No matter how well-meaning, politicians frequently fail to understand all the consequences of their laws. Real world costs, the costs and benefits faced by those who will actually have to live with the regulations, often elude those who pass these rules. Yet, even by those depressing standards, problems with the mandated that people will soon be forced to use stand out.

The advantages of compact fluorescent light bulbs are obvious. While the fluorescent bulbs can cost 10 times more than incandescent ones, fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less electricity and last up to 10 times longer.

But longer life and energy savings come with a caveat — the fluorescent bulbs must be used for at least 15 minutes once they are turned on and ideally for at least several hours at a time. Turning them off quickly after you have turned them on dramatically reduces their life expectancy. Not being able to use light bulbs simply when it is convenient is a cost the consumers will bear even if politicians didn’t factor it into their estimates of savings.

By Jim Sanders / Sacramento Bee

Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, May 18, 2008

Steers like a car, tilts like a motorcycle – and gets 100 miles per gallon of gas.

California lawmakers are wrestling with whether to allow into carpool lanes a high speed, fully enclosed, three-wheel hybrid that is under development in Los Angeles.

The legislation is pushed by the hybrid's creator, Venture Vehicles, which acknowledges that sidestepping bumper-to-bumper commutes could make it easier to obtain financing and to sell the vehicle.

VentureOne, patterned after a model sold in Europe, the Carver, is designed to feature a tiny body, a $25,000 price and many of the safety and comfort features of a car.

"I've ridden one of them," said Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, who drove the European Carver on a test track. "They're very nifty. You can't drive them without smiling."

"It's a different sensation," said Fuentes, D-Sylmar. "When you turn, it leans, no matter what you do. It feels like a very narrow car, but you feel very safe."

Like a motorcycle, the VentureOne is meant to seat only one person in front and one in back. But like a car, it promises a steering wheel, automatic transmission and air conditioning.

The three-wheeler is expected to hit speeds of more than 100 mph, tilt up to 45 degrees, and come equipped with an airbag, rear bumper and side impact beams.

In light of recent events in the world, I've been slowly assembling the beginnings of a revolution at my household. A house as dedicated to solar energy as possible, and on a shoestring. As a Republican, I get strange looks when I talk about going green and even more so when I speak of frugality and re-using with conservation in mind.

Of course, the strange looks I get are even funnier to watch when I explain how many $$$ I'll save doing things this way. People pay attention when they see a way to escape with dollars in pocket while keeping warm or cool as the need changes.

Being single, the expenses of investing in these technologies is a reality. As such, my plan to go solar has evolved into the following broad initiative:

• Solar Electricity to take on bulk of home power.
• Solar Water heating to take on bulk of the water heating for 3 of 4 seasons.
• Solar outdoor lighting to remove costs of lighting paths (and perhaps holiday decorations?).
  
• Solar Home Heating using ground exchange loops.
• Solar Cooling using ground exchange loops.
• Solar Cooking using reflected heat cookers.

By attacking the most egregious items first, namely the heating and cooling of the home, one can reduce energy costs many fold with relatively little outlay. The worst expenses are investing in the digging equipment to dig the trench to form the basis of a ground loop exchange setup and the corresponding investment in piping and components to bring the system to working order. Some call this "Geothermal Exchange" and it is a means of either bring cool air in that has been cooled from having blown through underground pipes or to bring earth warmed air in during the winter when the outside temperature is often ten to twenty degrees cooler. Either way, such technological capabilities are not beyond the average home handyman.