Talk Back

Readers respond to Work & Money and Business section coverage

Will we never learn? Alternative energy is key

In the 1970s, with President Carter's encouragement, the United States was embracing alternative energy. Had that movement continued, we would not be dependent on foreign oil today. Since 1980, except during the Clinton years, conservatives have scorned and rejected alternative energy and have encouraged Americans to build wasteful homes and drive wasteful vehicles.

"Electric cars will need juice" (June 6, Business section), predicted that charging electric car batteries could possibly overwhelm the grid. Progress Energy has asked the state to approve a 16.2 percent rate increase. If fuel costs are so high, it may be time to get more serious about solar and other alternative energy technologies.

By the time pluggable hybrid electric vehicles flood the road in 20 to 30 years, Progress Energy and other power companies will surely have added extensive alternative energy to the grid. Many proven forms of alternative energy are available. Americans need to embrace them.

Hank Macknee

Durham

Electric cars might not lead to new power plants

First of all, I'd like to say that I appreciate the reporting that The N&O does on environmental issues. However, I feel that "Electric cars will need juice" (June 6, Business section) focused too much on the worst-case scenario of pluggable hybrid electric vehicles. The same study that you cite from Oak Ridge Laboratories resulted in a range of new power demand, ranging from zero to 160 new plants, yet you only mention the 160. In fact, Duke Energy only recently released a similar study that had a decidedly optimistic result if smart-grid technology is deployed.

While moving to plugable hybrids on a large scale presents challenges, it is not quite as gloomy an outlook as your article depicts and is certainly not as gloomy as a future in which we don't make that move at all.

Chip Gurkin

Arlington, Va.

Mortgage company saves green by operating online

I thoroughly enjoyed John Murawski's article on saving the environment while saving money ("Green saves green," Work&Money, June 1).

This e-mail message is to let you know what American Dream Residential (www.adrmortgage.com) is doing to help.

First, we take about 500 loan applications a year via the Internet. This saves about 80 pages of paper per loan application, or 40,000 pages of paper a year (times two -- there's always a copy package). That's about $16,000 in paper.

Second, we don't have to overnight 500 loan applications to our clients and investors, because we have an e-mail signature platform that is electronic. This saves us about $25 a loan (times two, one for the investor), or about $25,000. It also saves our client a similar amount, because the client doesn't have to send the package to us by overnight delivery ($37,500 total; ADR, client, investor).

Third, we don't have to maintain a large office for people to send all this paper around and receive it. And we store information electronically, saving about $12,000 a year in rent expense and saving on commuting costs.

So as a small Raleigh mortgage company, we're saving about $60,000 a year. We are also reducing our carbon footprint by not requiring commuting by our loan officers, all of whom work from home.

I want to thank you all for communicating what companies are doing.

Although we are small (about 20 loan officers), we want to do our part to make Earth a better place.

Andrew May, president, American Dream Residential

Raleigh