Green Think

In my house, fall is like that Caribbean dance, the limbo: How low can we go?

But in our case, we're not sipping rum, waiting for our turn to shuffle through the tropical sand and arch under the dropping bar. In our case, we're shivering and shaking, challenging each other to see how low we can allow the temperature to go before turning on the electric heaters.

If you burn wood and you've got a huge pile in the back yard, you've probably been relishing the cooler weather. Heck, you probably were cranking up the wood stove on cool evenings in August.

But if you rely on oil, gas or electricity on a limited budget, chances are you look at autumn as an annual challenge. Even here in the city, where we're known for low electric rates, turning up the thermostat is painful. Why the hesitation? Once I give in and turn it on, it will be difficult to turn it off again till May.

This is were being cheap meets being green. I have to admit I'm thrifty first and green second.

But this same impulse — putting off expense — is sometimes at odds with green motives.

For example: I need a new front door. I've needed one for years. I know it is going to be expensive and I know it is going to be a mess to install. The pain of the expense and the pain of the installation has so far loomed larger than the comfort and savings that the new door will bring.

But there is something that could change this.

What if the state loaned me the money for the door, certified how much I would save on my home heating, and then let me pay it back through my utility bill? It would be like getting a new door and using the energy savings to pay for it.

That's the best new idea in the New York Green Jobs/Green Homes bill. The program would make loans of up to $13,000 to homeowners, $26,000 to businesses, for energy retrofits and other energy-saving work. The money would be paid back through utility bills. Gov. David Paterson is expected to sign the bill during the week of Oct. 12.

The Green Jobs bill is not perfect. And in the rambunctious N.Y. Senate, which recently passed the bill, a North Country lawmaker's "no" vote led to an attack from the Senate majority. Here' the a news-release statement from Shams M. Tarek, communications director for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee:

"There can't be any reason other than the worst kind of partisanship that Senator (Betty) Little and a few of her colleagues would vote against a bill that creates thousands of jobs, helps the environment and lowers energy costs for more than half the homes in her district. Along with also voting to kill an ethics reform bill last week, this shows Senator Little not responding to what most New Yorkers want out of their government right now."

And here's Little's response, through Daniel E. Mac Entee, her director of communications:

"Betty has been a proponent, as I think most elected officials are, of weatherization and energy efficiency programs. Her objection to the initiative is that we already have in place energy efficiency programs. Her preference would be to add money directly to those programs, including expanding eligibility to middle-income homeowners who currently don't qualify. She doesn't see the point in putting funding into the creation and administration of a new program. Whatever additional funding is available should go directly to help the consumer. Also, the bill did not define how the savings would be tracked and seemed to lack accountability. I spoke with Betty a lot about this bill leading up to the vote and can assure you it had nothing to do with partisanship as the spokesman presumes."

Yes, the Green Jobs bill does duplicate efforts of some existing programs. Yes, there is a hint of partisanship — and maybe a bit of Tea Party fear — in Little's no vote. And yes, there is some partisanship in Tarek's attack.

But putting politics aside, I applaud that the creative new element in this bill: Borrow from the state and pay back through utility bills.

Could make my limbo dance obsolete.