Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 20th. On that day, hundreds of millions of Americans are asked to think about what they can do each day in their little corner of the earth to make it more environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, we then spend much of the remaining 364 days a year ruining the world we live in by running along unquestionably with the destructive economy that controls much of our lives.

Like it or not, we are a country that suffers from an oil based dependency that is not likely to subside anytime soon. Drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge has recently been all but green lighted by our elected officials and little can stand in the way of drilling in the area now, thus the addiction continues unabated and other energy possibilities are pushed again to the back burner. Although arguably affecting a fractional amount of area in terms of square miles of the refuge that will be impacted, the fact that an arterial pipeline must carry away any oil discovered is often ignored or downplayed.

Done safely and correctly, such drilling can be helpful in aiding our foreign oil dependance. However, there are inherent risks involved if a break in the line should occur, as has happened in the past with other oil pipelines, or as seen in Iraq, subject to sabotage and terrorism that can and does result in great expense to our nation, both financial and environmental. There are alternatives to oil and have been for decades. Hybrid technology, solar, wind, hydro, and other sources of “green” power are available to us. Yet the economies of scale required to make them profitable have not yet been reached and little progress is made here in the US. Japan and Germany will crush the US with their solar technology and already have a tremendous advantage in marketing to us a product we will invariably need down the road. Most Americans, true to form, will wait until the last minute to change, and will suffer the consequences of doing so.

Let’s face it. We’ve only got one planet and we’ve been messing it up quite a bit more than necessary lately. With China and India’s immense growth continuing at a red hot pace, the limited resources of the earth are getting to be exactly that. No longer do we live under a false thought of endless reserves of oil and the idea that technological advances will save us. The gasoline combustion engine was created over 100 years ago and even today with all our knowledge, lighter materials, and space age technology, the average full size truck gets less than 15 miles a gallon. Honestly, that’s pathetic and we can do better.

What’s worse is that we know we can, but we simply don’t because economic forces have not pushed us to the point where we must change our ways. The economic cost of creating a kilowatt of energy from solar, hydro, or wind power is still far higher than burning natural gas or coal to achieve the same kilowatt on a dollar per dollar basis. What is often ignored is the environmental cost we will eventually pay for our short sightedness. Yet 60,000 people got together in San Diego this month to celebrate the 16th annual Earth Fair in Balboa Park, where alternative solutions are well known, understood, and demonstrably available.

Hybrid electric cars are a great example of blending current gasoline combustion technology with advanced use of electronics and batteries for energy storage and conservation. If you have ever driven a Toyota Prius, it can be disconcerting the first time you stop at an intersection. I honestly thought I’d killed the engine. Then it occurred to me: What a wonderful shift it would be to sit in traffic if everything was quiet and non-polluting. A majority of fuel spent on the dead locked highways is absorbed in rush hour traffic at low and idle speeds. This is a solution to that specific problem we should be pursuing. However, the fact I was caught entirely off guard with such a novel idea is testament to how much further hybrids have to go to become accepted on a national level. With fuel costs soaring towards $3.00 a gallon, I foresee their popularity increasing dramatically and hope the government increases efforts to encourage their use. However, I don’t see the average American changing their commuting ways considerably until we reach the level of cost long endured by Europeans in the $5-6 range per gallon. Not surprisingly, their public transportation systems are dynamic, flexible, and wide ranging.

Another thing Europeans have on us is conservation of energy with something as simple as water heating. I love a hot shower as much as the next person and have long lived with a 30-50 gallon tank sitting in the garage of almost every home I ever lived in. Once, however, I had the “luxury” of living in a home that had installed a tank less hot water heater. If you are not familiar with how it works, let me break it down this way: A standard water heater brings water up to a temperature between 100 and 150 degrees based on the setting. That water is heated constantly throughout the day, 365 day a year, regardless of it ever being used, and sits there waiting. The average life expectancy of a standard water heater is 8-12 years, as they are built with designed obsolescence due to leaking of the seams from caustic minerals and oxidation. Yes, they can last 20+ years, but by that point, there is so much built up sediment, minerals, and other crud on the heating element, you are paying to heat that first before you can even heat any of the water. This is far from efficient.

A tank less water heater, on the other hand, heats only the water being used by the individual at the time of use. Also known as point of use, they can be installed in an entire house, or under just a single sink on the far end of a house to avoid running dozens of gallons of water through the faucet before the hot water reaches that point. The water passes through a series of copper coils and is rapidly heated to a preset temperature similar to a standard water heater. The end result is the same hot water, but even better, you’ll never run out. Since there is no waiting storage of water to draw from, you could technically take an eternally hot shower. However, this poses problems in terms of water conservation, but you see my point. There are better ways to live with the benefits of modern life; you just have to go about doing them slightly different sometimes.

Pardee homes recently started a small experiment here in San Diego that should be a full scale option on any new home in the greater southwest. They are called solar roof tiles and they do exactly what they sound like: Tile your roof and provide you energy at the same time. Some of these homeowners, based on their lifestyle choices, are expected to have 100% energy generation and no electric bills. In a city that averages 335 sunny days a year, it should be a crime that solar technology is not embraced and enforced in San Diego. Yet, small steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all. If you are going to be building a new house, please give me a call or drop me an email. I’ll give you some ideas on how you can better design and build your home to be more energy efficient than you might have ever believed possible. Oil isn’t just used in gasoline. Most carpeting requires large amounts of plastic, a petroleum based product. Have you considered bamboo flooring?

You and I may never get the chance to save the planet on our own, but if enough of us make the extra effort to conserve and utilize our resources wisely, we can ensure a brighter future for the next generation. Start with the simple things in your home: buy a water heater blanket and install it, turn off the lights as you leave rooms, put easily forgotten lights like garages on timers, use dimmer switches or change out incandescent and halogen bulbs for florescent, run full loads of laundry and dishes, use fans and blankets, not AC and heat. I know, these are all such hassles, aren’t they?

When driving, plan and combine trips or carpool with friends and family whenever possible. Recycle anything paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, or aluminum, including this newsletter, as the city makes it terribly easy with the blue bin pickup at your home. Currently the city charter does not allow San Diego to charge its residents for garbage pickup. This may change in the future with the financial crisis the city is facing. In the meantime, what pays for the garbage man to come by your home once a week is the revenue generated from the recyclable items placed in those blue bins. The Miramar landfill is sadly chock full of recyclable materials and filling up way ahead of schedule. Originally slated to be closed in 2012, estimates now see it full as early as 2007.

Ask yourself why is it so hard for us to think about what we are throwing away before doing so? Don’t think you have to give up your comfortable lifestyle to be environmentally friendly, just learn to think differently. It’s easier than it sounds. As soon as I realized how much the city can recycle, I went and asked for an extra blue bin, and it was free for the asking. I now recycle about 3 to 1 what I throw away here in my home.

I personally look forward to the day I can tell my grandkids that we once burned gasoline in our cars, used natural gas and coal to heat our homes, regularly threw away recyclable materials, and drilled for oil in the most beautiful of places. I suspect they will look at me with complete and utter shock, wondering aloud why anyone would have paid so much to be so destructive and ever done something so short sighted and barbaric to the earth when the sun, wind, and water are free to all...and always have been.