I’m a product of a Christian Religious Tradition, and a scripture we like to quote comes from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5 verse 48, which reads (King James Tranlation): “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect.” This is daunting. How can I possibly perfect in life given all my flaws?
This New Testament scripture inevitably comes up during Sunday School lessons, where we focus on getting steadily better in our lives: help other people, be generous, treat your family and friends well, do good deeds, and so on. We like to focus on going in the right direction and proceeding along a path, rather than the ultimate achievement of perfection. This is the attitude I hope to adopt as I make consumption decisions over the coming years and decades.
Like the Gospel, LOT’s carbon accounts are designed to help you steadily progress along a path, rewarding you and acknowledging your progress, encouraging you to greater heights, and so on. We want to help you make the best decisions for you. We’ll have a minimum viable carbon account product available mid-year and we hope you will try it out. Huzzah!
So here is the steady progress update on my own personal journey: I reported a couple of weeks ago that I was shocked (SHOCKED!) to learn that my household probably generates 26 tons of CO2 each year, from electricity alone. Some of this has to do with the size of my house, the nature of my electric utility, and the zipcode where I live– these are things I can’t do much about immediately though I can over the medium and long term.
By contrast, I CAN do a lot of things immediately and I thought I’d tell you about them. First, I more diligently turned off lights when I move from rooms to room. My spouse has been doing this for years and I appreciate it. Time for me to get on board. This is obviously a kind of symbolic thing, but I feel it will absolutely add up and reduce our household footprint. More importantly, I will steadily look for ways to consolidate our gains over the coming weeks and months–switching out bulbs, lowering the temperature, getting our HVAC adjusted to more evenly distribute the air and close down rarely used rooms. These will all add up.
The big announcement, however, was that I subscribed to a renewable energy service my utility offers, and I signed up to pay a little extra for 50% of my electricity to come from an array of solar panels nearby, rather than that coal-fired power plant down the highway. I will pay between $5 and $15 extra each month to cut my electric carbon footprint in half. That seems like a pretty good investment!
I was surprised how easy it was, and how little it is advertised around here. One evening I sat in front of my television, spent an hour of Sports Center looking through the agreement, and committed to the program. I can be part of it for as little as one year or as much as 20, and can leave the program whenever I want. I think I have to sign something and mail it in, but this has been relatively painless.
I’m interested in learning how ubiquitous programs like this are. Do all large electric utilities have them? Are they forced to engage in them by Public Utilities Commissions? Do they have positive reputations? Do they slow or speed adoption of green energy? Lots of questions.
I considered installing a solar panel on my roof, but wasn’t sure I would win the battle with the Home Owners’ Association for permission. I also wasn’t sure I would do all the right things to maintain it, and wasn’t sure the investment would be reflected in the resale value of my home. If we move elsewhere someday, I’m confident that one of the first things I do will be to put up a solar panel no matter the obstacles.
The scary thing about the path I’ve taken is the uncertainty whether the scheme is a scam or not. I have every reason to believe it is real because the Public Utilities Commission is overseeing it, and the electric utility is a public and audited entity, etc., etc. But in the back of my mind I wonder whether someone is making a quick buck at my gullible expense. The good thing about a solar panel on your roof is that you can see it directly and can directly measure the results as the electric meter slows down.
But I’ve overcome this kind of fear of the unknown in other parts of life, right? I have a bank account; I believe I need to get an oil change regularly; When I step in the elevator I believe I will be delivered to a higher floor; These all take a little bit of getting used to and a little faith. I’m sure I will steadily develop faith in this scheme over time.
Most importantly, I’ve embarked on my journey to get my footprint under control, taking incremental measurable steps, many of them painless, to cool the planet. I’m hoping you do to. Huzzah!
