Spring is coming along; the forsythia is in full bloom, the red maples are red, and the sugar maple is showing life for the first time today.
Yesterday was Earth Day. Michele drove the speed limit, to the ire of her fellow drivers, and took her lunch to work. This inspired me to turn off the electric power for the day, with the exception of the refrigerator, freezer and one phone. The house got very quiet. Can one 'hear' electric power? I was faced with a lack of water, and broke into our very dusty cache of spare water in bottles and jugs. It takes 3 quarts to wash a kitchen floor. I did not attempt to wash the flannel sheets by hand. After a bit I thought that the solar water heating panel wasn't working without a pump, and turned that on. Michele came home and thought of turning everything back on, then noticed how quiet the house was. She turned on the main water pump and electric supply to the water heater. We had dinner and talked until we couldn't really see each other, then took the dog for a walk. (Normally we tend to split, she to the ABC news on tape, and me to my internet reading). Then we read for a bit, she got in bed with a flashlight and a candle and I sat next to the kerosene lamp. Altogether in 24 hrs we used 9 kwh, instead of the usual 30 or so.
Meanwhile I made a list: manual laundry machine (I read about these somewhere), solar shower, alternatives for food preservation, light, solar power for computer/iPod, humanure compost system, dish washing set up, radio, oven. Fix the upper well for easy access. Water tanks. But am I looking at emergency preparedness or current civic duty in light of global warming?
Today I'm really enjoying this electricity business.
1 comment:
Some years ago I was walking my dog Sophie (now enriching the wildflower patch in the back yard) in my neighborhood, which is in town but peaceful and bordered by woods) and a transformer we'd just walked by exploded. The neighborhood was plunged into darkness and we had such a wonderful walk, one that reminded me of walking the roads in north Woodstock by night, with only available light. It's almost impossible to experience darkness in a city, at least outdoors. For the rest of our walk the only lights were those from candles in houses.
These days, when I go to bed there are lots of little lights glowing in my bedroom from all the electronic THINGS.
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