Everyone seems to be talking about green energy these days. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing. However, are we at a stage now where there are green energy solutions available at a reasonable cost for both corporations and typical households to take advantage of them?

The term Green Energy is interchangeable with Sustainable Energy (and if it isn’t, it should be). It relates to energy sources which are considered both renewable and environmentally friendly. The best forms of green energy are those from natural resources including the sun, wind, water and earth. (Note: usually electricity and water don’t mix, but revolutionary thinking has made this possible. Now hydroelectric power plants are the wave of the future…)

Captain Planet (he’s our hero) understood this and constantly fought to educate children about bringing pollution down to zero. Unfortunately, saving the planet had lost its pizzazz around the time of the Industrial Revolution when coal became cool instead. It was all fun and games until holes were discovered in the ozone layer and a relatively unknown individual, Al Gore, made some inconvenient revelations about the current state of the world’s resources and the effects of fossil fuels on the environment; this somewhat charred coal’s reputation.

The fear of additional environmental taxes, or even worse, product boycotts by greenies has prompted more research and innovation towards green energy solutions, such as biofuels and the ever controversial nuclear energy.

That’s all well and good for the big companies out there, but how can you make a difference at home?

Recently we got the news that electricity prices in my hometown of Perth are going to be increased by about 50% (if I remember correctly) over the next two years. That’s ridiculous! What makes it worse is that comedian and author Ben Elton was nearly forced to remove the solar panels on his home or risk being fined $50,000. What kind of a society are we living in, really?

There are a number of things you could do at home to reduce your electricity bill.

• Install insulation to reduce heating and therefore electricity requirements;
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (Recently in Australia, traditional light bulbs have been taken off the shelves and are no longer available in supermarkets)
• Turn off the lights when you leave each room;
• Purchase products with a good energy rating;
• Find out which of your current appliances is consuming the most power (use an electricity consumption monitor) ;
• I guess you could learn how to live without electricity
• Make your own solar panels to power your home for free (or at least some appliances)!

You don’t even need to be a builder or know anything about solar panels to do this (that fact surprised me the most). All it involves is following some instructions and you’re on your way to saving money by making your own electricity.

I guess no one ever told Bill Gates that you don’t have to be a billionaire to get a green powered home, hey? That’s ok, he’s got the money anyhow. See Bill’s house here.

_{(Actually this house doesn’t look like it has a healthy carbon footprint at all, even though it is green on the outside. At least Bill is pouring funds into green energy research, among other things.)}

• The longer you wait, the more electricity you will keep paying for (at ever increasing rates);
• The sooner you make and mount your own solar panels, the sooner you will start to see savings off your electricity bill;
• The quicker you make your solar panels, the quicker they will start paying for themselves;
• You could even generate more electricity than you need and “sell” some back into the grid. This basically means that your green energy will be making you money, instead of the other way around.
• Many governments are now providing incentives in the form of grants for green energy solutions, such as solar panels – you should look into this.

George Clooney & Tom Hanks have been driving electric vehicles for years.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a solar-powered green home.

Austin Powers had something in his teeth, I’m sure that was green too.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Our favorite heroes from the 80s. “They're heroes in a half shell and they're green.”

Kermit The Frog – The whole “it’s not easy being green” thing was just a sponsorship deal during the Industrial Revolution. The fact that he has remained an A-list celebrity for over 50 years, and looks like he can last another 50, is further proof that it pays to be green.