Powering Empowerment

There's only so much that can be said in the 3 minute maximum...
It's true - the suburban living arrangement is not walkable. That's why suburbs should not be arranged the way they are, or exist in the first place. I grew up in what was essentially a suburb, and it was boring and meaningless, and obscenely wasteful. Not long ago there was a development nearby that was mixed use, with all scales of residential and commercial, with bus lines, all walkable, bikeable or busable. If we developed ideas like zipcar much further, we could even have the convenience of a car without the inconvenient cost. It really didn't take long for suburbanization to grow to its level today. We can change in an even shorter period of time, and in the end benefit in every way from doing it. Some call it the greatest misallocation of resources in history. People will eventually choose to live in communities that are walkable in the same way they chose to live a life dependant on cars and 100 miles a day. I have done it, and every part of me is better off because of it.

And you're right - if the current use of 10,000 kwh/year per household is consumed, solar panels are completely infeasible. That's why things under the roof need to be reduced, rearranged, and redesigned.

First of all, to use your solar hot water heater example - passive solar hot water heaters pay back in 5-10 years.

One can bring their electric use down significantly without living like a caveman. Use only what has to use electricity, like electronics, lights and refrigerators. The use of a refrigerator for example can be brought down below 200 kWh/yr, while they are typically 500 kwh, and some people have brought it down to as little as 0.1 kwh/day (http://mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html).

If you need them, washing machines, diswashers, and televisions can be below 200kWh/yr:
http://www.metaefficient.com/washing-machines/the-most-efficient-washing...
http://saveenergy.about.com/od/energyefficientappliances/a/EnerEffdishwa...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/05/top_energy_effi.php

Heating and cooling can be done by other means, such as thoughtful design and geothermal, and cooking can be done by biodiesel, which all can pay off quickly as well if they are built into the house.

A household can bring their monthly electric needs to 80 kWh/month. For me (central Iowa), this means $3,700, and about 26 yrs to pay off, below a typical 30 yr mortgage. This does not include the possibility that the savings can be applied directly to financing the debt on a mortgage, which would bring payback times down even more:
solar calculator: http://www.findsolar.com/index.php?page=rightforme
home appraisal: www.icfi.com/Markets/Community_Development/doc_files/apj1098.pdf

It is suggested that we live in walkable communities where we don't need cars. It is also suggested that we put solar panels on our roofs. The suburban living arrangement isn't exactly walkable, and higher-density urban life would mean apartments with no personal roofs. Even with $50,000 in solar panels on your roof, you'd just be able to power a small hot water heater six months of the year. And you'd need a car to get away from your neighborhood, if you've got a roof.

Any technology has at any given time inherent social and political implications. The form of energy we choose will determine who controls it. As energy lies at the heart of even our most basic necessities, we should make a choice that is in everyone's hands. Centralized energy production requires a centralized authority, which then has great leverage in controlling our lives. It is no small issue that big energy has controlled production and created an ongoing need for big government. The more centralized, the higher the stakes, and the costlier it is for all of us. We should look at the energy crisis as an opportunity to not only gain self-reliance and be more responsible with the environment, but also to empower ourselves socially and politically. This is inextricably intertwined with the importance of the economic and environmental feasibility of energy. The options are already available to us. We need to stop waiting for big energy and big government and voluntarily use them, and take full empowerment into our own hands, relying on the rule that small is beautiful.