Hello Students,

Some of what I'm writing here may sound harsh. I'm sorry for that.  I am trying to write this to present my experiences in a way that will be useful to you.  So here it goes!

You are the future of this country, but what kind of future will it be?  All options seemed open to me when I was your age.  Then, in graduate school, I came face to face with many students who were attending only for the credentials not for the learning experience.  Their work was motivated by greed and fear instead of love and desire.  Since then, I’ve worked for and with thousands of people who can be placed into two broad categories: 1) people who care and 2) people who really only care about themselves.  Remember this is a generalization, but it is a basic reason why the world has floundered instead of flourished.  Let me state this in a slightly different way.  There are more grown-ups running this country that care about money and power than care about you, your family, peace or the environment.  If it were the other way around, most of the problems relating to children, families, peace and the environment would be largely resolved by now.  When I say “running this country”,  I mean corporate, media, religious and government leaders.  These folks seem to be part of the "me" generation instead of the "we" generation.  You can read examples of gross pig-headed disregard from our leaders almost daily.   The following is just a small example of the insane logic that runs this country. 

Excepted from:
Confessions on Climate,  The New York Times | Editorial
Tuesday 04 March 2008
Written about an article in The San Francisco Chronicle
by Mark Z. Jacobson
Monday 03 March 2008

"The Bush administration has now provided the rationale for its lamentable decision to deny California permission to develop its own stricter rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. . .  The essence of the administration's reasoning was that California had failed to demonstrate "extraordinary and compelling" circumstances justifying stricter rules. To make that case, Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was forced to argue that climate change gravely endangered not only California but the entire country. As hard as it is to believe, this was the first time that any senior administration official had explicitly conceded that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.   Even more startling for an administration that has spent seven years  in denial, Mr. Johnson acknowledged that "warming of the climate system is unequivocal," that man-made emissions are largely responsible and that the consequences could be devastating - more wildfires, more droughts, rising sea levels, more intense hurricanes, more outbreaks of insect-borne diseases. . . "

I’m over 58 now and have worked for 30 years researching, teaching and managing energy programs.  I have helped start three non-profit energy corporations and in this time the energy crisis hasn’t gotten any better.  Low income people across this country often still have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families.  Both the unemployed and working poor can pay more than 25% of their income for utilities.  A middle income household usually pays 2 to 5% of their income for their utilities.   This hasn’t changed in years.

I’m sorry to say that the leaders of this country have done very little to actually achieve any goals that will bring this country and the world any closer to peace.  This peace is between you, your family, neighbors, sexes, religions, races and with the earth.  Most leaders seem not to care that they set the example for everyone else.  When they break the law, lie or do bad things, they are giving the green light for everyone else to do the same.  It’s like the bad parent who says “do as I say, not as I do”.  There are many exceptions to this, but those people are part of the silent majority.

And this is why I am writing to you.  I want you to stick to your ideals and become part of a new vocal majority.  Up until now most people behaved as if our natural resources would never run out.  We now know differently!  Up until now most people believed that to get ahead, someone else had to suffer.  We now know that all can win but, sadly, right now we are all losing!  Up until now most people believed that more is better. We now know that more is only better when it works toward our values!  “Before we choose our tools and techniques, we must choose our dreams and values, for some technologies serve them while others make them unattainable.”  Tom Bender

A case in point?
The truth of most situations is rarely found on the evening news, in weekly news magazines or any news outlet controlled by a major corporation.  You have to dig for the truth with an open mind.  Generally expect to “follow the money” to find the answer to a question.  Here is a case in point.  Let’s start with the goal: energy independence. Most of the following text cites information from the eight years of the Bush administration.  The problems we face didn't start or stop with President Bush.  Those years just happen to be close at hand and offer glaring examples of poor decision making for the American people, our environment and our economy.

