Green incentives grow
Incentives to live greener and more sustainably seem to be popping up like spring flowers all around. In his column today in The Baltimore Sun, my colleague Jay Hancock, runs through an impressive list of grants, tax credits and other ways to shrink your carbon footprint by acquiring energy efficient appliances or installing solar, wind or geothermal facilities at your house.
And if you don't have the upfront cash right now for those options, you can save some dough and still do your part by purchasing wind-generated power from outfits like Clean Currents or Washington Gas Energy Services. As Jay points out, both are cheaper than BGE right now -- enough to save $10 or more on your monthly power bill through the summer.
Finally, here's one Jay didn't mention: "green" homeowners' insurance. Firemen's Fund insurance is offering coverage that will pay to rebuild or repair a home using more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly materials and designs if it is damaged or destroyed. And for homeowners whose abodes are already green, the company's offering a five percent discount on premiums.
Keep 'em coming! It's "Earth month," after all. Anyone know of other green deals out there?
I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.
