Jenny Persha

Wisconsin residents are very lucky to have Focus On Energy. We all pay an extra "fee" on our energy bills which goes to fund the Focus programs.

Under the "Find Products/Services Verify Eligibility" tab you are asked to enter your area and energy provider. Then you will see a list of opportunities to choose from. For the MG&E area I was able to find incentives for installing small-to medium-sized renewable energy systems at a home, condo, or apartment. These choices were for solar electric, solar water heating, wind electric, and biomass combustion.

There are also often cash-back rewards for purchasing more efficient appliances. Check under the "Financial Incentives and Cash-Back Rewards" tab for the info. This means you save money on the purchase and you will save money on your energy bills since you use less! There are different promotions for varying lengths of time from Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Jenn-Air, and Amana.

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Sometimes I find myself wondering why I keep bothering to educate about and persuade people to go green. I often get the roll of the eyes, a sigh, or they mutter under their breath that everything is bad for you or causes cancer anyway. With my family and friends I have to be sure to pick my green battles. I try to promote green to all my real estate clients. Most people do care about energy efficiency (financial costs) and most have never really thought more about what a green home can mean for them.

Got asthma? They say "no carpets please" because of the dust. Then I bring the topic of offgassing. People rarely think about the paint or cabinets in the home as being dangerous. We would never knowingly expose children (or ourselves) to these chemicals, yet that is exactly what homes do.

Many of my buyers have been excited with the discounts in price we have found. They are hoping to buy an older home near downtown and do some updating. I always point out some of the green remodeling opportunities that I see. I let them know the WI Green Built Home program provides checklists for their green remodel. At this point people have had enough time with me to know that I am not "one of those crazies" and that I am truly looking out for them! If I keep talking about green, I hope that others will begin to see what I see--and then do what I do!

I had family visiting me this last week and that is what inspired me on this topic. Some of my family may still roll their eyes at me (they may think I am one of those crazies) but my nieces are soaking it all up. We went to the Madison zoo. We didn't think the kids wouldn't remember the zoo from two years ago. The zoo in Green Bay doesn't have seals so we excitely pointed those out. My four-year-old niece promptly replied she had seen a seal before and said that last time the seal died when the lady threw the bottle in the water. I was so confused! Then I remembered-we had gone to the Dane County Fair last summer and there was a little show with seals. The lady had talked about pollution and when she threw a plastic bottle in the water and the seal played dead. My niece was three years old and that is the part she remembered!

I am going to keep talking green. We learn from watching others. I am the monkey and I just have to keep doing it until everyone else follows. My dream is to make green the standard and not a niche market.

If you are green, I would love to hear how you go about educating others.