The Bush campaign promise included the goal of energy independence for this country.  For the last six years, the administration has routinely restated this goal.  Now let’s briefly examine the tools and techniques used to achieve this goal.  When questioned early in the administration’s first term about the administration’s energy policy, the Vice President responded by saying that conservation does little and that renewables were not ready yet.  This statement is completely wrong.  Conservation can cut most home energy use 30% and is cost effective by anyone’s standards.  Renewable energy like solar domestic hot water is a fully developed technology yielding 5 to 10% return on your investment before any incentives or tax credits.  Let’s follow the money when it comes to US energy policy.  The administration has downplayed all the technologies that could make an immediate difference to you and our economy. No one seems to want to talk about the fact that our economy expanded by 27% in the late 1970’s and early 80’s when this country was aggressively installing conservation and solar measures. (See the National Security tab for more information)  Instead, the administration has pushed for more oil exploration, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas, not to mention that this administration invaded the second largest oil producing country without probable cause.  (This is not a political statement, just a statement of fact.). 

The story continues:  I remember my friends at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saying that early in the Bush administration they received a memo directing them to never use the phrase “Global Warming”.  Administration focus groups had found that “Global Warming” was a political hot button.  The direction to DOE/EPA workers was to not talk about global warming at all, but if pressed to, use the phase “global climate change”.  This small but significant change in language is a systematic part of politics and corporate disinformation. 

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theory believer to understand human nature.  People want to protect their money, power and possessions.  The more money and power you have, the more resources you have to protect yourself.  The main problem here lies in the fact that government spends more time protecting itself, large corporations and wealthy individuals than 90% of its citizens.  The story is far more complicated, but let’s look at one other bit of information that tells us that the Bush administration is not genuine in it’s goal of energy independence.  Whatever the goal, all parties should be present at the conference table to establish a strategic plan.  We all know that the Bush energy policy was set by oil companies and corporate lobbyists behind closed doors.  Secrecy does not help this country achieve energy independence.  Secrecy is needed to hide wrong doing and the money trail.   The only real energy policy in this country is being created by forward thinking states, corporations and individuals.  You can create your own energy policy!

What can I do?
Everyone can make a difference.  I encourage you to create school projects where you can research these topics and more.  Learn the truth.  When I was younger I never understood that the world around me was so complex.  I never understood that many of our leaders (both democratic and republican) did not work for the common good.  I know more now and have learned to question everything.  A good starting point is to list your dreams and values.  Then see if your tools and actions support or deflect you from these dreams.  This simple inventory can be enlightening if you are honest.  No guilt, please.  Beating yourself up won’t help.  Denial doesn’t help either.  If a clean, sustainable future is one of your goals, then start by making environmentally smart choices in everything you buy, your methods of transportation, and who you support as community, business and political leaders.  Create an environmentally sound life style that your family and others can follow.  Lead by example!

Energy, Environment and Housing Technologies
US Green Home is all about helping us have a sustainable future.  You probably don’t own a home yet, but you live somewhere.  Try making it a green as possible.  A green home is a home where technology works toward our values of a clean, sustainable environment and economy.  It is a symbol of the owner/occupant’s commitment toward creating a healthier environment and a safer country.  A green home is any house that doesn’t hurt the environment and especially doesn’t hurt you!  Most homes have indoor air pollution up to 10 times worse than the air outdoors.  Most homes use 2 to 3 times more energy than needed, and most homes waste 3 to 4 times more water than needed.  Please use the resources provided by this web site to make a difference at home.  In addition, I have listed resources below that are particularly useful in school.

Peace and happiness in your life.  Hap

GENERAL:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/193692282/1437391
  Find articles about the environment in your area.

http://www.scorecard.org/
  Find out how bad pollution is in your area.

http://www.everyactioncounts.org.uk/en/fe/page.asp?n1=2&n2=21#87
  Find ways to to get involved on a daily basis.

http://www.panda.org/how_you_can_help/greenliving/at_home/
  Get involved - buy daily products that give back or make less impact on the environment.

GRADES 6 – 8:

HIGH SCHOOL: