The Value of Energy
Have you ever thought about the value of energy? Yeah, I know that you may have thought about it every time you stop at a gas station and put $$$ in your fuel tank just to drive a few hundred miles before you have to do it again.
I remember having to wait in line to put fuel in my foreign-built, fuel-sipping pickup…thinking that it is NOT FAIR that oil companies have control over my life. I was sitting in a line of gas hogs needing to be fed, when I could have been riding my old bicycle to work and back, which would have been healthier for me.
Thirty-plus years later, while writing this blog, I am reflecting on a conversation I had last week with David, a state-trained energy auditor living in rural Missouri. We were waiting in the food (energy) line at his family’s church, talking about how much energy their small church was using on any given day. He had served in the U.U. Army for several years (our bonding point) and could not find a job when he joined the civilian work force.
Taking advantage of his veteran benefits, he took some available training to become a certified energy auditor. David told me about the tools of his trade and his job with a state-funded agency that helps area residents save energy by better insulating and weather sealing their residence. Just as our food was being served, I realized that my fellow veteran was doing a great service for our state and the Ozarks. I invited him to attend ONE 3 Oct. 7-8 to help in communicating the message, SAVE ENERGY!
Why should we save energy? I know that our nation has enough fossil energy to fuel the world’s population for another century…let my great-grandchildren worry about all the fossil fuels I have burned in the many vehicles and homes I have owned over the decades of my life. It is not my problem. The tree huggers who are crying about too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causing global warming is NOT my problem…I can tread water with the best of them!
Oops, I AM a tree hugger! When my wife and I bought a small farm near Humansville, we decided to build our retirement home. Painful as it was, we cut down several hardwood trees to build our new home. We designed it to be as energy efficient as possible using the current best technology available at that time. The remaining trees shade our home in the summer, and we get passive solar heating in the winter. We heat with the wood we harvested from the trees we sacrificed when building the home. But is this enough?
I am going to invite my new friend to do an energy audit on our 12-year-old home. He will put a fan in one of the entry doors and then check for air leaks using his array of leak detection tools. He will use his infrared detector to check for heat (or cooling) escaping from our home. I expect we will save enough energy to pay for his audit in two months. That is a bargain in my checkbook! Energy has value, and saving energy is $$$ in our pockets and will give my great-grandchildren enough time to keep from treading water during their lifetimes.
Are YOU a tree hugger?