JULIE GARDNER
  • HOME
  • COMPASS
    • WHY COMPASS?
    • COMPASS CONCIERGE
    • COMPASS BRIDGE LOANS
  • LISTINGS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT JULIE
    • A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP
    • CONTACT
    • PROCESS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • PRESS
  • PROJECTS
    • BEFORE & AFTER
    • GARDENS
    • OUR TEAM
    • VIDEOS
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • UTILITIES
    • SCHOOLS

Volume 148 - Science Fiction?

8/4/2010

0 Comments

 
My husband, Cliff,  delights in poking fun at me at every opportunity and he's certainly earned the right.  Ever since The Perspective came along, I have been using my own unedited forum to even the score. (Luckily, we both have thick skins.)

Cliff's usually writing much more intellectual Supreme Court Briefs (which for the record, ain't so brief!) so imagine my surprise and delight when I received the following email from him last week. (I'm still stunned that he found time to pen this Sci-fi "lead-in," but has yet to find the  time to fold the laundry! Hmmm . . . there I go again.)  

Juls: I have noted, as have your Readers, the pattern to your Perspective: generally speaking, an observation about life (yours, mine or the kids) followed by a transition into how the observation relates to Real Estate and so I have the beginning of your next Perspective, here you go:   As the Killian Star Cruisers closed in upon them, the Captain thought about how much simpler it had been when all they had to contend with were the Drivellian slave traders of Rigellan IV.  Sure the Drivellians were tough fighters, but they didn't have a lethal death ray; much less one that could immobilize an entire lunar colony!   Still, the Earthlings were not without their defenses.  After all the new Comark Shield System (CSS) had worked perfectly in all its tests.  This would be the big one though - women and children, ready for transport to the outer colonies - were depending on it.  If the shield could turn the death ray into a harmless light particle beam, they would all be safe, and not only would the Killians be rendered harmless for years to come, but the energy derived from the particle beam could actually power the colony!  Of course, energy efficiency is something which is not just the province of Star Defenders, but important to the purchase of a home as well.  (FILL IN REAL ESTATE SECTION). 

Okay Cliff, here I go . . .  

"Energy efficiency" has been front and foremost in the news and in home design for the past several years.  It's  caught on in a BIG way in our liberal, collective, California psyches - and so it should. In fact, it's the rare Buyer who isn't adding up the costs of new windows and insulated attics as they consider older homes these days and wondering if there is a discount to be had???

Uh, there isn't. (Mind you, the single-pane glass in Notre Dame has been virtually intact for almost 900 years and  its windows haven't clouded up as our energy efficient, modern, double-pane windows tend to do within a mere 15-20 years!)  

Dual-pane windows, attic insulation, recirculating water systems, wrapped heating ducts, etc, etc, etc; they're all important in terms of maintaining a home's efficiency and in keeping utility costs in check. AND they're good for the environment to boot -  so why not just install them, especially if you'll be undertaking a remodel anyway?  

A) Because these upgrades still tend to be more expensive than their older less costly counter parts.  A tankless water heater will run you considerably more than the old-fashioned 50-gallon water heater currently sitting in your basement.  It can takes serious "green" to live "green" (the $160,000 price tag for the electric Tesla is no joke!) or to quote Kermit the Frog, "It's not so easy being green."  

B) The buying public isn't yet willing to pay you more for your "smart" home - no matter how smart it is!  Sure, they love the idea that the property can practically run itself, and the fact that they can positively impact their "carbon footprint" for the good of mankind certainly provides bonus points, but neither of these factors typically sway value-oriented buyers when it comes to writing the BIG check (Buyer's are still looking for the deal)!  If you have installed solar panels on your roof, good for you, but don't expect to be reimbursed for this upgrade when you go to sell your home. It just isn't part of the calculation - yet!  (Sexy kitchen and bathroom remodels typically reap big dividends; less exciting solar panels do not. which makes "green upgrades" less smart from a seller's point of view - not from an environmentalist's!)  

C) The good of the colony tends to take a back seat to the needs of the individual. (Unless you're my "zero-carbon footprint" sainted sister Karen who grows her own vegetables, shops at a co-op grocery, raises egg-laying ducks, knits her own sweaters, drives a corn-oil car, hunts for mushrooms in the woods and produces more solar power than her household consumes . . .  , you are probably negatively impacting the environment - even with your best efforts.)

The cold hard truth is that there are still far fewer choices in "green" options than in the rest of the color spectrum.  Individual expression tends to be significantly curtailed when limited to those few choices that are more "environmentally friendly" (and let's face it, raising ducks isn't that easy within the city limits). Quack!   Still, cookie-cutter choices or not (have I mentioned the Prius yet?) I'm not ready to concede that the good fight is over and I'll be the first to cheer you on for following your conscience - not your checkbook in undertaking improvements more beneficial to all. If nothing else, living "green" is highly admirable.   

And the good news is that energy efficiency is still in its infancy so we have much to look forward to in terms of accessibility, affordability and style. 

Here's the 411, when "green options" become as economically feasible as the much cheaper red, white and blue choices with which we are already familiar and more accustomed to (in other words, when the Tesla costs the same as the Prius) I believe the Killians will give up their supreme fight for power and live peacefully alongside the rest of us mere mortals.  And that's NOT just Science Fiction . . .  (How'd I do Cliff?)  

​BTW - If anyone else would like to submit a "lead-in," be my guest.  I really enjoyed the challenge. I'll treat any takers (authors) to lattes and scones at Mulberry's - whether or not I use your story (literary privilege).
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe

    Author

    Julie Gardner, has been writing The Perspective for 18 years and has published more than 775 humorous but always informative, essays on life and real estate. 

    Picture

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008

    Categories

    All
    Business
    Design
    Drought
    Holiday
    Home Maintenance
    Homes For Sale
    Life
    Market
    Politics
    Renovation

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Piedmont · Oakland · Berkeley
 510.326.0840
[email protected]
DRE# 01431765
​COMPASS

  • HOME
  • COMPASS
    • WHY COMPASS?
    • COMPASS CONCIERGE
    • COMPASS BRIDGE LOANS
  • LISTINGS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT JULIE
    • A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP
    • CONTACT
    • PROCESS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • PRESS
  • PROJECTS
    • BEFORE & AFTER
    • GARDENS
    • OUR TEAM
    • VIDEOS
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • UTILITIES
    • SCHOOLS