It was 9 degrees outside this morning. Without any heat source, since the wood stove burned out at 10 p.m. last night, it only got down to 65 degrees in our house this morning. With today’s sun, it will be 75 degrees by noon. We will only need to burn the wood stove for a few hours tonight to maintain this cycle.
We could always turn on the baseboard heaters if we needed a warmer temperature, but we have not turned ours on in the four years since our house was built. We are blessed to have had a builder who knows how to build a passive solar house on a shoestring budget.
There is no reason that every new house with southern exposure in Durango couldn’t function this well. With solar panels now very affordable, electric cars and better designed transportation systems, a rapid transition to clean energy would not be difficult.
The barriers are not economic. Our family budget is far better off with our passive solar home. The most significant barriers to a rapid transition are entrenched and powerful interests who want to delay the transition so they can milk maximum profits from fossil fuels.
If we in the U.S. want a vibrant economy, not to mention a livable environment, we must take a leadership role in advancing clean energy technology and design. Those who led the industrial revolution based on fossil fuels still dominate the world economy 200 years later. Those who lead the revolution to clean energy will be the future world economic leaders.
At every opportunity, let your elected and appointed representatives – from La Plata Electric Association to Congress – know that you expect them to stand up to special interests and lead with vision into a clean energy future.
Deb Paulson
Durango
