Eco Shriek
Last Sunday's NY Times Magazine focused on the environment. AAAAGH!
A few observations:
The eco-chic crowd are solarizing their houses and gardening with compost. They-- the EC--advise you to go and do likewise because it's only individual action that will solve the environment.
Reading these articles, I realized how helpless I really am.
I have no idea how to garden; I can't even plant a couple of carrots. Compost? I have been crippled with a bad back since 1978. You may think it's all my fault that I'm a senior citizen and a weakling, but there it is. There are a lot of us.
I'm also part of a large majority not clever enough to figure out how to solarize a house. Plus, I know something you may not because I do own a solar hot water heater: these solar things are expensive to maintain.
The solution has to come from community or we're doomed.* We didn't string electric wires or cables by ourselves; nor did we as individuals go out and launch telecommunication satellites and build a federal highway system.
Old ladies like me want to see the nice young persons from the area electric and/or gas companies come out and go bang bang bang on the roof and presto we're solarized. The equipment can remain property of the utility. How it all fits into the power grid and the tax system are details that all the young and fit and clever can manage to work out.
*(The certainty of doom by this or other means is a topic for another day.)
A few observations:
The eco-chic crowd are solarizing their houses and gardening with compost. They-- the EC--advise you to go and do likewise because it's only individual action that will solve the environment.
Reading these articles, I realized how helpless I really am.
I have no idea how to garden; I can't even plant a couple of carrots. Compost? I have been crippled with a bad back since 1978. You may think it's all my fault that I'm a senior citizen and a weakling, but there it is. There are a lot of us.
I'm also part of a large majority not clever enough to figure out how to solarize a house. Plus, I know something you may not because I do own a solar hot water heater: these solar things are expensive to maintain.
The solution has to come from community or we're doomed.* We didn't string electric wires or cables by ourselves; nor did we as individuals go out and launch telecommunication satellites and build a federal highway system.
Old ladies like me want to see the nice young persons from the area electric and/or gas companies come out and go bang bang bang on the roof and presto we're solarized. The equipment can remain property of the utility. How it all fits into the power grid and the tax system are details that all the young and fit and clever can manage to work out.
*(The certainty of doom by this or other means is a topic for another day.)
posted by Pat at 9:27 AM
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