This book will empower YOU as an individual to make informed decisions about your options regarding energy use for the heating or cooling of your home or other occupied buildings that you may own. Amazingly, if you finance the conversion of your old home or the building of your new home to SEE standards, your monetary savings from using less energy will in most cases more than cover any costs involved. Simple yet compelling arguments are made for how you can save money today and even greater amounts in the future, as home heating and cooling energy costs continue their rise. Not only will you save money, but you will also create jobs, promote local economic growth, reduce energy usage and its resultant pollution, slow climate changes, help cutback on foreign energy dependence, save even more money in the future, and assure a long-term vibrant economy both locally and globally. If you do not own a home or building, but are interested in job creation, both short-term & long-term economic vitality, pollution & the environment, and foreign energy dependence, you also need to know what this book presents. The "SEE" movement needs to begin in earnest now! Save money today, Create well paying jobs, Promote local economic growth, Reduce energy usage, Significantly reduce pollution, Slow climate changes, Save even more money in the future, Assure a long-term vibrant economy, Live & work more comfortably, & Cut back on our foreign energy dependence.
About the Author: Thomas A. Peterson grew up in Plymouth, Mass. He graduated from U. Mass. - Dartmouth in 1971 with a BSBA in Business, then with an MBA in Marketing from Tulane University - New Orleans in 1973. He initially did marketing research at the corporate headquarters of Northeast retailers - - Hannaford, Grossman's & Zayre. His work included economic and population demographic research as well as field research. Detailed written and oral presentations to top management followed. Interest in solar energy began in 1975 after the first "energy crisis" of the 1970's. In 1979, after the second crisis, he left corporate work to begin designing and building solar and energy efficient homes in Southern Maine, first for himself then others. He formed SD&C (Solar Design & Construction) and began building active & passive solar as well as increasingly energy efficient homes. His designs have always emphasized cost containment. Paralleling his construction career, he began teaching Marketing and Management courses at St. Joseph's College in Windham, then at the University of Southern Maine. As a professor, he honed his oral presentation skills. He also developed Marketing Export Seminars for Canadian Federal and Provincial Governments for experienced businesses in the Provinces of New Brunswick & Nova Scotia. As his knowledge of solar and energy efficient housing grew, he wrote SD&C pamphlets and newspaper articles, and conducted seminars at home shows. To promote two SEE homes, he researched the cost of ownership for such homes as well as information on government and bank programs that were available. Once amassed, he was amazed at how compelling an argument could be made for building or converting every home to SEE standards. Initial energy savings usually could cover the cost of financing SEE standards in new or existing homes. He soon realized that no one had ever compiled these facts and written them down. Society was ignorant of the fact that a simple solution could help solve many of its problems. SEE can: pay for itself, save people money, create countless jobs, assure a vibrant economy, significantly cut pollution, reduce foreign energy dependence, and make homes more comfortable. Given our environmental and economic problems, he feels what he has learned about SEE needs to become public knowledge. Economic vitality could be assured and hundreds of thousands of jobs could be created immediately with more to follow. That is why he wrote this book.