Emily Kwong

So Jenny has seen a lot of people add batteries to their systems as a backup power source.

So that would allow you to truly live off the grid.

OK, so for this, I wanted to cast a wide net.

I talked to five people in different parts of the country who are all connected to the solar industry.

The five include a journalist, a policy person, a trade person, a master electrician, and someone at Darcy's local public utility.

What'd they say?

Asked them all the question, and I expected them to say, you know, break out the chainsaws, solar forever.

But instead, I got this.

Yeah, many of them talked about how trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere, which Darcy well knows.

But this point about sequestration is interesting to me because pound for pound, solar panels are significantly more efficient than trees at offsetting carbon.

And yet everybody begged Darcy, unless this tree is sick and rotting and a hazard to your home someday, do not cut it down.

Yeah, it is a logical argument.

Got it.

Yeah, I'll let John Farrell at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance speak his piece.

Trees provide natural cooling and a sustainable house isn't just about whether you have all the gizmos and the solar panels and the electric car and the heat pump, whatever.

It's also about like your home's natural environment and how much energy it uses.

And a home with more shade is going to use a lot less AC and have to tap the local utility less.

Yeah, the Pacific Northwest is historically very cool, but it is getting hotter.

And I was reminded of this while talking to Susie Oversvee, who runs solar programs at Darcy's local public utility, Snohomish County PUD.

We're getting more extreme and more frequent heat events.