Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - Re: [Homestead] Oil demand â?~rising faster than expe ctedâ?T

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Oil demand â?~rising faster than expe ctedâ?T
  • Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:53:20 -0800

Oh, I have to disagree, Gene. For starters, what I stated were facts gleened from folks who have worked at the plants. I spent 13 years living in the Bay Area and my Dad was there from 1950 til 1995. He worked for P. G. & E. in the electric and was in management. He knew the plants inside and out. Before Wilson and the boys did their deregulation and sold off the plants to Ken Lay and other folks in TX and PA, those plants ran on routines and ran quite well. We didn't have blackouts or even rollling brownouts in P.G. & E. controlled areas.

I also have cousins and my Dad has quite a few friends who work at the refineries in Crocket, Rodeo, etc. Take for example the fire a few years ago that was supposedly responsible for a price spike. They laid folks off and didn't call them back to make any repairs for two months! That is a manipulation, pure and simple.

Now, as to what folks are doing, well some of us are. We'll be going to SF in December and have already made the arrangements to get all the waste oil from a local restaurant.

Until then, we only use our vehicle for planned trips. So, for our once a month grocery shopping we leave at 5 in the morning and do absolutely everything we'll need to do for the whole month.

We just finished a purgola on the front of the house with shade screening which has already cut down on the use of power. Normally at this time of the year we'd be using fans in all the rooms. We've only needed them twice this year and only to cool off the bedrooms for sleeping. We choose the purgola with shade screening because we can remove the screening in the winter and this is the side of the house that gets the most sun and we don't want to reduce the heat value for the winer.

We are in the process of adding a screened porch on the back. This will also cut down on the summer heat and will also help with reducing loss of heat in the winter.

Since our local electric is hydro, we've converted to all CFs for lighting. Vehicles are tuned to an unth, tires checked weekly, all wood heat and by this winter we'll have on-demand water heaters.

Next year we are going to set up hydro-electric power for our well since we have a full-time stream within 15 feet. Don't ask, I haven't the faintest what he's worked out. Plumbing and water are his department. And it isn't about saving money because pumps only run about $8/month. It is simply about not using energy.

So, while you may "see" doom and gloom, perhaps what we are talking about is facing reality and working to prepare. And, since I know for a fact that the energy crisis was manipulated, those are accusations about "them," they are simply statements of fact.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene GeRue" <genegerue AT ruralize.com>

I have a problem with this and previous threads. Here I see lots of
doom and gloom. I see lots of accusations about "them," and the
sneaky, conniving or stupid--take your pick--things "they" are doing
to manipulate supply and therefore prices, which is the pain button
to which we respond most predictably.

With the major exception of James, I see very little "me" in the
responsibility area.

Are any of us really going to build some kind of home energy
production device? I doubt it.

We little guys can do nothing about the global energy situation. What
we can do is to plan and prepare for how we will live when gas prices
rise ever higher, to the point of financial pain. Like health, we
must take personal responsibility. It ain't about "them" or "they."
It's about each of us personally.





_______________________________________________
Homestead list and subscription:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
Change your homestead list member options:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/lurine%40softcom.net
View the archives at:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead







Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page