I’ve switched to energy efficient light bulbs in my house. I carry reusable bags to the grocery store. I use them when I remember. I belong to a CSA and buy local goat cheese. I hope Subaru will have a hybrid out when its time to replace my car.
I am fully onboard with creating a sustainable planet – at least in my mind. While my practices don’t always reflect my intent, I try.
Lately, I have been thinking about adding a wind mill to our landscape - maybe a couple of solar panels to the roof. I’ve scarcely paid a bit of attention to my electric bill in the past ten years. It comes. It gets paid. What else can I do? We need to turn on lights and run computers and do the laundry and cook dinner and charge our toothbrushes. I’ve seen the meter man come creeping around.
But suddenly, the idea of reading my own meter seems a bit of fun. The idea of a windy day generating more than fallen branches all about the yard sounds thrilling. The sunlight decreasing both my supplemental vitamin D intake and my electric bill? Outstanding.
Significantly reducing my carbon footprint? Priceless.
I read somewhere that visiting the giant wind farms in Europe is almost a spiritual experience. High on a hill, the constant hum of the earth’s energy being harnessed, the wind mills turn and turn and turn. I imagine it is a grounding experience, a visceral connection to the earth, the sound, the sight, the feel of the wind blowing.
Sustain the planet, sustain oneself. I like the idea of that and if I manage to follow through with this dream and install a small wind mill on my hill in Fly Creek, I might just plant the kids' pinwheels all around it and create a spiritual center of my own.
Last year, when we visited China, our guide told us the older people are highly distraught when they have to leave their homes and take up residence in high-rise buildings. Traditional Chinese homes are built at ground level, the rooms surrounding a central courtyard. Many of these homes, some centuries old, have been destroyed as the country modernizes and their residents relocated to apartment buildings. The older generation is ill at ease living ten stories up. They believe that after each meal, one must walk slowly with one’s feet upon the earth. Strolling through the hallways is not enough. Contact with the earth is essential.
This idea has stuck with me. And though we are just coming out of the long, dark months, the months when I would need that windmill to work overtime, I have held on to this idea of walking slowly with my feet upon the earth. We returned from China last year on the first day of spring. Slow walks around the yard with our children were an emerging possibility. And we walked. First slowly - then ran and laughed and played frisbee and searched out crops of mushrooms under the pine trees and baby bluebirds in their nests and wildflowers in the unmowed field. We heard phoebes calling and peepers singing, saw fireflies lighting the garden. I understand. Walking is not enough. Contact with the earth is essential.
Sometimes I think about how things have changed. Buying water in a bottle seemed absurd when I bought my first at a street vendor in Rome thirteen years ago. Now I have a hard time drinking a glass from the tap. When we were kids we ran water full force when we brushed our teeth. We were reminded to turn off the lights, but we didn’t recycle. Green was a color, not a lifestyle.
Taking care of the earth was second nature to our great grandparents. I hope it will be second nature to my children too. But it won’t be easy. Despite Earth Day, despite recycling and composting and weekly visits to the Farmer’s Market, we live in a consumer world
And so the windmill, so the dream of the sun lighting our way both inside and out.
At the moment, it is just an idea – something to talk about on a long roadtrip. Our property has not been evaluated. We haven’t looked into cost. We know very little about incentives and nothing about the electrical grid.
But I do know this. The earth is good for walking upon. With a little extra effort, my footprint can be small.
I am fully onboard with creating a sustainable planet – at least in my mind. While my practices don’t always reflect my intent, I try.
Lately, I have been thinking about adding a wind mill to our landscape - maybe a couple of solar panels to the roof. I’ve scarcely paid a bit of attention to my electric bill in the past ten years. It comes. It gets paid. What else can I do? We need to turn on lights and run computers and do the laundry and cook dinner and charge our toothbrushes. I’ve seen the meter man come creeping around.
But suddenly, the idea of reading my own meter seems a bit of fun. The idea of a windy day generating more than fallen branches all about the yard sounds thrilling. The sunlight decreasing both my supplemental vitamin D intake and my electric bill? Outstanding.
Significantly reducing my carbon footprint? Priceless.
I read somewhere that visiting the giant wind farms in Europe is almost a spiritual experience. High on a hill, the constant hum of the earth’s energy being harnessed, the wind mills turn and turn and turn. I imagine it is a grounding experience, a visceral connection to the earth, the sound, the sight, the feel of the wind blowing.
Sustain the planet, sustain oneself. I like the idea of that and if I manage to follow through with this dream and install a small wind mill on my hill in Fly Creek, I might just plant the kids' pinwheels all around it and create a spiritual center of my own.
Last year, when we visited China, our guide told us the older people are highly distraught when they have to leave their homes and take up residence in high-rise buildings. Traditional Chinese homes are built at ground level, the rooms surrounding a central courtyard. Many of these homes, some centuries old, have been destroyed as the country modernizes and their residents relocated to apartment buildings. The older generation is ill at ease living ten stories up. They believe that after each meal, one must walk slowly with one’s feet upon the earth. Strolling through the hallways is not enough. Contact with the earth is essential.
This idea has stuck with me. And though we are just coming out of the long, dark months, the months when I would need that windmill to work overtime, I have held on to this idea of walking slowly with my feet upon the earth. We returned from China last year on the first day of spring. Slow walks around the yard with our children were an emerging possibility. And we walked. First slowly - then ran and laughed and played frisbee and searched out crops of mushrooms under the pine trees and baby bluebirds in their nests and wildflowers in the unmowed field. We heard phoebes calling and peepers singing, saw fireflies lighting the garden. I understand. Walking is not enough. Contact with the earth is essential.
Sometimes I think about how things have changed. Buying water in a bottle seemed absurd when I bought my first at a street vendor in Rome thirteen years ago. Now I have a hard time drinking a glass from the tap. When we were kids we ran water full force when we brushed our teeth. We were reminded to turn off the lights, but we didn’t recycle. Green was a color, not a lifestyle.
Taking care of the earth was second nature to our great grandparents. I hope it will be second nature to my children too. But it won’t be easy. Despite Earth Day, despite recycling and composting and weekly visits to the Farmer’s Market, we live in a consumer world
And so the windmill, so the dream of the sun lighting our way both inside and out.
At the moment, it is just an idea – something to talk about on a long roadtrip. Our property has not been evaluated. We haven’t looked into cost. We know very little about incentives and nothing about the electrical grid.
But I do know this. The earth is good for walking upon. With a little extra effort, my footprint can be small.
4 comments:
What will Bobo say? Will he let a windmill mar the view from the mancave? Miss you guys!
Hi,
It was a good post on "Earth Day".
Many of us are aware of the changes being made to our climate causing weather patterns to severely alter around the globe but what are the major factors attributed to this anomaly? One of the major factors to Global warming as it's called is the emissions of Carbon Dioxide from power stations still burning fossil fuels.
The solar energy is clean , consistent and available most of the time.
Outstanding, Nini!!
Hey Bohler family, I have to say that was very inspirational to read! The pics of Cate are beautiful - what an awesome family you have! :) Here's to being green :) Cheers, Kelly Harris
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