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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

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.
>
>
>
>
>
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