OK, so here’s the truth. Before the Queen was the Queen, she was a Captain. And flew a jet. And used lots and lots of fossil fuels, and was one of the many fossil fuel junkies in the world. To be precise, she estimates her career fuel usage at close to 1.5 million gallons of gas.
Here’s another truth, the Queen is no youngster. At some point after the multiple skydiving world records and thousands of hours of flying, she realized she was part of the “junkie” problem. Preferring to be a part of the solution, she launched into a new career.
We all have those moments in life. You’re standing there, doing something – frequently something uncomfortable or embarrassing and bing! A realization hits. In the case of the Queen, she was standing in a line for gas. She needed it for her generator since she had no power – it having been taken out by a hurricane. And the realization was this: “why don’t I have some sort of alternative energy system on my house as a back up? And more to the point, why do I know nothing about this?” The answer? There was no one location to easily get information.
Certainly, information was available all over the place, but it was scattered, and it took a great deal of determination to put it together into a coherent form.
Thus the Captain decided it was time for an upgrade. Years of research later, she was ready to share her knowledge
And what does all that research indicate? Mainly that we need to change our way of thinking. Truth is, Americans are no less virtuous than anyone else when it comes to energy usage. When presented with a huge excess of super cheap energy, most people would hop on the band wagon and use it. Such has been the case in America for many years. Why worry about how much energy your refrigerator uses? When electricity is only a nickel per kwh, who cares? Why worry about how your hot water is heated, or whether your light bulbs are freakish hogs if you don’t need to?
Americans live incredibly busy lives, and most of us think we don’t have the time to deal with things like exterior lights and water heaters. And, alas, most of us tend to assess the cost of something based on the short term. An electric water heater costs $400, a solar water heater costs $4000. Surely, in our minds, the electric is the better deal – right?
“Deep down, are you a one
marshmallow or a three
marshmallow kind of person?”
This is where thinking must change. Which brings up an interesting study the Queen recently read. In it, the researchers set up a situation for a group of children and gave them each a choice. They could have one marshmallow right now, OR if they waited and completed a small task, they could have three marshmallows. An interesting trend was revealed. The children who came from what might be called “distraught” families, those with challenges such as poverty and single parenthood almost always went for the one marshmallow right now. Those who had been brought up under less stressful circumstances almost always went for the three marshmallows. Clearly, if one liked marshmallows it was a wiser choice to do a small task and wait a bit and get the pay off a little later. What the researchers discovered was that the one marshmallow group of children’s lives were so unsettled and so uncertain that their survival technique did not allow them to look to the future at all. The experiment tested a concept called delayed gratification. Other examples of delayed gratification are going to college… it sure can be tough making it through school, and it sure takes a long time, but the payoff is better income and a better life. Another example would be to install alternative energy systems on your house. We all know it is a good idea. The question is, deep down are you a one marshmallow or a three marshmallow kind of person? Here’s the truth, if you really are a one marshmallow kind of person, none of this will make sense. On the other hand, if you are a three marshmallow kind of person, then read on! The point is, looking ahead more than a day or a month can help us break the “junkie” habit. In fact, when examined with wise consideration and a three marshmallow mentality, that solar water heater is such a better deal than the electric, it is a no brainer.
What really gets our attention is money. A nickel per kwh? How long ago was that? In memory only - and never to return. Many people now cringe when the power bill shows up. Though this will sound harsh, the Queen thinks that the more painful the power bill, the better. Nothing motivates quite like getting kicked hard in the pocketbook. Suddenly, funny looking light bulbs look beautiful and a long look at the long term becomes a financial imperative.
Also, let us mention here that the Queen is far from being a radical. Though she aspires to reform her fuel guzzling ways and embrace green energy, she is an average person. The point is that going green is something everyone can do.
We all know we need to go green. The Queen is here to tell you it’s not hard. What is required is a willingness to try, a willingness to look with new perception, some time and a degree of investment which can range from $5 on up.
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