TreeHugger Picks: The Best of TreeHugger Forums
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 06. 6.07
TreeHugger wants to engage as many people as possible in making greener choices for their lives every day; one of the new ways to get folks involved and excited about being green is through TreeHugger Forums, where users can log in and chat about all things green (and even a few things that aren't). Register for free right here and log in to add to a thread, ask a question or just spend your two cents about the green world; here are some of our picks for hot topics on the forums that can help get you started.
 | 1) User dzedelma asks for any good ideas for a poor college student who can't necessarily afford to buy all new eco-friendly items but still wants to be as environmentally-sensitive as possible. |
 | 2) User sde219 wonders about how to best cool his rented townhouse in the steamy northern Virginia summer; his place has central air, but thinks it might be more efficient to just cool the bedroom with a mini window unit. |
 | 3) In one of the most-viewed threads on the forums, Alex ponders a huge question: is nuclear power "green"? He says "I consider 'green' to be renewable, and nuclear is not, so I don't think it is 'green'. But you could argue that since it has no direct CO2 emissions, and low lifecylce [sic] emissions, it is 'green'." Lots of good discussion there; the remaining two picks are after the jump... |
 | 4) User scrunner ponders the real impact of a small residential solar system; after doing the math, it seems that it might not make sense to invest: "Maybe I should recognize that if everyone made a small contribution to cutting emissions that the contribution overall would be significant ? Maybe I am just looking for some support from some knowledgeable, passionate environmentalists." |
 | 5) Lastly, TreeHugger's Editor Michael Graham Richard asks users to "Give us your environment-related book recommendations and tell us why you liked them." There's some solid responses in the list, from Dr. Seuss to Michael Pollan to Amory Lovins; what's your favorite? Log in, find something that excites you, and help spread the green goodness. |
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then make it easy, I am remembered here so comments are instant. Blank there. Too much fuss.
You call this INEXPENSIVE solar power? ONE kilowatt hour a week for a $600 investment? Do the math. The average U.S. price for a kilowatt hour is around 11 cents. So in a whole year you get about $6 worth of electricity, which means your payback time is about 100 years! The payback time for typical solar panel units is around 15 years. For another 360 bucks you can add 2 more kilowatts before you have to shell out more for batteries and controllers, which gets your payback time down to 56 years.