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There are many individuals and homeowners that think of solar power and solar technology, solar panels especially, as futurist ideals of clean energy. Even more numerous are the individuals and homeowners that believe solar power and solar energy for the home would be a good idea eventually, but only if the technology advances further to make the applications more realistic.
Set the thermostat and leave it alone. You might think that it’s okay to change the temperature to suit the needs of the day. Maybe you usually turn the AC off completely at night. Odds are that your air conditioner will have to work twice as hard throughout the day to cool your home down, and so it doesn’t advantage you anything.
A simpler solution is to set the temperature to a warmer-but still comfortable-temperature and leave it alone. If your home is set to 75 degrees, your air conditioner will keep an even temperature throughout the entire day, and as soon as the temperature gets to 76, the AC will turn on and maintain the atmosphere.
Not using something? Unplug it. Almost everybody hears the advice to just turn off the lights in a room. That makes a difference. However, light bulbs are more efficient now than they used to be, so it’s not going to equate to saving as much as it used to. So if you’re not using an appliance or something like that, unplug it. A little bit of power going to a dozen different gadgets can add up.
The exact cost of installing solar panels on the home will vary from home to home and is dependent upon several factors including the home itself, the location, and the size of the system being installed. Another drawback to having solar panels on the home is the fact that while after installation the power produced and stored by the solar panels is free, the power source itself can be inconsistent.
An Upside Down House: Daniel Czapiewski, a Polish architect, decided that he wanted to turn architecture on its head, literally. That is exactly what he did when he designed a house that looks like it fell out of the sky into a Wizard of Oz movie set. The home is actually upside down, as if it was flipped over. Instead of steel roofing, Czapiewski’s house has concrete roofing!
So the cons for solar panels include its initial high costs and regular maintenance requirements, but for many these negatives to owning solar panels do not outweigh the multiple benefits. First and foremost, those with solar panels on their home are essentially free from the monthly power bills thanks to their solar power.
Saving money on your utility bills isn’t an easy thing to do. But there are simple things everyone can do to save a little bit at a time. When you use more than one strategy, your savings are compounded, and your electricity dollar goes further. So before you invest in a wind power or solar mounting system, make small, everyday changes and see how big a difference small things can make.
TRA Snow & Sun is the right company to improve your home by amplifying your energy efficiency with solar tile mounts and ensure your roof is ready for the winter with snow fences, snow guards, and more.
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Mother Jones
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Paul Ryan released a thick report on federal poverty programs earlier this week, and liberals were none too pleased with it. Over at CBPP, Sharon Parrott explains why: “It’s replete with misleading and selective presentations of data and research, which it uses to portray the safety net in a negative light. It also omits key research and data that point in more positive directions.” In fact, it’s so bad that quite a few of the researchers who are name checked in Ryan’s report have spoken out publicly to complain about how badly their work was misrepresented.
But we should rein in the criticism a bit, says the Economist’s John Prideaux. He believes that Ryan’s report really is useful and really could represent a change of direction for conservatives:
In fact there is not a single proposal to cut spending on federal anti-poverty programmes in there. What the report does do is document how fragmented the federal government’s poverty programmes are….Take the federal schemes to expand the supply of housing for people with low incomes. There is Public Housing, Moving to Work, Hope VI, Choice Neighborhoods, Rental Assistance Demonstration, Rental Housing Assistance, Rental Assistance Payment, the Housing Trust Fund, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the Private Activity Bond Interest Exclusion, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program. The programmes on the demand side, in other words that help people pay their rent, are almost as numerous.
….Most of the commentary on the budget committee’s report suggests that it is filled with the same stuff that Republicans have been peddling for ages. And to be sure it includes plenty of studies that are critical of food stamps, Head Start and Pell grants. But read the whole thing and you get the impression that there are House Republicans who understand that there is more to poverty reduction than getting the government out of the way. They should be braver about saying this.
I think this gets to the heart of the matter. Even conservatives—the more honest variety, anyway—will concede that liberals have plenty of reasons to be skeptical of Ryan’s goals. His annual budget roadmaps have consistently relied on slashing spending for the poor, and Republicans in general have been consumed with cutting safety net spending for decades. It’s perfectly natural to view a report that lambastes federal poverty programs as merely the first step in an effort to build support for cutting spending on those programs.
So how about if we see some of Prideaux’s bravery before we bite on Ryan’s proposals? Liberals should certainly be open to making safety net programs more efficient, and if that’s Ryan’s goal he’ll find plenty of Democrats willing to work with him. But that all depends on knowing that this isn’t just a Trojan Horse for deep cuts to spending on the poor.
So how about if we hear this from Ryan? How about if he says, plainly and clearly, that he wants to improve the efficiency of safety net programs, but wants to use the savings to help more people—or to help people in smarter ways—not as an excuse to slash spending or to fund more tax cuts for the wealthy? Really, that’s the bare minimum necessary for liberals to suspend their skepticism, given Ryan’s long history of trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.
This would require a genuine turnabout from Ryan, and it would require him to genuinely confront his tea party base with things they don’t want to hear. And it would demonstrate that helping the poor really is his goal. But if he’s not willing to do that, why should anyone on the left believe this report is anything other than the same old attack on the poor as moochers and idlers that’s become practically a Republican mantra over the past few years?
Read this article:
Why Is Paul Ryan Attacking Poverty Programs? He Needs to Tell Us Loud and Clear.
Mother Jones
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West Virginia’s tenure as the most obese state in America—a three-year run that no one ever called a dynasty—is over.
According to Gallup, which just released its 2013 survey on obesity in America, 35.4 percent of Mississippians have a BMI above 30, giving the home of 3 Doors Down the highest obesity rate in the Union. West Virginia came in second at 34.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Montana toppled three-time defending least-obese champion and budding marijuana tourist destination Colorado, with a svelte 19.6 percent.
You can check out the full results here.
On average, residents of the 10 most obese states were—unsurprisingly—less likely to eat healthily, consume fruits and vegetables, or workout regularly than residents of the least obese states.
Overall the national obesity rate rose to 27.1 percent in 2013. It has risen every year since 2008.
Read this article –
Survey: These Are the Most and Least Obese States in America
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