With a CERM, a homeowner would install solar units,reduce their CO2 emmissions significantly, recieve a rebate from the state and federal government ($9000 in California) lower their utility bill by 80 percent, raise the value of their property by $20,000 and THEN when they finally sold their home , they would pay for the solar.
Sounds too good to be true. Well reverse mortgages are now available to Seniors who use them (approximately 200,000 a year) for the finer things in life like golf course fees and going out to fancy resturants and paying for medication with our bogus health care system.
“What about PG&E” is where our elected officials heads are at, or maybe what they mean is “show me the money, chump.”We can’t make this an issue that politicians ride for contributions for 40 or so years, like health care.

The media has also blacklisted this idea as well. They apparently don’t want to confuse the public with too much information .

Editors note: We actually had a story about reverse mortgages in the Business section last year. -KS

Being a highly urbanized stretch of once pristine estuarine environment over 100 highly specialized, and indeed unique to any other place in the world are critically endangered due to high pesticide drift, invasive species, land use change and dumping of toxic chemicals into the bay.

Not only do the native flora and fauna suffer, but indeed the inhaitants too. Rates of asthma and respiratory disease run rampant, particularly in areas of concentrated poverty where we locate our most polluting industrial plants.

Those would be the most apparent issues worthy of attention, however I fear our leaders are far too uncommitted to resolving specific toxic pollution at hand while their constituents remain blithely unaware.

It’s time we elect those with experience in environmental science. The east bay is replete with its own environmental issues, and we should seek the poltical power to take action locally.