Going Green Challenge

This week we lost power. Luckily it was for a little over one hour. Since I have been listening to a radio show, "Going Green" I have been focusing on how we can be more efficient with our energy sources. As I threw on additional clothing, a second layer that day, I was thinking about survival.

Electricity rules the day here in our home, as it is responsible for everything that we utilize, heat, cooking, cleaning and entertainment. As we sat in candle lit rooms, I couldn't help but realize how dependent we are on one source. Except for candles, and battery-lit flashlights, we had a cell-phone, which needed electrical charging, running water, which is a plus, some canned items, and a hand held can opener.

Having become dependent on electricity, we are at a loss to provide what we are accustomed to enjoying, the computer, television and as a result, felt helpless and useless. The days of being that still are behind us in our society. Reading a book or word-find, was all that I possibly could do in the near dark.

Going green is a good idea, but for me that means, changing to a more efficient light-source, using less electricity when I can, and keeping the home temperature at a sensible level. Cooking up larger batches, reheating in smaller portions, or not cooking at all, is living green. Our Anderson windows keep the air securely out, and lined drapes capture any spillage. Doors have rolled draft-dodgers against them. Furniture is arranged on inside walls and rugs and cushions retain heat everywhere. We get hot-water from our running furnace, which saves money in the months when we heat our home.

Today, icicles are hanging from the gutters, as seen from the inside of our home. It is not possible to get to the back as drifted snow has hardened and is quite deep. It has taken all I have just to keep the drive-way, and stairs to the front door cleared. Yesterday, I made my way to the deck, which is on the side of the house, and finally was able to free up the door, which has been blocked for days by the first storm, leaving more than 2 plus feet of snow piled against the pane. I was only able to shovel half the deck, after the driveway, walk and stairway in the front. Hopefully, we'll get to it today, before the next storm which coming in a few days following the "deep freeze". Looks like the car in my neighbors carport, will be there for a long, long time. His tiles blew off the roof and are buried beneath the snow in my backyard. Oh the joys of winter.

The trash pickup was yesterday, and the large recycle container was plowed-in by town trucks. I knew they wouldn't empty it, so off I went to recover it from it's deep containment of snow. We frankly have run out of room with snow accumulations everywhere. Our regular trash barrel of approximately 30 gallons, containing a plastic tied bag, had been blown across the drive, and cover off, was lying on its side on the ground. That was better than a few weeks ago, when the trash fell over in the road, and I spent hours retrieving the spilled and blown contents from neighbors yards--during a blizzard.

When we talk green, it is not the same for all. It largely depends on where you live. I do not think that many are as frugal as I am. I have always been a stickler on wastefulness, everywhere--to the extent that it will almost drive me absolutely crazy. I have reused, recycled, and cut down or out altogether most everything that I can possibly think of in an effort to be more green, (recycling the recycled).

Today, they were talking about solar panels. I laughed as I couldn't even get my solar lights to work here. New England is a tough place to implement many of the ideas initiated in warmer states. We have wind, but not enough to amount to much. My roof has panels, the electrical type, as we have had ice dams in the past, due to small amounts of sun, if any at all, in the front of our home. Thick ice hangs down the side of everyone's home, three feet or longer. It is freezing and will get much colder. I'm just hoping that the electrical lines will stay up, as well as our roof.

It's hard to be green when it is so white. The green that I want to see about now is the green that comes in the springtime.