...which was kind of the point behind my suggestion that you consider the potential of local farming as an energy platform.
On your other point, there can be many motives for adopting change but three probably dominate; status, environmental concerns, and financial benefit, with the most consistently dependable being money, of course. And while I might be wrong, I'm pretty sure that denizens of 'conservative communities' are among those motivated by positive economic considerations.
Some thoughts.
- This transition isn't going to happen all at once; it will take decades.
- Policies that shift where the end user's economic advantage lies will increasingly favor the transition to renewables even as they also continue to decline in costs.
- The role of energy efficiency in this matter can't be over-emphasized. Homes can be constructed which are so well insulate that they require no heat input other than that produced by the occupants in their normal daily activities. Even falling short of that we have "NetZero" homes that, when equipped with heat pumps and high-efficiency air exchange systems, are able to be easily heated and cooled with very little power.
- One policy prescription that Obama tried to install was an energy efficiency rating on all buildings. It would be similar to the EPA MPG rating on cars. It would help consumers at all levels make informed economic decisions about the actual aggregate value of a real estate purchase, lease, or rental. The ultimate effect, of course, would be to drive energy efficiency construction and retrofits of buildings so that sales would capture some of that value when properties are transferred. It didn't pass, but I expect to see it on the table repeatedly until it is enacted.
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