Posts Tagged ‘solar panels’

When I first got my driver’s license the price of gas was under a $1 a gallon. There were some places I could find is for $0.78 a gallon. The last time I was in the US (about 2 years ago) the price of gas was around $3. And while I think this is ridiculously high, I pay nearly $6 a gallon here in Japan. Are we insane?

However, it’s not just gas, it’s all commodities. Especially anything that can be controlled and is something people really need. Gas, water, electricity, drugs, certain foods, and a lot of other things fall into this area.

So why do we take it? Are we too comfortable to make changes? Is it money? Too lazy?

I mean, most of us don’t need a new car, we choose to buy one because we want more luxury, more reliability, or just something new. So if we all stopped buying until the makers design something that doesn’t rely on gas, that would be one hell of an incentive.

This goes for the same or green energy. There are more solar panels for sale than there used to be, but most homes still don’t have them. I live on an “eco island”, as classified by the Japanese government, and there are almost no solar panels here either. Though I will admit the local store has a few small ones. They are also just now putting in a small solar panel field. I should also mention that the government just destroyed a major reef to put in a multiple million dollar underwater aquarium, but spends very little on green energy to improve peoples lives. Why do we let them get away with it?

Now as a renter, I haven’t purchased solar panels. It doesn’t make a lot of sense considering I move on occasion. However, I would be willing to add a few bucks a month to my rent to get my power that way. Cheap solar panels are getting easier to find, but I don’t see many people putting them up. Is it that no one cares anymore? Are are we just all too busy with our own lives?

Please comment in the bottom and let me know why you think this is. I would also love to hear from people who are using solar panels and other green energies. What has your experience been like.

Since the weather here is finally starting to turn cold I have been spending time searching for a way to heat the house. We have a little heater, but that only heats so much and it also uses a lot of energy. Luckily, I finally came across a great option, a solar space heater.

The idea of a solar space heater or “soda can heater” is to use the sun to heat up metals tubes and the air that passes through. They can be built for cheap, using a few supplies for a frame or even some spare materials. The metal tubes can easily be built out of aluminum soda cans.

You can find more info on solar heaters at solar panels for sale.