WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, OHIO — I hope I am directing this to the correct person! Had I not enjoyed your magazine for a number of years, I would not even bother. Lest you believe that the ONLY reason your readership is slipping is the Internet revolution, please let me share MY reasons for leaving you.
I am displeased enough that I will not renew my free subscription to CONTRACTOR. Note that I have found it useful and informative in the past but it now upsets me so much when I read it that I see no reason to continue receiving it! I feel part of the cause of the problem is that much of your staff is located in Chicago, maybe some in New York. These cities do NOT represent the Midwest nor do we share many of your opinions. We do not follow the marching orders or talking points of the Kenyan Usurper or his cronies. Specifically, few people here are environmental nut cases, so "green extreme" plays poorly outside the cities. Acceptance of the power grab expressed as "Climate change or Global Warming" are the subject of ridicule. Personally, I stop reading ANY article that mentions the key words "green, carbon footprint, climate change, global warming" or similar nonsense. In the last couple years that means most of your articles no longer interest me.
A recent story, "Country French home uses efficient systems," May 2010 page 5 is the one that absolutely TORE it for me. This was a construction project of a classic ENERGY HOG home of MANY thousand square feet in Columbus, Ohio — yet they were blowing their horn about how "energy efficient" it was — even though it included snow melt, excess makeup air to serve, of all things, fireplaces and a heated pool. (I am 50 miles from Columbus and worked there for some years.) Not to mention the monstrous size of the turkey. This is EXACTLY the kind of hypocrisy the environmental whackos promote! Squeeze normal folks with over-priced, poorly performing "green [crap]" systems and bragging about the "efficiency" of some energy hog. The idiocy of the Montreal Protocol was bad enough, still causing MAJOR expense, but the screws continue to tighten and the nonsense becomes ever worse. Most of these McMansions are the junk that is underwater in the mortgage meltdown. The oversized, over amenity-laden homes for people who could never pay for them are blatant examples of what has brought on our economic destruction.
I have HAD IT.
I am one of those guys that refuse to sell "high efficiency" furnaces or air conditioners when a sane alternative is available. This equipment costs more to buy, has a shorter lifespan and requires much more maintenance. In the end, the owner NEVER recovers that additional money. It would be dishonest of me to impose crap like that on my customers! Of course, I will direct them to the systems with the best life cycle costs, such as natural gas or hybrid systems combining fossil furnace and heat pump, those using fuel oil rather than propane, solid fuel when they are willing to do the extra work that makes it the best choice. I do NOT sell even electronic pilots when standing is available, NEVER resistance heat, NEVER "heat pump" water heaters or the flash [tankless water] heaters so heavily promoted these days. (Lifespan here on 30-grain hard water is six months. How many people do you REALLY think will have them cleaned every three-to-four months?) I gave up on "geothermal" when it became apparent that PROPERLY installed systems were only for the wealthy and often LESS efficient than air-to-air heat pumps. They never pay off.
Little good has come out of the EPA in at least 30+ years. Time to disband them before they COMPLETELY destroy this nation. Limits of ANY kind on "greenhouse gas emissions," a false "science," are merely ONE example of the out-of-control bureaucrats. We are already suffering the devastating effects of not drilling for oil/gas wherever it is found, contaminating gasoline with ethanol (farmer welfare), outlawing of incandescent lamps, low flush toilets, no-brass faucets, outlawing of R-12, -22, -502 — just to mention a few of the stupid ideas that have been imposed on us!!!! I see lots of knuckle-under articles but no effort to stop the liberal destruction. I blame at least part of this on the fact that magazines are based in VERY Blue areas that accept the creeping (now galloping) Marxism we are faced with. Some is the result of shortsighted folks that believe "green extreme" work is better than sustainable size of work — even if it is dishonest in what it promotes or is overall destructive.
Quite frankly, I am glad I am nearing the end of my career. Now at 60 ++, in just over a year I can apply for [Social Security] and soon live off what little SS may be left for me — and work “off the books” and COMPLETELY ignore the gubermint!!
This is why I will not renew.
Thank you for your past good content and if you return to it, maybe I will become interested again — if the Internet has not replaced you entirely by that time.
Thank you for your time, sir.
MICHAEL GRAY
OWNER, REFRIGERATION SPECIALISTS
Editor's note: Gee, Mike, how do you really feel? Obviously, we here believe that contractors doing green work are prospering even in tough times. Readers?