Question Earthority!

Last night, the lights came back on. After five days of blackout, my little piece of the St. Louis metro area got its power back.

I can’t say that the affair was a monstrous hardship: A couple of nights sleeping under the stars (we spent three nights out of town, not entirely due to the blackout) were actually very nice. On the other hand, it was a nasty job of fridge-cleaning since we couldn’t buy ice in time to save the contents, etc.

I may be an environmentalist, but I’m not a Luddite. I like being able to flip a switch and have a light come on. I like being able to control the temperature inside my dwelling. I think that most people do. The runs on stores in areas with power demonstrated that to my satisfaction. People will have their “conveniences” (read: modern lifestyle basics); our version of “roughing” it is doing without air conditioning for a few days.

So, let’s keep this in mind: Dick Cheney probably wasn’t quite as pompous as some thought in claiming that “the western lifestyle is not negotiable.” Significantly reduced energy consumption is probably not in the cards, which means that environmental gains are going to have to come from cleaner energy production.

One of the first things I did when the power came back on and I was able to use the net in a way “unmetered” with respect to laptop battery power and the need to travel to recharge was start looking into home solar and wind kits. I haven’t made a lot of progress yet, but I’ve done the important thing, which is deciding to act.

The fact that an investment in home-generated energy would probably more than pay for itself over a reasonably short timeframe is secondary. Yes, I’d like to cut the electric bill down to size. Yes, I’d like to use “cleaner” energy. But, most of all, I want the damn lights on, and the utility company in my area has proven that it can’t reliably keep them on and/or quickly restore them when they go out.

I’m planning to start small: By next summer, I’d like to have enough photovoltaic solar panels (or perhaps a small wind turbine) in action to power a few lights and my computers, with the “grid” power as backup.

I won’t be surprised if I see similar projects going on at other homes in my neighborhood. “Being green” may be a feelgood or an ego boost, but going without, even slightly, even for a bit, sharpens the mind toward self-reliance. No reason the two can’t converge.