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Merry Month of May(be)
Warmer weather is on the horizon, I felt it today! I actually walked to the pharmacy without a jacket, vest, hat or gloves! I was tempted to wear flip-flops, but I’m not quite ready for bare toes. It may even be warm enough to pretend I’m going to finish cleaning up the yard. But, by way of procrastination, LOML and I went to Quinte West on Saturday to attend the Bay of Quinte Home Show. At the show, the Reliance Rep sang out to us and suggested it might be time for LOML and I to have our air conditioner serviced. She was quite horrified when we told her we don’t have central air conditioning. We do have two upright rolling units, but rarely use them. We use them so infrequently we often have to dig out the operator’s manual to get them started. Of course, they’re two different brands so we have to dig around in the booklet bin or search online for operating instructions. Before we do use the air conditioners we always have a lengthy discussion about whether or not it’s really necessary to cool things down in This Old House. Goodness knows, if it isn’t edging up to 40 degrees, we have “the discussion”. It isn’t so much about the direct cost operating the units. I’d like to say it’s more about the cost to the environment. Truthfully, LOML and I have become acutely aware of how the climate has changed in the fifty-plus years we’ve been hanging out together. Things have “warmed up” a bit since we first met, if you know what I mean.
It really isn’t simply about the use of the rolling air conditioners. As we drove to the Home Show, I was gob-smacked by the number of vehicles on the road. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic for much of the drive to Quinte West and the same on our return to the County. Of course, the bulk of the vehicles seemed to be headed into the County. The funny thing is, many vehicles seemed to be occupied by just the driver with no other visible passengers (perhaps, in the trunk—JK). I often think, “Geez, three thousand pounds of steel and aluminium and glass and plastic and oil and exhaust, rumbling along with one person inside, to what end?” I’m as guilty as the next person. This was just a light-bulb moment. I was kinda-sorta embarrassed by our easy acceptance of excess, entitlement and by how little we seem to be concerned about climate change issues. We, like a lot of you, are all talk-the-talk. We blather on about all of the good things we do to keep our existence environmentally friendly, but I seriously doubt we are even close to doing enough. A lot of us aren’t taking responsibility and, instead, laying the blame directly upon the biggest offenders—the manufacturers, the massive factory farms, the oil and power corporations, etc. The obscenity is that we don’t see ourselves as part of the big problem and as part of the big change necessary.
On one hand I think, “If LOML and I were younger, and in the mood to build a home, we’d want to make sure we implemented all of the energy conserving devices possible in the build and in the process.” We’d definitely want to make our “carbon footprint” as tiny as possible. On the other hand, whenever we’ve researched the cost of doing so, or retrofitting our current home and checking the impact off-grid devices actually have on the environment, we’re blown away—and not by a wind turbine, but the cost. Our personal answer is to be more vigilant about our expenditures, our input, our output and our resource consumption. What are we buying? Where was it manufactured? What is it made of? Do we really need to buy that particular thing at this time? Could we buy something similar which is in good, used condition? Can we barter for our needs? When it’s time to replace our current vehicle, is it time to consider a hybrid vehicle? Or should we just skip the car altogether and go back to walking everywhere, or riding our bikes?
Ah, the Merry Month of May. Bring on the warmer weather, but not global warming. LOML and I will air dry the laundry. We’ll mulch the yard waste. We’ll compost the kitchen scraps. We’ll recycle as much as possible and trash as little as possible. And, since it is the Merry Month of May, LOML and I will toast our favourite “Mom” (me) with a glass of local wine.
P.S. No, I don’t want to carpool with you. But thanks for having faith in me.
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