ENERGY: Welcome to Your Whole-Home Re⚡Volt
A Roadmap for Taking Our Power Back
“This is the general schizophrenia: that we are extremely discontent in the very system in which we must participate to survive, and to whose functioning we contribute by participating. Such a widespread ambiguity can only be resolved either by permanent self-hatred and cynicism or by a serious commitment to revolution.”
-The Boston Travellers, Science for the People 3, no. 1 (1971)
We here in the U.S. are living through a war on the environment, which is a war on that which life depends. If you have been understandably unable to track the news, the Trump/Musk regime has prioritized pollution over people at every stage in the EPA’s 31-step plan to dismantle federal environmental protections. In an extraordinary follow-up, an executive order directed the Attorney General to sue States for laws and policies that address “climate,” “carbon,” or “environmental justice.”
And for those confused by the lie that the tariffs are meant to rebuild American industry, this administration’s unconstitutional freeze of all grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, the cancellation of Department of Energy loans, the stalled revocation of the Green Bank fund, and a string of actions blocking onshore and offshore wind development, lay bare the craven pro-pollution power-grab unfolding.
Taking this war into 6.2 million low-income homes, the administration fired all federal staff who administer Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (and Weatherization Assistance). Even in war, withholding lifesaving energy required for medical devices and medicines amounts to a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Slow violence is still violence. What we are facing is ecocide.
In an age of ecocide, Green Neighbors are called to ecological rebellion. If we choose to relate to our world as neighbors and ancestors, we are called to be water protectors, clean-air champions, and cheerful land stewards. It is our responsibility to find ways to reduce the violence produced by the system we must also participate in to survive.
What follows is A roadmap, not THE roadmap for action. Protest? Yes! Call and petition? Definitely! Donate? Please do! But between those actions and becoming a community organizer or running for office lies a wide chasm. I founded Green Neighbor Challenge to help fill that chasm with practical steps for ordinary people. We need energy organizers in every community. This is a way to become one.
Welcome to your Whole Home Re⚡Volt.
Let me put this simply — There is no path to a stable climate that does not involve decarbonizing American homes. Rewiring America calculated that 42% of energy-related emissions in the US come from homes and vehicles. Since 80% of all US emissions come from energy, how we use energy to live and commute is one-third of the solution, before we include food and waste.
So I’ll say it again — There is no path to a stable climate that does not involve decarbonizing American homes.
The good news — 100% energy-decarbonization of American homes is 100% possible with existing, commercially-available technologies.
Even better news — There are $10,000+/year in tax credits and $14,000+ in rebates available to American homes to make this unprecedented energy-infrastructure transition (for now).
Okay, but WHAT is a Whole Home Re⚡Volt?
A Whole Home Re⚡Volt is the process of working through four activity areas:
Green Generation
Weatherization
Electrification
Energy Preparedness
The goal is a climate-safe home and environmentally non-violent living.
HOWEVER, each of these four activity areas may require multiple actions on your behalf, and there is no single “best” order to the actions or even the activity areas. So let’s start to unpack what may be included in each one:
Green Generation - Switching from dirty to green electricity
Purchasing Green Power - from a utility or retail energy supplier
Rooftop Solar - Putting solar panels on your roof
Ground-mounted Solar - Putting solar panels on your property
Community Solar - Subscribing to solar panels on someone else’s property
Weatherization - Minimizing energy loss, maximizing comfort and safety
Home Energy Audit - Discovering your home’s opportunities for improvement
Insulation - Reducing energy loss through attics, walls, basements, and rim joists
Air Sealing - Addressing cracks and crevices where air gets in or out
Doors - Insulating and sealing your doors
Windows - Insulating and sealing your windows
Ventilation - Filtering air, venting air, and energy recovery
Smart Technology - Thermostats, lighting, and everything else
Electrification - Switching over from combustion to electric
Heating and Cooling - Maintaining the comfort of your home with electricity
Water Heating - Heating your water with electricity
Cooking - Feeding your family with electricity
Clothes Drying - Drying your clothes with electricity
Transportation - Moving from place to place with electricity
Energy Preparedness - Being prepared for change, sudden or slow
Wiring & Pre-Wiring - Ensuring the safe and sufficient flow of electricity
Electric Panels - Managing increasing electrical load in your home
Battery Storage - Saving electricity for later, with chemicals
Power Outages - Having a plan for when the power is out
To be perfectly honest, this is a LONG, COMPLEX, and DIFFICULT process, which is why I created this community of practice in the first place. We must become the energy leaders we need, to help our friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors navigate this same process in the years to come. But if you know folks ready to throw down today, invite them to join us, because having accountabili-buddies is radical!
Over the coming months and years, I aim to detail each action with its own post, which will be linked back here for easy reference. This post will probably experience changes over time, reflecting that process. While the Whole Home Re⚡Volt is a great place to begin the work of Energy Democracy, it would be an unfortunate place to end the work. A second roadmap focused on ways we can democratically engage with the energy system is forthcoming. I will do my best to strike a balance between the two, and will rely on your feedback to guide me!
“Praxis is the action and reflection of people upon their world in order to transform it.”
-Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Where should my Re⚡Volt begin?
Where each Re⚡Volt begins is a matter of preference and context. If your context is a state of overwhelm, then starting simply is key! Choose an action below to start:
Sign up for a Green Energy Program
Explore the tax credits and rebates available to you
Request fresh quotes for rooftop or community solar
Forward this post to 3-5 friends, inviting them to subscribe!
Set up a small monthly donation to support this navigational work
Register to attend a Home Energy Q&A (details below!)
FAQ
Aren’t rich people responsible for more than their fair share of pollution?
Absolutely! Send this post to any rich people you know.
Does their inaction excuse me from doing what I can?
No. No one is excused from doing what they can.
Isn’t a “Whole Home Re⚡Volt” the same thing as a home energy transition?
😴💤. Yes, but isn’t active language more inspiring than passive language?🌱
Individual action is a waste of time, what we really need is collective action!
What is collective action, if not a constellation of connected individual actions?✨
But changing homes doesn’t change laws… I’m talking about systems change!
We are all part of a single system, learning to change ourselves is great practice for learning to change with others. And self-organization is one of the most effective strategies for systems change. Stay tuned for the Energy Democracy roadmap!
“The reason that I'm not a nihilist
Is some day I wanna live like in Star Trek
And I know that we'll never build starships
Until we tackle poverty, war, and hardship
So we fight overnight and over lifetimes
Organize for that warp drive
And of course I realize
That we're a long way from it
But what better reason to start runnin'?”
-Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre, “Matches”