I look around my hometown, and I see one thing: wasted potential. So much wasted potential. In many ways, but specifically... energy. There aren't many cities in the world that would benefit from alternative energy as much as Fresno. We get sun nearly 24/7. And when there is no sun, there is generally wind to be had. Of course, windmills throuought the city-scape probably won't happen... but if 50% of the houses in Fresno had solar panels... not only would we be saving money, but we'd be helping the environment.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a bleeding heart liberal. Though I tend to be social left leaning, economically I'm (as the ad for Tom McClintock would say:) "tighter than a rusty lid on a pickle jar". If it ain't gonna save money/break even, we need to look at something else. But I'm convinced solar panelling does make sense. In Fresno, I had been given numbers that if your average 1,000 sq ft, regular energy consumers, had solar panels, they would pay for themselves after 10 years. Now, that IS a bit of a longterm investment... but not too shabby when you consider solar panels are built to have a lifespan of 20+ years. Even if they only lasted 20 years you'd have made about as much as your investment in profit/savings. Which, for an average household, is something like $15-20k.

And as far as wind energy... sure, it's nice to see them on more farms. And we should keep heading that direction. But what about more houses in the foothills? Wind is usually to be had there, and windmills are much cheaper (as compared to solar), the low end starting at $6k. Hell, a house in the foothills with a solar/wind combo, may never need to touch the power grid! (Max, you listening to this?)

I want so much for my city to be great. I was born in Fresno, raised in Fresno, and I really am fond of Fresno. It has it's problems, but compared to the problems of many other places, I'll take our problems any day.