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helwenIf you have the right type of walls and the right type of screws, a person can hang pictures one-handed :) In this case, plaster and hi-thread... yes, I could have asked L to do it, but he's busy with all the two-handed stuff, like washing dishes and feeding cats (can't open cans).
I haven't posted any energy or environmental things in a few weeks - been a little pre-occupied by my own life.
So, here's a thought. More and more of the U.S. is having to deal with drought, and it looks like much of it will be long-term. Some of it can be dealt with by water rationing, but as we're seeing with Georgia and points south, there's a limit to how much that can stretch out limited resources. Has everyone read about how Atlanta's going to be dredging the lake, trying to get the mucky stuff clean enough to be safe to drink? And without rain, even that will be gone shortly. Over 4 million people live there -- how realistic is it to ship drinking water in? How long before people start moving from places like Tucson and Phoenix, Atlanta and other dry places to wherever there's more water? We've all seen how easy it was to get needed supplies down there after Katrina and Rita -- I was one of many liaisons from the north sending supplies to some SCAdian folks in GA, who were then trucking stuff into Alabama, etc., to help out, because FEMA and all the other emergency/red cross/mercy corps/etc. just couldn't get to everyone.
Now, a drought is less urgent in some ways than recovery from a hurricane, of course. But as it continues, some people will eventually give up on living in these places and move. It'll probably be a few years, but ii will happen. That's a good thing actually, because then the limited resources of those places will be less strained. But the question is, how does this then affect the places that currently have more water?
Massachusetts has more water than Georgia, but even we have water restrictions in place in some parts of the eastern part of the state (some mandatory, some voluntary. Also one county in W.MA volunteered). What happens if a bunch of people migrate here? New England does all right overall, but what is the population is increased by 1/4? Or more? "Plenty" is a relative term, and so perhaps those of us who live in states with plenty of water should be just as thoughtful in our water conservation and storage as folks who live in the South/SW, and California.
One of the reasons my FIL is interested in installing a rain catchment system is that, even with the well and the brook, we still have a part of the year when there's a low supply. With rain water catchment, we'd have a buffer during the dry season. I liked having it in Holyoke, and the new owners are happy it's there as well. We only used it for watering the garden and some clothes washing, but it made a measurable difference in our water usage.
Some places I've read about only get rain for a few months out of the year. On the Riot for Austerity list, there's a few folks who have cisterns for storing this precious water, and they've figured out how much water they can use per month for the rest of the year. We're so lucky here in MA, that we don't have to do that -- what a luxury! My mother, who soaks regularly for her arthritis, wouldn't fair well in those stark places. But, she does have to deal with some restrictions -- she lives in CA. So, the bath water gets re-used in large part for laundry. Or watering plants. She's 79 years old and conserving where she can -- without endangering her health. So in the summer, the AC goes on when it gets into the 80s, and she just doesn't get as much done during the day for a while. Despite our differences of opinions on some things, I think my mom's pretty amazing in some ways :)
I'm not too worried about it this year, but I'm glad we're working on setting up additional water storage at the farm. Plus, since it's likely we'll get a place of our own again in a few years, it'll give us practice for building more catchment systems.
It's important to have some of your own local resources, be it food, water, or clothing. And I have to say, it's a pretty neat feeling to be able to say that something is locally produced, whether by me or one of my neighbors. Makes the rest of the news about our changing world a bit less scary.
Speaking of local resources, JMG reminded us at the conference that there's been a shortage of hops -- which could definitely be a problem for the microbreweries, which have less buying power than the big boys -- and we do have microbreweries here. He was saying that growing them isn't too difficult and explained how they did it at one place he was at years ago. I have the perfect spot in mind, but we'd need permission first, and then the soil would need to be worked and amended. Still, to be a local supplier... and hey, some more income isn't a bad thing. Altho' considering how rarely I drink, I think it would be pretty funny, being a hops farmer.
I haven't posted any energy or environmental things in a few weeks - been a little pre-occupied by my own life.
So, here's a thought. More and more of the U.S. is having to deal with drought, and it looks like much of it will be long-term. Some of it can be dealt with by water rationing, but as we're seeing with Georgia and points south, there's a limit to how much that can stretch out limited resources. Has everyone read about how Atlanta's going to be dredging the lake, trying to get the mucky stuff clean enough to be safe to drink? And without rain, even that will be gone shortly. Over 4 million people live there -- how realistic is it to ship drinking water in? How long before people start moving from places like Tucson and Phoenix, Atlanta and other dry places to wherever there's more water? We've all seen how easy it was to get needed supplies down there after Katrina and Rita -- I was one of many liaisons from the north sending supplies to some SCAdian folks in GA, who were then trucking stuff into Alabama, etc., to help out, because FEMA and all the other emergency/red cross/mercy corps/etc. just couldn't get to everyone.
Now, a drought is less urgent in some ways than recovery from a hurricane, of course. But as it continues, some people will eventually give up on living in these places and move. It'll probably be a few years, but ii will happen. That's a good thing actually, because then the limited resources of those places will be less strained. But the question is, how does this then affect the places that currently have more water?
Massachusetts has more water than Georgia, but even we have water restrictions in place in some parts of the eastern part of the state (some mandatory, some voluntary. Also one county in W.MA volunteered). What happens if a bunch of people migrate here? New England does all right overall, but what is the population is increased by 1/4? Or more? "Plenty" is a relative term, and so perhaps those of us who live in states with plenty of water should be just as thoughtful in our water conservation and storage as folks who live in the South/SW, and California.
One of the reasons my FIL is interested in installing a rain catchment system is that, even with the well and the brook, we still have a part of the year when there's a low supply. With rain water catchment, we'd have a buffer during the dry season. I liked having it in Holyoke, and the new owners are happy it's there as well. We only used it for watering the garden and some clothes washing, but it made a measurable difference in our water usage.
Some places I've read about only get rain for a few months out of the year. On the Riot for Austerity list, there's a few folks who have cisterns for storing this precious water, and they've figured out how much water they can use per month for the rest of the year. We're so lucky here in MA, that we don't have to do that -- what a luxury! My mother, who soaks regularly for her arthritis, wouldn't fair well in those stark places. But, she does have to deal with some restrictions -- she lives in CA. So, the bath water gets re-used in large part for laundry. Or watering plants. She's 79 years old and conserving where she can -- without endangering her health. So in the summer, the AC goes on when it gets into the 80s, and she just doesn't get as much done during the day for a while. Despite our differences of opinions on some things, I think my mom's pretty amazing in some ways :)
I'm not too worried about it this year, but I'm glad we're working on setting up additional water storage at the farm. Plus, since it's likely we'll get a place of our own again in a few years, it'll give us practice for building more catchment systems.
It's important to have some of your own local resources, be it food, water, or clothing. And I have to say, it's a pretty neat feeling to be able to say that something is locally produced, whether by me or one of my neighbors. Makes the rest of the news about our changing world a bit less scary.
Speaking of local resources, JMG reminded us at the conference that there's been a shortage of hops -- which could definitely be a problem for the microbreweries, which have less buying power than the big boys -- and we do have microbreweries here. He was saying that growing them isn't too difficult and explained how they did it at one place he was at years ago. I have the perfect spot in mind, but we'd need permission first, and then the soil would need to be worked and amended. Still, to be a local supplier... and hey, some more income isn't a bad thing. Altho' considering how rarely I drink, I think it would be pretty funny, being a hops farmer.
