Efficiency First

Presidential address emphasizes the economic and ecological benefits of home energy retrofits

Speaking today at a Home Depot store in Alexandria, Va., President Barack Obama continued to promote federal energy retrofit incentives as a cost-effective way to create jobs and reduce energy bills for American consumers. In the course of his speech, the President even joked with his audience about the sex-appeal of insulation.

“Here’s what’s sexy about it: saving money,” the President said. “ Think about it this way: If you haven’t upgraded your home yet, it’s not just heat or cool air that’s escaping – it’s energy and money that you are wasting. If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into the atmosphere, you’d try to figure out how you were going to keep that. But that’s exactly what’s happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings.”

On a more serious note, the President asserted that “The simple act of retrofitting these buildings to make them more energy efficient – installing new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, sealing leaks, modernizing heating and cooling equipment – is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions.”

Watch a CNN compilation of video excerpts from the speech here:

Read the full transcript here:

www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-obama-caulkers16-2009dec16,0,4079415.story?track=rss