Green Energy

Wow, it almost felt liberal typing that title! ;-) Actually, I love the idea of green energy. The less oil we have to buy from terrorists masquerading as our friends, the better. My husband's dream would be to "get off the grid" and live on nothing but wind, solar, and/or hydro power. The idea appeals to me as well, as I hate paying money to utility companies!

California's got it gong on in regards to green energy. It was great to see it in action and working, people cooperating, and not just some theory you see on TV.

On the interstates of CA, we noticed signs for "Electric Car Refueling Stations." While I never saw the actual station, I can't help but imagine a traditional gas station with big extension cords instead of gas pumps. But these electric refueling stations were free for users; they were solar powered! I guess the state erected them, but after that, there isn't much cost to maintain them. Let me interject here how much Californians love their Totyota Prius cars! We saw them on the roads and in parking lots, and once we counted five in a row as we passed them by. (Maybe they were on electric energy then, going a bit slower?) So the jokes Jay Leno makes about Prius cars being everywhere are indeed accurate!

We also saw gas stations that sold LNG: Liquid Natural Gas. We rode in a taxi fueled by LNG, and had a big silver tank (like a keg) located deep in the trunk. The trunk still held all of our luggage, so I wouldn't say giving up storage space is an issue.

Most places we saw garbage cans sitting, we also saw recycle bins next to them. Most recycle bins were for plastic soda or water bottles, but some were for glass and aluminum as well as plastic. In the Dallas airport, we saw recycle bins for newspapers that had long, thin slots into which you could slip a used newspaper. (I noticed it was hard to retrieve them, so the newsstands could count on more sales once a newspaper was recycled.)

So, I'm trying to do my part. I've gone to the recycling office and gotten a 2nd recycle bin. On our cul-de-sac, we have a little informal contest to see who can put out the most recycling each Wednesday. Of course, my neighbors don't realize a contest is going on, so I usually win...