Package Two Final

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ONE IOWA CITY RESDIENT IS GETTING WAY AHEAD ON THE GOING GREEN TREND. DAILY IOWAN’S CRISTINA SARNELLI WENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW HE DOES IT.

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From the front, Don Laughlin's house on Church Street seems like an ordinary home. In the back, it's a little different. Laughlin's house has solar panels.
The panels work along with these pumps and tubes in Laughlin's basement. The panels, tubes, and pumps help generate ninety-five percent of the energy used to heat Laughlin's water and ninety-two percent of his entire home. On average, a project like this costs $20,000. A lot? Laughlin doesn't think so.

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“We’ve got to get off carbon fuels sometime, and we’ve got to quit driving so much, and we’ve got to quit using gas and especially coal for heating houses and generating electricity.”

(VO)
And the cost of installing solar panels will eventually even out, considering the savings on energy bills.

(SOT)
“Most people’s gas bills in Iowa City will run—in the winter time—they’ll run two hundred and fifty dollars a month, and mine is two hundred and fifty dollars a year.”

(VO)
Even Laughlin's truck is energy efficient. It runs off of biodiesel fuel which is made from leftover cooking oil. Laughlin's even found a way to conserve energy when it comes to making food.

(STAND UP)
“This solar box cooker, which Don built himself, absorbs sunlight and can get as high as two hundred and thirty degrees in February, and you use it kind of like a grill to cook food.”

(VO)
Despite the cost and effort it takes to utilize renewable energy, Laughlin says it's worth it. It's less about saving for himself, and more about saving the world.
Outcue: Cristina Sarnelli, Daily Iowan TV.

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LAUGHLIN PLANS TO CONTINUE FINDING WAYS TO MAKE THE WORLD A GREENER PLACE. HIS SPRING PROJECT IS TO PLANT A GARDEN IN HIS BACKYARD.