inconvenient truth
I’m not sure the pervasive poignancy of Al Gore’s infamous title ever rang in my ears so loud and clear as it has in the last couple of weeks. I mean, isn’t it just the shear inconvenience of change that keeps use from doing the blatantly obvious right things? You know, like bringing our own bags, trying to reuse as much as possible to reduce waste, walking or riding a bike instead of driving, being mindful of where we shop and what we buy, cooking more foods from scratch, growing food, using appliances less often, recycling, the list goes on. So the irony of all of this is that these things are actually really easy and will eliminate the long-term, long-lasting inconvenience of climate change, economic breakdown, famine, water-shortages, fuel shortages, land fills, disease; not to mention short-term inconveniences like having to take the trash out too frequently, paying for parking and gas, paying those big (and growing) utility bills. So let’s ask ourselves the next time we go for a quick convenient, but wasteful fix… “Is it worth it? Will we suffer the inevitable negative repercussions of our actions?” And trust me, you’ll feel good about rinsing out your ziplock bags or using washable fabric sacks, carpooling, turning the lights off. These things force us all to slow down. And that is always a good thing.
Okay, enough of the philosophizing and on to the rant part of todays’ program: The Bank. What a ridiculously inconvenient mess we found ourselves in with our local bank in the last couple of months. It’s about the value of our home after putting so much efficiency work in and using the most sustainable and durable materials available for our Deep Energy Retrofit. The short version of the story is this…
Last October we refinanced our first mortgage in order to fund Phase One of our project. At that time the appraisal company put the value of our home at $210K. Keep in mind we had a tarp on the roof, the basement was quite damp, the siding was clearly in need of updating, and we had little to no insulation. And even though that value was $15K less than the last time we had our home appraised four years ago, we let it slide because of the roof and the notorious housing market crash. We managed to finance Phase Two of the project, completing everything but the windows and figured we could now extend our home equity line of credit, since things like roofing and siding play heavily in the home appraisal system. We know that insulation isn’t really taken into account (how stupid is that?) and that things like our ventilation system are too new to be part of the appraisal as well. But we had invested a lot of money and see and feel the benefits of those improvements every day. So guess what? The bank’s appraiser came out in July and put the current value of our home at $183K. Is that a f***ing joke? $27K less than when it had a failing roof and moldy basement? $27K less than when the housing market was at rock bottom? So I told the bank that the appraisal was wrong, and in fact, the new siding was never mentioned, and of course the bank has no interest in trying to see value in some of the new and innovative efficiency work that’s being done these days. They didn’t care to correct anyhting or pursue our case any further.
According to the banks, the value of homes is based primarily on square footage. That used to make sense I guess, although there are some pretty hideous big houses out there that could just burn down as far I’m concerned. And even though in the Real Estate market there is value in the quality of workmanship, location, details, amenities, the banks see none of that. It’s as if they haven’t taken into account why their system has failed them. Why do you think the housing market crashed? Well, because big giant pieces of crap were over-valued for their size alone. And what about us little guys with modest efficient homes? To be honest, I don’t think the homes in the $200 range have been hit as hard as those above $500K. Downsizing is a big trend now, and if a one bedroom apartment in a big city can go for millions of dollars for the desirability factor alone, than it stands to reason that there should be value in super-insulation, fire-resistant siding, and a roof that will never have to be replaced again. With rising fuel costs and fuel shortages, these features are going to be more and more desirable every day. So if I was in charge of a bank (that sounds like a nightmare), I guess I would be looking for ways to be innovative and lead the way in a changing market and a changing world. Many of the old-school local banks seem resistant to change, but I have confidence that some of the larger ones, or newer ones can see the cutting edge.
Moving on now, what other conveniences have become extremely inconvenient? How about eggs at the grocery store? Is it really a big mystery why big shipments of foods from massive factory farming operations become tainted? Well, in my mind it’s karma. But scientifically speaking it’s because of the unnatural coexistence and over-crowding of too much livestock, foul, and crops in one place. These contaminations are going to happen, and there are no regulations that are going to change that, other than forcing the farms to be smaller. The fact is, as far as eggs go, small chicken farms can exist in practically any climate, in our own backyards in fact, in cities and suburbs, and we can all get our eggs from down the street. The concept of more and smaller farms could even offer jobs. JOBS. hmmm.
Plastic is an ironic convenience. I’ve talked about plastic before, but how funny that this modern innovation has turned out to be such an unhealthy truth. We’re back to basics again, using glass for food storage, saving and reusing jars, looking for compostable disposable containers, and removing the awful gas-giving vinyl materials from our environment. Did you know that many states don’t recycle number 5 plastics? Check out this company that recycles those yogurt containers and water filters to make toothbrushes and dinner ware. I applaud the motivation and the innovation.
It’s time to get creative and resourceful and change the way we think of the concept of convenience. Convenience should be a long-term idea. No more quick fixes. No more ignoring the results. No more laziness. More mindful thinking. More big picture.
Oh, one last thing… on the local news here in western Mass this morning they kept talking about the controversial wind farm in the works for Nantucket bay. They kept emphasizing “the pros and cons.” It’s laughable really. I mean, when you consider the pros of renewable and sustainable energy, the cons seem pretty insignificant. I mean, what could they be? I guess some rich people don’t want their views of the ocean impaired. Some people are worried about the bird population. So what if we don’t use wind power and stick with this fossil fuels plan? Then the ocean views and the bird population will be wiped out anyway, along with everything else because of the climate change. That would be seriously inconvenient.
