Finance and Investment: Can’t Someone Else Do It?
Posted: March 20th, 2009 | Author: mfguide | Filed under: Finance, Investment, LIHTC | 1 Comment »And we’re back.
As a longtime “Simpsons” watcher, I can find something from their 20+ years to apply in nearly every situation. In Trash of the Titans, Homer runs for Sanitation Commissioner by promising personalized trash handling, including in-house ‘cram downs’ by sanitation personnel. As you would expect, the whole enterprise ends in disaster with the town moving several miles away by the end of the episode.
But the lament that started Homer’s quest, “Can’t Someone Else Do It?” naturally contains a bit of truth.
[Note: Let's not pretend this is an original thought. Both "The Tao of Pooh" and "The Gospel According to Peanuts" applied children's characters or cartoons to weighty philosophical matters.]
Since the layoff I’ve been working on several ventures, consulting on others, and generally trying to promote sustainability in affordable housing. Many of these ideas include making use of stimulus funds for weatherization, community-based ESCOs, or enforcement of green building laws.
These conversations with people in DC and around the country have shown me that much of the work is repetitive. Everyone is so eager to solve foreclosures, propose stimulus funding, require sustainable building codes, that the work is inherently duplicative. As an antidote, I’ve pushed the belief that someone else can do this. Someone else can (or has) created a weatherization program, a foreclosure response protocol, or a useful residential green building code.
Thinking indirectly, there are already ways to verify or enforce programs. for weatherization, affordable housing, and green building by working with state and local housing agencies, utility companies, and tax assessors. Want to make sure that weatherization or modernization funds were spent correctly? Make it part of the annual filing to the state housing agency. Concerned about the energy efficiency of a new building (regardless of LEED status)? Use remote meter reading or create a review template as part of the annual assessment process.
Can’t someone else do it? Yes they can.
So many of us are concerned about bringing mercury into our homes and landfills but want to do our part to help conserve energy.
I would like to share that there are lighting options for us to think about. As you probably know, the current SSL lights require more than one light to illuminate a room (and generally requires the installation of multiple new can light fixtures which are also points of energy waste). I know a manufacturer that is ahead of the curve – They offer high lumen, 360 degree light fixtures that easily replace an existing fixture and they illuminate an entire room (warm and cool for Kitchen, bedroom, etc.). You wouldn’t know it was an LED light unless you were told.
What can I do to help make us aware of the energy efficient and eco-friendly lighting options that are currently available?