The History Channel's mini-series "Sons of Liberty" is quite a tale!  What a collection of courageous, selfless men and women who stood up for their rights against the seemingly invincible British Empire.  The series highlights Sam Adams as an independent-minded leader who wouldn’t settle for less than human dignity - a true American patriot.  Without the characteristics of folks like Sam Adams, who knows if our great democracy would have ever taken root.  In that time and place his particular qualities were just what true patriots needed to fashion a viable future.
 
        But the world in 1776 was very different from the one we live in today.  Global population was less than 1 billion, and the American wilderness beckoned.  Today almost 8 billion people draw resources from a finite, shrinking planet.  In today’s world perhaps a different set of qualities characterizes true American patriots.  

        Prof. Sallie McFague thinks so; she’s Professor of Theology Emerita at Vanderbilt University. McFague identifies Sam Adams and others as exemplifying qualities she calls the Individualistic Model.  In this model the rights and desires of each individual are foremost.   But in today’s world Prof. McFague suggests that something different, an Ecological Model, best characterizes true patriots striving to fashion a livable future.

        The Ecological Model contrasts markedly to that which served Sam Adams so well.  It acknowledges that humans do not control nature, but rely on it completely.  In it, we partner with nature for every breath and bit of food instead of trying to dominate it.   This model has 3 basic “house rules” including: 
1. Take only your share.
2. Clean up after yourself.
3. Keep the house in good repair for future occupants.
            
        The Ecological Model doesn’t belittle the importance of the rights and desires of individuals.  It just asks us to stick to the house rules.  And that’s hard to do with our consumption-driven economy constantly urging us to buy, buy, buy.  But it’s certainly less threatening to life and limb than taking on the mighty British Empire!
            
​        So this Independence Day let’s honor the sacrifices of Sam, George, Paul, Ben and the others by maintaining a healthy nation and viable future where the pursuit of happiness is within everyone’s grasp.  The Ecological Model may be just the road map that can get us there because the only home we’ll ever know is right here.   After all, we’re forever…Earthbound. 

        The old adage tells us we can’t have our cake and eat it too.  Eating the cake implies a loss of that resource - so sad!  But what if you could have something even better than cake, and it didn’t cost you anything?  In this case, the “cake” we’re talking about is home energy upgrades like insulation, weatherization and even solar panels.  Green Homeowners United (GHU) is showing many Wisconsin homeowners how they can prove that old adage wrong. 

        Making homes more energy-efficient is a huge opportunity to both save money AND reduce polluting emissions.  By one estimation, increasing the energy-efficiency of every home would reduce the release of planet-warming gases even more than by making every car an electric vehicle.  Energy saving upgrades not only save money they also make the home more comfortable.  What’s not to like?  The trick is to come up with the cash to make it happen.  GHU is here to help you make those upgrades with virtually no out-of-pocket cost.

        “Seems fishy,” you’re likely thinking.  But it’s not a gimmick or financial sleight-of-hand.  Rather, it’s through the use of low-cost “green” mortgages.  Typically, these kinds of improvements would require digging into savings or applying for a home equity loan.  But a green mortgage can be gotten at a much lower rate, so low that the refinanced mortgage can make the energy cost savings greater than the cost of refinancing.  The result is the homeowner’s monthly combined energy and mortgage payments are lower than they had been before the energy improvements were installed.

        Research shows nearly 200,000 Wisconsin homeowners with current mortgages over 3% could both save money and shrink their carbon footprints by refinancing.  Green Homeowners United makes it easy by providing energy assessments, calculating potential savings and connecting folks with lenders.  After a preliminary assessment, GHU only moves forward with a project if the modeling shows that the homeowner will actually save money.  (An initial $500 fee will be reimbursed through the green mortgage.) 

        Learn more from a recent Wisconsin State Journal article at: tinyurl.com/GreenMortgage .  Or contact Chuck at IowaCountyClean@gmail.com   or   608-341-0641.

        This is likely the single most important step mortgage-holding homeowners can do to lower their family’s greenhouse gas emissions while creating a more valuable and comfortable home.  So have your cake AND eat it too while building a better world right here where we’re all forever… Earthbound.