California's big energy gamble

California has been a world leader in design, style, entertainment and technology. If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gets his way, the state will also be a world leader in reducing energy use and carbon emissions.

A recent episode of Nova on PBS focused on the Governator's initiative, called AB-32. Here's a link to the PBS Web site on this particular program, "California's Big Energy Gamble." You can get additional information and watch streaming video of the program.

The initiative hopes to slash predicted emissions by 30% by 2020. By 2050 it aims to reduce California's emissions to levels not seen since the early 20th century.

Critics say the initiative will destroy the state's economy by increasing energy costs to the point where jobs and capital leave the state.

The program compares TV stars and neighbors Ed Begley, Jr., and Bill Nye (The Science Guy). Begley has six KW of solar panels on his roof, Nye has four KW. Begley also is ahead of Nye by having dimmable flourescent lights. Watching the friendly competition and back and forth between the two is fun and illustrative of how people can put green initiatives into their homes.

But these improvements come at great cost. A single wind turbine on Begley's house cost $3,000.

Yet most ordinary Californian's can't afford such improvements. The show looks at Richmond, Calif., which is a low-income area between San Francisco and Sacramento. A local activist describes how leaky window frames cost an extra 30-40% in wasted energy, but that people can't afford to buy new windows with the already high costs of energy in their homes. It's a Catch-22.

This is where government tax credits for energy efficient windows fall short. My wife and I upgraded windows a couple years ago, and the tax deduction saved us only several hundred dollars - on nearly $13,000 in windows. It will take us a long, long time to recoup the costs through energy savings.

With 12 million low income people in California, there is no chance people can upgrade windows without true tax credits, instead of simple deductions.

Yet getting Americans to upgrade windows and other household elements to reduce energy costs should be a key strategy to wean us off foreign energy sources, and thus make us more secure from foreign threats like energy dictatorships, which harbor terrorists.

But there is hope in the big picture, because the power of the state is large. California now gets 10% of its electricity from renewable energy. Schwarzenegger plans to double that in just two years, and to have the state attain 33% of its electricity from renewables by 2020.

Of course there are numerous challenges to AB-32. But there are also some solutions within the private sector. I'll explore these in future posts.

The episode of Nova is thought-provoking, and definitely worth a watch.