Get a solar water heater - or else

February 2nd, 2009 by Stephen Downes for the Honolulu Advertiser

What if every Hawaii home had a solar water heater? Imagine the millions of dollars and barrels of oil saved every year. Imagine the money you’d save on your electricity bill. Surely in sunny Hawaii, a solar water heating system should be as basic as indoor plumbing.

Well, that’s what Republican Rep. Gene Ward thinks. And he’s willing to make you buy one. House Bill 1836 would require existing single-family homes to be retrofitted with a solar water heating system by an (unspecified) date. If you don’t install one, you would be charged a fee for non-compliance.

Perhaps this sounds like a proposal from an overreaching environmental activist. Or maybe even a socialist. But read on…