Seeing the Past and the Future along a Texas Highway
January 14, 2009
Over the holidays we loaded the kids in the car and made our way from Texas to a family gathering in New Mexico. It’s been decades since I last made that drive, so I wasn’t expecting the site that greeted us in West Texas. Expecting miles and miles of rugged and mindnumbingly boring terrain, we encountered instead the juxtaposition of the past and the future.
Across the expanses of cotton fields, there rose, side by side, oil wells and wind turbines. Little did I know that Texas is the country’s leading producer of wind energy and that I was driving through the second largest wind farm in the country. What I saw simply were hundreds of turbines spinning steadily while towering over still oil pumpjacks In short, a spectacular sight to give one pause. Read more
Clean Clothes, Clear Conscience
October 27, 2008
Awkwardly stringing a clothesline between a maple tree, the corner of the garage, and the basketball hoop a few weeks ago, I finally declared independence from the clothes dryer. In our recent move from inner-city D.C. to the Chicago suburbs, visions of sheets dancing on the line against a clear, Midwestern sky had filled my head, and finally I had arrived: my clothes were drying on the line.
A strange dream, you might think. Well, first take a look at the facts:
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From the Mission Field: Our AC Addiction
September 29, 2008
By Rick Burnette
These days you don’t have to drive too long before coming across a hybrid car. High gasoline prices are finally having an effect. SUVs are out and hybrids, as well as other high mileage vehicles, are suddenly very much in demand. We simply can’t afford the gas.
What about homes? Families are beginning to feel the pain of electric bills. Many, particularly lower income households in colder climes, are quite worried about how they’ll be able to pay the heating bill this winter.
But, from what I’ve observed in the South, folk haven’t yet reached the point of cutting back on their beloved air conditioning. To recommend as much would be tantamount to suggesting that Southerners stop drinking sweet tea. Read more
