is a happy face universal in humans or do other societies have different happy faces?
- Chris Brinkerhoff
It seems that Japanese people associate happiness more with the eyes than the mouth. We use :) for happy, but Japanese people use (^_^), which seems to be more reflective of raised eyes.
- Robert Felty
McKinsey Report Cites $1.2 Trillion in Potential Savings from Energy Efficiency "it would be expensive. Some home or business owners may not have the money to spend on efficiency improvements, even if they would pay off in the long run." http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...
- Chris Brinkerhoff
Financing Model for Home Renewables Spreads "the municipality, which can borrow at low rates, covers the up-front costs, and then a homeowner provides reimbursement through taxes." http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...
- Chris Brinkerhoff
Does it take into account the energy required to build energy-efficient appliances? For example, if everyone replaces their air conditioner, then a bunch of new air conditioners have to be built, which takes energy. I am not sure iit is a good idea to replace appliances which are still working pretty well with energy efficient ones.
- Robert Felty
Rob, I agree that mass replacement is a huge undertaking that creates a lot of waste, but I thought that we calculated that getting rid of your parents second fridge that is 30ish years old would pay for the disposal fee in 3 months worth of electricity usage. It seems sort of like taking cars off the road that get less than 10 mpg (which I think is a good idea in most cases, for the record).
- Clare Dibble
Rob, I also agree mass replacement could be a problem. However, some of the biggest gains have effectively zero replacement cost, the best examples duct sealing and basement insulation in homes. I was surprised the things I typically associate with energy savings (water heaters, freezers, windows) that have high replacement cots don't offer nearly as much potential.
- Chris Brinkerhoff
"People already use legal performance enhancers, he said, from high-octane cafe Americanos to the beta-blockers taken by musicians to ease stage fright, to antidepressants to improve mood. “So the question with all of these things is, Is this enhancement, or a matter of removing the cloud over our better selves?” he said."
- Clare Dibble