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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, March 12, 2005 Looking to the future If I had grown up with central heat and air conditioning, dishwasher, automatic clothes washer and dryer and an endless supply of plastic bags, I think I would be mortally afraid of the future right now. The stream of oil cannot continue to flow; we're already seeing the result of growing scarcity and growing competition—not just higher gasoline and heating oil prices, but higher prices for everything. I wonder how many people realize that nearly all plastic is made from petroleum. The price of oil affects not just the cost of transporting goods but the direct cost of our most commonly used materials.Fortunately, I grew up in a travel trailer with no amenities at all save a gas stove and refrigerator. We did have a kerosene furnace, but my father was reluctant to leave it running at night with no one in attendance. We slept through two upstate New York winters, and one in Pennsylvania, with only quilts and blankets to keep us warm. So while all these electricity and oil-powered luxuries may be nice, to me that are just that: luxuries, not necessities.For the last four or five years, I've been working to reduce my family's consumption of electricity and store-bought goods. Incandescant light bulbs were replaced with CF (compact fluorescent) bulbs. Phantom loads (transformers and appliance clocks and other things that draw current even when they are supposedly "off") were eliminated by either unplugging the item whens they were not being used, or putting them on power strips that could be turned off. I became a nag about lights being left on. We're seeing the difference in lower electric bills, but we still consume far more than a solar power system, my ultimate goal, could provide.The big power users in this household are the heat pump in the winter, the air conditioner in the summer, and the clothes dryer, hot water heater and electric stove all the time. Right now I can't do anything about the heat pump and a/c, but I stopped using the clothes dryer, and put up a clothes line outside. The next goal is to get rid of the hot water heater and electric stove. Sometime this year, when I can afford the installation, I'll replace them with an on-demand propane water heater and a propane stove. Propane isn't a long-term answer to fuel costs, but it is a step in the direction of being off the power grid.Another major user of electricity is this blasted computer. It stays on most of the time, generating heat and running fans and motors and a 19" monitor. It is going to be replaced with a mini-itx format computer and a LCD monitor. The mini-itx is native 12 volt, meaning I can run it off a small solar panel and a battery, and the LCD monitor will take far less electricity than the current one.I've begun planting seeds for the garden, my bees will be here next weekend and I have fruit trees on order. Life is not going to be pleasant when the oil does stop, but we're going to be as prepared as it's possible to be.I know this must seem like Chicken Little waiting for the sky to fall, but even if some miracle does occur and life goes on more or less as we've come to consider normal, my electric bills will be far lower and the quality of our food far higher. Sounds like a winner either way. posted by Liz @ 10:20 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
If I had grown up with central heat and air conditioning, dishwasher, automatic clothes washer and dryer and an endless supply of plastic bags, I think I would be mortally afraid of the future right now. The stream of oil cannot continue to flow; we're already seeing the result of growing scarcity and growing competition—not just higher gasoline and heating oil prices, but higher prices for everything. I wonder how many people realize that nearly all plastic is made from petroleum. The price of oil affects not just the cost of transporting goods but the direct cost of our most commonly used materials.Fortunately, I grew up in a travel trailer with no amenities at all save a gas stove and refrigerator. We did have a kerosene furnace, but my father was reluctant to leave it running at night with no one in attendance. We slept through two upstate New York winters, and one in Pennsylvania, with only quilts and blankets to keep us warm. So while all these electricity and oil-powered luxuries may be nice, to me that are just that: luxuries, not necessities.For the last four or five years, I've been working to reduce my family's consumption of electricity and store-bought goods. Incandescant light bulbs were replaced with CF (compact fluorescent) bulbs. Phantom loads (transformers and appliance clocks and other things that draw current even when they are supposedly "off") were eliminated by either unplugging the item whens they were not being used, or putting them on power strips that could be turned off. I became a nag about lights being left on. We're seeing the difference in lower electric bills, but we still consume far more than a solar power system, my ultimate goal, could provide.The big power users in this household are the heat pump in the winter, the air conditioner in the summer, and the clothes dryer, hot water heater and electric stove all the time. Right now I can't do anything about the heat pump and a/c, but I stopped using the clothes dryer, and put up a clothes line outside. The next goal is to get rid of the hot water heater and electric stove. Sometime this year, when I can afford the installation, I'll replace them with an on-demand propane water heater and a propane stove. Propane isn't a long-term answer to fuel costs, but it is a step in the direction of being off the power grid.Another major user of electricity is this blasted computer. It stays on most of the time, generating heat and running fans and motors and a 19" monitor. It is going to be replaced with a mini-itx format computer and a LCD monitor. The mini-itx is native 12 volt, meaning I can run it off a small solar panel and a battery, and the LCD monitor will take far less electricity than the current one.I've begun planting seeds for the garden, my bees will be here next weekend and I have fruit trees on order. Life is not going to be pleasant when the oil does stop, but we're going to be as prepared as it's possible to be.I know this must seem like Chicken Little waiting for the sky to fall, but even if some miracle does occur and life goes on more or less as we've come to consider normal, my electric bills will be far lower and the quality of our food far higher. Sounds like a winner either way.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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