• Wind Turbines
  • Cost: $5-25,000; Tax Credit: $4,000
  • Not allowed in all neighborhoods and you have to have enough room, but these can significantly help take you off the power grid entirely, and excess power can be sold back to the power company in man cities, including Austin
• Geothermal Heating Systems
  • Cost: $3-10,000; Tax Credit: $2,000
  • Greatly reduces the strain put on your heater by drawing up the constant temperature underground
• Windows
  • Cost: Varies; Tax Credit: $500 (up from $200)
• New Roof
  • Cost: Varies; Tax Credit: $500 (up from $200)
• Solar Arrays
  • Cost: $5-20,000; Tax Credit: ?
  • Can also take help to get you “off the grid” and you can sell unused power back to Austin Energy.  The Feds may not be on board yet, but Austin will give you huge rebates if you receive your power from Austin Energy.

Tyler Colman has an interesting piece in The New York Times about how boxed whine is more environmentally friendly than bottled, therefore wineries should switch to the box immediately.  “Drink Outside The Box” is a must read!  Austinites love both the environment and wine, so learn how to turn the red or white into green.

Austin real estate is going to keep getting better with green choices.  “Going Green” means making environmentally conscious purchases when you need to purchase something.  Buying something because it’s green is counter-productive.

“If you’ve been thinking about finally buying those energy efficient light
bulbs, purchasing a programmable thermostat, or actually replacing the
refrigerator, dishwasher or air conditioner with a cleaner more efficient
one, memorial day weekend is the time to do it. You’ll save money, while helping to reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions,” noted Lone Star Chapter Conservation Director Cyrus Reed.

But are there any downfalls? For instance, what happens to all of the old appliances when they are replaced? This ECO-Consumerism drives me nuts sometimes. While I appreciate what this piece of legislation is trying to do, I can’t see throwing out so many appliances that work for shiny new ones. How is this in the spirit of “going green”?

I say if you have an appliance that you were thinking of replacing anyway, use this tax holiday to save yourself some money while supporting the environment by making an eco-conscious choice on something you were going to purchase anyway. Don’t throw that 4-year-old dishwasher in the landfill for the upgraded model, but do replace that 30-year-old A/C unit that’s on the fritz.

Stock up on light bulbs for when your current ones burn out. If you’re going to replace working bulbs, do it only in rooms you have lit very often, perhaps your family room or study. Why toss out all of those perfectly good bulbs from the bathroom that you zip in and out of?

If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, I say go for one. I’ll make an exception here because they save so much energy!

Take advantage of this city incentive if you have been waiting to stock up on bulbs or replace a dying appliance, but remember to recycle your old appliances whenever possible and don’t bother with upgrades that don’t make sense!

And check out this link on eco-consumerism. Monbiot has expressed my concerns beautifully!