B of A

A few days ago Bank of America, one of the wholesalers I use, coincidentally, announced a $20 Billion initiative to support the growth of environmentally sustainable business activity to address global climate change!

http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=7697

90% of this $20 Billion will go towards commercial clients and the rest ($2 Billion) to consumers with a portion of this going to a Green Mortgage Program and a Home Equity Program. I won't regurgitate this press release verbatim, but I'd like to comment on it.

I absolutely applaud B of A for this massive investment. I like the fact that the $18 Billion is going to help fund companies with green projects and green products. I also like the fact that B of A has chosen to extend this $ down to the consumer level, with a $ credit for purchasing an Energy Star home.

But I'm a big believer that change will come from the consumer up, and has to for the public to accept it, than a corporation simply having a product for sale. This stems from my belief that I vote every time I spend a dollar, and this vote is more powerful than simply having the Government or Big Business subsidize pet projects. The biggest changes come from the people up, not the leaders down.

This being said, I sure wish B of A had focussed more of the $ at the consumer level. What if B of A went wild and provided every household a credit for a PV system? That's a $5000 credit for 3.8 Million homes! (Even taking a 10% admin fee into account.) But this is not how big corporations like to spread the wealth. Handouts to consumers are great but short-lived PR, a $20 Billion piggy bank to sweeten lending deals to big corporations gets another big client under their wing. Such is life.

But wouldn't it be great to have this kind of grassroots influx of cash? If there was suddenly $20 Billion that consumers were shopping with, industry would stand up and take notice and try to win the consumer's business! This is what I'm getting at. I'm a firm believer that the economic force that a consumer and the Collective Consumer has outweighs top-down incentives. I guess you could call me a bit of a capitalist.

What if Bank of America would charge a ZERO interest rate on any portion of a Home Equity Line that is drawn to install energy-efficient upgrades? Would this be more bottom-up than top-down?

Thanks for listening!

cough cough

So it's a REALLY gorgeous day in Boulder. Gorgeous in the why-on-earth-am-I-working kinda gorgeous. I think it was 70 in the sun.

So I'm walking back from my haircut, admiring the sudden appearance of female legs, and I pass a gal wearing a sundress, porn-goggle shades, and an $80 hairdoo. And she's smoking.

Why do people ruin an amazing day like today, where the air is fresh and there's just a hint of spring smells in the air, by filling their lungs with arsenic-laden smoke? It never ceases to amaze me.

Just how do I do this?

One may ask - "How do you back up your assertion that you're a green lender?"

Good Question. Firstly, I'd like to point out that being green, or sustainable is a better word, is an ongoing, ever-developing process. Only when I'm dead will I have no net affect on the environment. Sustainability is a never-attainable goal - I love these types of goals.

But that should never be a reason to give up!

Let's start with being wind-powered. My wife and I have been buying wind credits for our home from Xcel Energy for what seems like forever. As soon as Xcel was selling, we were buying, so it has to be 5+ years ago. How do wind credits work? Try this description. From the time I started Dovetail Lending in October 2005 and I was home officed, I was covered with wind credits. In December of 2006 I moved to new offices where I did not have the option of seperate metering. What to do?!?

Well, one can buy wind credits a-la-cart from places like Renewable Choice Energy and Clean and Green. So I bought a 1500kWh per year block from Renewable Choice Energy (they provide credits to Whole Foods, Vail Resorts, Gander Mtn, etc). Good folks, by the way. So I'm covered here at the office, even though I do not have direct access to my electricity bill.

The truly silly thing is that it hardly costs much at all. They could double the cost and it would still be affordable when you consider the net affect environmentally and geo-politically.

Tomorrow, Carbon Neutral. And soon after - www.green-e.org the group that audits these companies.

One more thing

I watched a bit more of the video on NY windfarms and I gotta say - If I were living with a findfarm in clear view, I'd sit in a lounge-chair, mesmerized, for hours at a time just watching them turn. They're sublime and they embody sustainability so elegantly.