1001 Ways Is Already Changing The World!

I'm going to take a break from posting new ideas to show you how my older idea are already being put into practice.

The State of Wisconsin decided yesterday to install solar panels at the Wisconsin Capitol and at the Governor's mansion. And the State did that just 15 days after I proposed putting solar panels (or wind power) into all new construction. The solar panels at the Governor's mansion will cost $38,000, which is expected to be earned back in just 10 years.

This is an excellent start -- installing solar panels on all government buildings will help encourage the market for them, and spread the cost around among taxpayers, while promoting an industry that is sustainable and forward looking.

And it all began with me!

I will save for another day the question of why we need a Governor's mansion at all, since I'm pretty sure that Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle had a house before he was governor, and will have a house after he's not governor, making it kind of pointless to have a mansion where he can live, for free, with state-paid workers tending the gardens and house, even though he earns $137,902 per year... instead of tackling that issue, I'll just bask in the (solar-powered) glow of having changed the world just a little.

Prior entries:

36. Look up more often.

35. Put people before pets.

34. Share the profits with employees, directly and frequently.

33. Dress up, at least a little, in public.

32. Apply the "Line Pass" philosophy to everything (including some government services).

30/31. Impose a luxury tax that increases exponentially the more people spend/Never watch another Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie movie again.

29. What's so great about mom-and-pop stores and farms?

28. No more long answering machine or voice mail greetings.

27. Stop federal support of student loans.

26. Require everything we build, from here on out, to get at least some of its power from the sun or the wind.

25. Do an "Oklahoma Land Rush" in the cities.

24. Personalized Candy Bar Making Machines.

23. Learn new languages just for fun.

22. Opposite yourself.

21. Just like dandelions.

20. Why not have Radio-DVRs?

19. Start treating health care like what it is: a universal, inherent right of all people.

18. Baseball should have a shorter season and shorter games.

17. Open the borders. Everywhere.

16. Just start DVDs without all the preliminaries, please.

15. Just allow colleges to pay athletes, already.

14. Don't get married before you're 30.

13. Ban driving any kind of automobile, motorcycle or other personal vehicle within 1-2 miles of downtown in any city with a population of more than 100,000.

12. Abolish gym class; instead, teach kids to play musical instruments.

11. Change copyright laws to allow anyone to use anyone else's creative work provided that the copier pay 60% of the profit to the originator and that the copier not cast the original work in a negative light.

10. Have more sidewalk cafes and outdoor seating.

9. When you have to give someone a gift, ask them what they want, and then get that thing for them.

8. Never interrupt or finish someone's jokes.

7. Periodically, give up something you like for at least a month.

6. Switch to "E-money."

5. Have each person assigned one phone number, and then add an extension for the various phones and faxes that person might be reached at.

4. Abolish Mondays and Tuesdays.

3. Don't listen to interviews with athletes or comedians.

2. Have "personal cashiers" at the grocery store.

1. Don't earn more than $200,000 per year.