Incentives and Rebates

On the website www.incentivesandrebates.com, there are many different offers that one can find to help preserve or sustain the renewable and non-renewable sources that we have access to.

One that I found most effective was obtaining percentage rebates on the purchase price of ENERGY STAR products. These products include refrigerators, clothes washers, freezers, furnaces, and more. On each item, one can receive 15% off the purchase price, up to a maximum of $500 on each product, depending on the type of product. However, customers can receive rebates on multiple products.

I think this is effective because people love to save money. All of the products which you can save money on are things that everyone needs, and are things that everyone will probably use in their lifetime. If you buy it this way, you’re helping the environment, as well as saving money; it’s a win/win situation for everyone. I especially like this one because ENERGY STAR is a good company, so it’s good that if the government is going to endorse (in a sense) a company, it’s a solid one. Also, I think this is a good program because it, potentially, gets the ball rolling for other companies to do the same. The only thing that might be complicated about this program is getting people to know about it. There needs to be more awareness about the types of programs that are available.

Another rebate that I think is particularly effective is the clothes washer rebate. With this incentive, one can receive a $60 rebate when they purchase a washing machine that is a qualifying new high-efficiency washer, after the date of January 1, 2003. Also, when they partake in this rebate, they can enter a draw and take a chance at winning the money back that they paid for their washing machine, up to $2500. I think this is a good rebate because lots of people buy washing machines, and they don’t have to go to much trouble just to get 60 free dollars. One thing I think people will be skeptical about is that it is “only” $60, and some people may think it should be higher. If the incentive is not high enough, there is a chance that not as many people will partake, just because they don’t think $60 is a lot, compared to the buying price of approximately $2000. The draw to win up to $2500 is a good addition though, because it gives people a little higher incentive to partake.

The third incentive that I picked is the Enersource Conservation Water Heater Tune-Up. I think this one is extremely effective because of it’s nature. For this incentive, one can receive a free water heater tune up: “The tune-up involves a visit by Enersource representatives who will install or provide, free of charge, a water heater blanket, pipe wrap, an energy efficient showerhead, compact fluorescent light bulbs and a faucet aerator”. I think this is wonderful because usually one would have to call a plumber to do this, which can be extremely expensive. Also, this is a good one because it is something that most people could use. Basically any home owner could use this service, so it, I imagine, would be very successful.

The other rebate I found that I really like is the Hot Savings Rebate. Ontario citizens can receive a $100 rebate when they replace an existing furnace with a qualifying furnace or air handler. A rebate of up to $75 is available for the purchase and installation of a programmable thermostat. A $500 rebate is available for the replacement of an existing central air conditioning system with an ENERGY STAR qualified system. This is wonderful because, once again, it is something that any homeowner could use at one point in time. I also like this rebate because the value is a little higher than most with the rebate.

My First Post

When choosing Environmental Resource Management as one of my classes, my first inclination was that it could be a tad boring and perhaps irrelevant to my future career choice as a psychologist. After doing some more research and listening to some of the feedback from my peers (who had taken this course previously), it occurred to me that this course may actually have a lot more to do with my life than I had expected. This thought occurred to me as, on a Friday night as I was home alone, I was watching Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. I thought to myself that there must be a reason why I am at home on a Friday night watching a documentary, rather than out with my friends. That was when I really started to think about the relevance of this film, and furthermore the environment, to my own life. The environment and it’s condition is very crucial to my self as a person, and I have realized that it is so crucial to my well being as a human, and my future here on this earth – this earth that we all, every day, take advantage of in one way or another. I will be honest and say that up until the end of grade eleven, and the beginning of grade twelve, I would have considered myself a materialistic type of person. There were only certain things that concerned me, and those concerns were extremely materialistic and, looking back on them, were very selfish (and perhaps regrettable). I only wish that I had opened my eyes sooner to look at the grand spectrum of things that exist on earth, and the relevance of our every day activities that will of course, one day, contribute to the very condition of this planet.
I can honestly say that I definitely have some concerns about the environment. There are so many things happening in this world that we are oblivious to until we open our eyes. There are so many detrimental cycles and operations happening in many places all over the world that are completely avoidable and extremely abusive to this wonderful world. After realizing all of these things (thank goodness I did), I realized that I can do something about it. If we, as youth, learn how we can help the environment, then what is better than united youth? If we can take some chances, learn together, and progress towards a better good of humanity and well being, I believe that we can work wonders on anything we set our minds to. I also think it is awful and regressive that not all youth are working to their full potential. Resting potential is one of the most untapped resources this world has. We are the leaders of tomorrow, and we as a whole can hopefully make this earth less polluted, more preserved, and a better place for all of us in the future. The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be ridiculously high by the time we are 70, and will only continue to be worse by the time our children are grown ups. If we do not work out these problems, who is going to? The people that are doing it now are not going to be around forever, and we cannot always rely on others to do our jobs for us. We are getting to be at an age where we need to realize what we can do for ourselves, and take action on important issues.
I do believe that I will take a lot out of this course with me. I hope to work in the field of International Development, Third World Development etc. courses in University, and I know that the knowledge I retain here will help me to become further educated in the future. I also know that this course will help push me into the right direction with regards to living a greener life, and helping, as well as encouraging, others to do so as well. Though it is never 100% predictable what the future holds for us, it is 100% sure that we can try to do something about it. Hopefully the information we learn about the environment today will help us build a better environment tomorrow.