Nathan and the family at the marsh with Buphalo, one of our two outdoor consultants.
I just finished filming my segments for most of the Mission: Sustainable pilot on Saturday afternoon. I think after several days worth of being on camera, I finally felt comfortable relaying my information in a (hopefully) fun and straight-forward way. As a co-host (with the fantastic Megan Hilfer at my side), my role is to help guide our chosen family through the Mission: Sustainable process… which means that I got to play in the mud with the family and our outdoor consultants, while Megan “combed the home” with the other experts. I think I got the more fun job…
The last scene we shot had me and Megan debriefing with the family about their Missions for the coming month. For the most part, they seemed game to make lifestyle changes in a lot of different areas, including buying more local produce, swapping out incandescent bulbs, and using chemical-free soaps. They were worried though about some of the big ticket items, like investing in more energy-efficient appliances. I don’t blame them. Some of the greatest gains in efficiency, like updating your heating, can be prohibitively expensive for a lot of people.
Fortunately, local utility companies and the state and federal governments can help to ease the financial burden of upgrading. You can check out the Database incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (a website set up by the US Department of Energy) for a comprehensive list of rebates and tax credits that will balance out much of the costs. I easily found two incentives our first Mission: Sustainable family can use. One is a federal tax credit of up to $1,500 if they upgrade their furnace. The other is a $50-100 rebate from Seattle City Light for swapping their old washing machine for a more energy- and water-efficient model.
And the best part is that the savings the family will have in the long run (by using more efficient models) will more than pay for the switch. Which means more money for family outings and rolling around in the mud. I just hope I’m invited next time too.
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