The Time is Now

What's the best phrase to use about solar energy? 'The time is now'

Objectively, solar has never been a better value. The federal, state and LIPA rebates all line up to make investing in solar more profitable and safe than its ever been. Systems pay themselves off in as little as 4 years, making a 25% return on investment, and is currently one of the only home improvements that pays for itself. (How long did the new bathroom take to pay for itself?)

But the cost to the homeowner is only one small part of this. Our economy is in a state of flux. We don't know where the stock market will go, or what the credit markets will do. Real estate seems to be starting to recover, but will remain shaken for a time to come. All of these things stem, at least in part, from our uncertainty over energy. This summer's oil shock jolted a lot of us into an unpleasant realization of how much we depend on cheap gas and heating oil. I've certainly been riding my bike a lot more since then. I think more and more of us are realizing that its time for a change.

The time is now to become a pioneer. Solar energy right now is the choice that you wish you could have made all those times before. Do it for every time you forgot to recycle a bottle or left your travel mug at home. Do it for all those fast food meals that you wish you hadn't eaten. Do it for the money that you should have put in your retirement fund. Do it for your children.

The time is now for the planet. I'm motivated to work for this company because the glaciers are melting. I'm working because coal companies poison entire communities to keep bringing us dirty electricity. I'm working to stop thousands of square miles of tundra from being scraped away in the Canadian tar sands. I'm working because I can make the biggest impact on climate change here, reducing home's demand on the electric grid to zero.

I hope you feel the same urgency to become part of the future. The time is now for solar energy.