In Week 5 of Recycle This House, I talked about the obstacles a homeowner might face on the path to greening their current home. My smile has returned, but I still am waiting patiently for phone calls to be returned regarding quotes on upgrading my attic insulation. What I have learned thus far is that insulation specialists and trades people who work with blown in insulation are very reluctant to even enter a home with a "flat" or "low-sloped" roof. 

I understand that working in an attic with limited headroom poses it's challenges, but there must be someone out there willing to do the work! I again called up my friend Ryan at AmeriSpec who encouraged me to keep trying. He gave me the names of two businesses who he thought would be more than willing to help me and they are on my "To Call" list for Monday morning. In the meanwhile, I'll share some some interesting information I learned this morning from a very wise man with regards to another renewable resource: wind energy

My Dad is one of the smartest people I know and he has passionately followed the subject of wind energy for more than a decade. Over several pots of coffee, we discussed the world's largest wind turbine (prototype) to date, the E-126 which is made by the German company Enercon. 

This beautiful enormity of a machine towers at 453 feet high (taller than one Canadian football field, for the spatially challenged) and it's rotor blades span a diameter of another 413 feet. The blades are so huge that they need to be separated into two pieces for transport! This majestic feat of engineering has the capability to pump out 20 million kWh per year... WOW!! Or is it wow? What the heck does that mean???

The truth is, I had no idea. So I pulled out my most recent electricity bill and discovered that in a 28 day billing period, my household used 1070 kWh. Let's assume that for the rest of the year, my bill is exactly the same and each day we consume the same amount of electricity (and of course that won't happen, each bill will fluctuate, but this is my blog, so I will use my numbers). If we take that 1070 kWh for a 28 day cycle (or 38kWh per day) and times it by 365, that equates to 13,948 kWh used each year (and just to clarify, my household consists of 4 members, with two of them being under 5 years of age. Are we the average family? Probably not, but again, my blog, my numbers).

If we then take that 13,948 kWh divided into the 20,000,000 kWh that would mean the E-126 has the capacity to  power 1434 houses just like mine for one whole year! So my next question is, "Why aren't these lean, green, eco-friendly machines popping up everywhere?" Here are just a few of my thoughts:

1. It appears that these "monstrosities" are not "ornithologically friendly" (i.e. they are bird killers)). The good news is that the developers now consider migration patterns when placing them in order to reduce the amount of "bird on turbine" collisions.

2. Refer to Point 1 where I referred to them as "monstrosities". Many people don't find wind turbines aesthetically pleasing (I personally think wind turbines are quite pretty, and I'm sure most people would agree that they are far prettier than catastrophic climate changes and giant holes in our ozone).

3. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - Money, money, money. Dollars to build, dollars to transport, dollars to maintain, dollars taken out of the pockets of those tied to non-renewable energy resourcesl. It always seems to come down to money doesn't it?

So as I sit here feeling like I have no power to change a world that does not see value in renewable energy resources and wondering why it is not at the forefront of our minds, our research and our discussions... I realize... maybe I can change it a bit.

Join me if you dare. Go to the website of your energy provider. Mine just happens to be Enmax who also administers the Greenmax program which is dedicated to the development of renewable energy. 

Make the necessary changes to support their green program. I just did, and with a few clicks, I dedicated a whopping $38 dollars (and a small portion hereafter each month) to making this planet a little cleaner and more sustainable. It may not seem like much, but at least I will sleep well tonight knowing I made my one small step today. 

Thanks for the inspiration this week Dad... let me know when you get your turbines up and running ; )

Visit me at Lethbridge Real Estate to see what I do when I am not diligently supporting green energy.

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