Wow, April already~ I want to comment about the Federal Energy Tax Credit for 2011. Why on Earth would our governmental leadership change what they offered last year? In 2010 (and 2009) we had a 30% tax credit incentive if you spent money to make your home more energy efficient. This year (2011) we have a 5% offering~ how Trivial!! I thought we were trying to simulate the economy & create jobs~ This is a blunder of the biggest magnitude. When the incentive was juicy, people considered spending the money, contractors were working to weatherize homes, change HVAC systems, add insulation, and help the national energy dependency on foreign oil; not to mention the relief on our power grid which is stretched pretty thin in some markets. According to the Dept of Energy, American buildings consume 45 % of the energy we generate, & much of that is wasted because of poor building construction practices, lack of maintenance and and the overall age of our "building stock" . It only makes sense to renovate our homes & office buildings; an energy retrofit can be an amazing change to the way we live and consume energy. Congress...Please raise the Tax incentive back to meaningful levels.

Cash for Caulkers
This is another government give-away, however, this may have an effect.
What will it effect? OH, how about awareness; of your own energy consumption and how much that costs you as an individual.
I, for one, prescribe to the theory that 'we the people' should not spend more than is going to be in our check book at any given time, but in this case if enough people become aware of their personal energy consumption & the "cost" of all this energy~ dollar cost, national security cost, environmental cost (you choose your own issue) Then, HEY, we might make a little head way.
What would be the impact of 10 million homes saving $50 bucks a month on our collective utility/power bill? $500,000,000 ($500 Million) do you know how many Btu's or Kwh that is?
All we're talking about is "Gaps, Cracks, & Holes" in the building that allow the outdoor weather to come indoors ( be it ~ hot or cold, wherever you live, Winter or Summer) this could have an impact .
Uncle Sam will be giving you Cash to fix the leaks & save the energy. Some say its a giveaway & another trade off for votes~ Hey I'd be a supporter too is Uncle Sam gave me a new Air Conditioner & a weatherization "make-over" on my house.
Unfortunately, I work~ I earn too much to qualify for the existing Weatherization program. But the program is not without merit; it may get some of the homeowners in this country going in the right direction.
Conserve Energy ~ USE LESS ~how simple is that? get help to figure out locations of the Gaps, Cracks & Holes & plug them up. "No water in" makes the house last a-lot longer & it will cost less to operate that very house.
I guess my question is "Do we need Uncle Sam to bribe us into doing this with another Billion dollar program (billions with a "B") that leads to more Deficit spending?"
This is a tough one~ we do need something~ no doubt. The Department of Energy (DOE) was created back in the 1970's to get this country less dependent on Foreign oil & now this is what they have to offer~ well that's a-lot of taxpayer money spent & no reduction to the import problem.
How 'bout some oversight to the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico currently or the "Focus" turned to the 100 year Natural Gas reserves in this country
(isn't that a cleaner fuel? actually ~ YES it is!)
Maybe we should be happy with Our Bloated Government & All the legislators who spend money "like a drunken sailor" if they 'll just credit our tax bill with the cost of caulk, weather-stripping and a few cans of spray foam.

post your opinion~ Please ~ I need to know if anyone else is paying attention.