One area that I am passionate about, is Renewable Energy. God has
given us forces of nature such as Sun, Earth, Wind, Rain, etc. We can
responsibly leverage these forces to improve the quality of our lives, for
generations to come.
My dream is to be energy self-sufficient in our homes,
neighborhoods, city, state and country; by generating our own power. Doing this
can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, slow the burning of our precious
natural resources and minimize the risk of a nuclear accident. As responsible
citizens, it is our duty to keep our land, water and air; beneficial for many
generations to come.
To accomplish my dream, as my first step, I deployed solar panels
on my roof. They generate enough power to not only meet my needs; but the surplus
feeds into our grid. With government incentives, credits on surplus power to
the grid, better tuned thermostats and proper home insulation; my Return of
Investment (ROI) on the solar panels is expected to be 6 years. If all goes
well, touch wood; I will generate free and surplus power, for an additional 15-20
years. As stated, feeding surplus power to the grid fetches me credits on my
electricity bill, almost every month. Our southern and central states are ideal
for solar power generation. Solar power can ensure that we not only burn less
coal or petroleum; but during months like June, July & August, the chances
of power outage or rolling blackouts are reduced.
As my second step, I installed smart thermostats in my house; one
for each air conditioning unit. I programmed them to activate to higher
temperatures in summer and lower temperatures in winter, for times when no one
is home. For other times, they are set to comfortable levels. These settings
serve 2 benefits. First, the heating and air-conditioning units run for a lot
of less periods of time and thus consume less electricity and natural gas.
Second, the units last a lot longer, before repairs and/or replacements are
required.
As a third step, I have planted fruit trees and vegetables in my
backyard. They help clean the air, beautify my landscape, prevent soil erosion,
cool my yard, etc. Of course, there is the joy of enjoying the “fruits” of my
labor.
To leverage the surplus power I generate, I would like to purchase
a 100% electric car. There are existing and upcoming models, which substitute
gasoline with electricity, avoid polluting the environment and reduce dependency
on foreign oil. Over time, we expect to see many more cars that will be 100% electric.
In the mid-to-long term, I would like to see electric
trains/subway connect the suburbs of Greater Houston to downtown, airports, ship
channel, Galleria and other prominent locations. Even better would be
connections to metros in Texas and Louisiana. While this may be far-fetched for
a host of reasons; I believe they will help reduce traffic jams and pollution, ensure
faster movement, etc. Last month, I was holidaying in Portugal and Spain and
saw the true benefits of suburban railway. Over the years, I have seen the same
benefits in China and India.
I have only scratched the surface of renewable energy. There are
so many other renewable energy solutions. Just to be clear, I am not toeing any
propaganda, party line, Think-Tanks, NGOs or corporations. These are just my
personal actions and aspirations, on how we all can contribute to a sustainable
future.
