It seems that people are learning to be more energy smart gradually. Conserving energy in our homes and driving is very worthwhile.  Even though oil prices have come down to half of their peak in mid-2008, we know that they could go up again in a hurry.

My vehicle is a large Yukon, which is great for hauling things.  Unfortunately it does not get great gas mileage so I have trimmed the number of trips I make to the office as much as I can. The fuel budget has been helped by that strategy.  I would get a smaller car, but this baby is pretty useful for carrying loads and large groups of people on a trip.

Several years ago we put in extra insulation in our home, and we use a whole house fan to reduce the amount of air conditioning we use.  When we hear so much energy talk on the news, it does have the effect of getting us to at least think about ways to cut back on energy usage.

Imagine the wasteful expenditure of energy in fighting a wildfire, with Diesel for fuel-guzzling choppers, planes and trucks.  Also, think about all the gasoline used by folks vacating their threatened homes.  I found some discussion about wildfire prevention and other fire safety issues at the Minutemanfire site.  Even when fire buffers had been created, homes with tile roofs have been destroyed in fires, surprisingly.

Rebuilding a fire-damaged home likewise utilizes energy that would otherwise be saved, a further link between fires and energy usage.  We may not think about it much, but in fact there is a connection between fire prevention and conserving energy.

Filed under: General Interest

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