Climate Change Adaptation

Look! I read this amazing thing on NYtimes.com about why not that many people care about climate change, and it said that maybe a more effective way to get people engaged in it is to start working on climate change adaptations, like "developing drought-resistant crops [or] eliminating federal insurance and other subsidies that have long encouraged coastal development." (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/weekinreview/23revkin.html?_r=1) The Jersey shore development pattern has always struck me as sort of surreal, (just check out the sattelite images of the south jersey barrier islands on google maps) and I would be very happy to stop having the government spend my tax money for insurance for those people with storm-threatened houses on the Jersey shore. It would be so great and smart if everyone moved off those barrier islands because those houses are just waiting to be innundated by a particularly nasty weather or sea level rise, but where would those people go? And how would they get their money back?

Hot Water Heaters

Is it good to get a solar water heater in Philadelphia?
And what kinds are the best? This is my mission to find out.

There is a good website at
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13030
It tells you some pretty good information about water heating. I am not renowned for my practicality, so I thought hearing about all this stuff was fabulous. It turns out that, if you want a cold-weather solar water heater, you can't have only water in there, or else the water could freeze. So you have to include a part of the solar water heater with some kind of antifreeze, most of which are pretty nasty chemicals. Also, the website points out that it makes more sense to buy a solar water heater when you were planning to update your old one, not just buy it separately. And if your roof is shady or doesn't face south, it might not make sense to put one on anyway On the website, there's a great solar water heater economics practicality calculation tool.
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12910

So, if you realize a solar water heater doesn't make sense for you, there still are methods of being more energy efficient, and that is just as good as putting up a solar water heater but then wasting the extra hot water you have. These are the Department of Energy's Consumer Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy recommendations for saving money (and energy) on hot water heating
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13030

• Reduce your hot water use
• Lower your water heating temperature
• Insulate your water heater tank
• Insulate hot water pipes
• Install heat traps on a water heater tank
• Install a timer and use off-peak power for an electric water heater
• Install a drain-water heat recovery system

I all of those are pretty practical it seems, except maybe the last bit, which they say is only good when you're building the house or doing some kind of plumbing revamping anyway.