This sudden onslaught of summer weather brings out the downhome Texas roots in the girl - drinking iced tea (with mint from the garden) out of a big ol' Mason jar, saying "tar" instead of tire, "farstone" instead of Firestone (I use these words in particular because of a spectacular tar, I mean, tire, blowout in the pickup yesterday), closing up the blinds and shades to keep the dadblasted sun out of the house in the middle of the day.
We kept our oil bill down this past winter, even though it was a colder winter and the price of oil was higher, by dint of keeping the thermostat on "freezing" most of the time. We wore lots of layers, used quilts to wrap up while reading or watching TV, and tried to keep moving as much as possible. It's much more difficult for me to be hot than to be cold, so I don't know how long we can keep our summer climate-control resolutions. Namely, to use the AC as little as possible. Right now it's in the mid-nineties, and with the heat index factored in feels like the high nineties. So, Mason jars of ice tea and lots of fans happening here. Could I do this if I were really still in Texas? Hmmm, don't know - it would take extreme devotion to principles and immediate access to a swimming pool. Is a swimming pool environmentally damaging?
We're doing this not just to keep utility bills at a sub-astronomical level, but to try to do our infinitesimal, antlike bit to slow the planetary climate disruption, also known as global warming. While I was researching some stuff, I came across this article in The Green Guide, The Cutting Edge of Cool. It gives lots of information on AC systems and options, incliding this, the one we are going for:
"According to Energy Star, cooling accounts for nearly half the energy used by the average home during the summer.
Ozone Depletion
Conventional refrigerants are carbofluorocarbons (CFCs) that deplete the ozone layer. Today there are a number of less-harmful-CFC and non-carbofluorocarbon refrigerants.
Cooling Options
The most efficient and environmentally friendly option is to not use AC. There are a number of low impact strategies for keeping your house cool. Since the discomfort of a hot day is often the result of the house absorbing heat, keep the heat out and keep the house ventilated.
No AC
• Fans use 90% less electricity than AC.
• Shades help keep heat out of the house: keep them closed during the day and open at night.
• A ventilated attic lowers the temperature in the house.
• Open windows allow for cross ventilation.
• Trees on the west side of the house can provide shade, cooling the structure."
So, any of y'all who haven't yet done this, please click on the StopGlobalWarming link in the sidebar and sign on to the Virtual March on Washington. It's amazingly fast and easy, and maybe in the end it will do some good.
3 comments:
I don't believe in air conditioning in the Pacific Northwest. No matter how hot it is during the day, it almost always cools down significantly at night. If we open all the windows and run the fans all night, we can cool off the house plenty by morning. And with the dry kind of heat we have here, all you really need to do is find some shade to sit in to get out of the worst of the heat. We are lucky, I know. Back where we used to live (in the Midwest) the high humidity made summer a whole different ball game. Lisa :-]
Great article!! I'll be looking for more on The Blue Voice!! :)
That Happy Chica,
Marcia Ellen
hope you were safe when that "tar" blew..... judi
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