs by 50%. I live outside of
Phoenix. That’s a big savings.
I’m saving
over $900 a year. I’m saving over 7,000 kWh of electricity a year.
That’s the energy equivalent to 4 barrels of oil. When I help a million
other households do the same thing, save money on their air
conditioning, our Country will save the energy equivalent to 4,000,000
barrels of oil. Now that will be KEWL (cool).
Now I have
a new question, “If there was a technology that would reduce your car,
truck or big rig emissions to practically zero and pay for itself in the
first year through increased fuel economy, you’d want to know about it,
wouldn’t you?”
Stay
tuned. We’re close. (www.hybofuel.com)
My message
is simple. Whether there is or isn't Global Warming, the United States is the largest polluter in the world.
Pollution is never good. The fear of Global Cooling, Global Warming and
now Climate Change has done little to slow down our polluting ways.
But if an
environmental product has a Return-On-Investment, if we can learn to
answer the critical question, we CAN make a difference.
We only
have one Earth. She can not take abuse forever.
Nor can we
overlook the reason we want to save the Earth…Her occupants.
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