what can we do at home?
and by home i don't mean 'america's shores' i mean HOME like out back?
will bamboo be a viable replacement for wood in the woodstove?
should i replace the oil furnace with a coal furnace?
install a solar greenhouse?
install solar well pump, and hot water heating?
where do i start?
and cold frames and hoop houses..... is it better to get a commercial frame for a hoop house or diy?
coverings are plastic........which means petroleum you know.....that's fossil fuels....
is there any common sensed unbiased EASY to understand research out there ( there is overwhelming research but it's pretty complicated for me at the moment)
can we efficiently produce enough food and energy from our own waste products to continue a life? i don't want to live like the mega rich. i would however like to not toil until my back is broken every day.....is there a balance?
now the other thing is, how much can a little old lady like me do by herself...
bernie works so many hours, i can maybe get some help from him with making a cold frame or some raised beds and possibly doing a frame for a greenhouse.....but he isn't available for a lot of other stuff
so i need to figure how to do it all by myself.......
i think with a thoughtful approach and some strategic help it should be able to be done...right?
i am thinking that until we all are on the same page with renewable energy, and we are using it exclusively....... things are going to be a bit rough.....
i am also trying to wade through understanding solar...... i found a place that explained you need to find your daily kwh usage***....(ours apparently is 36, i don't know if that is high or not) *** i found it on our electric bill! you can call your electric company and ask them if you can't find it on your bill or at your account online with them***sorry donald
and then you figure a solar system based on providing that or a bit more so you can sell back
with goverment grants and tax breaks you actually end up paying about 30% for it
but either way, if there isn't oil to heat or fuel to fire chain saws to cut wood to heat..... having energy for free is looking pretty good no?
well anyway this is the thing that's been going on in my mind lately
in addition to maybe adding meat rabbits.....and more chickens
vi
ps: anyone know from experience with solar please please post here and tell me how you did it
PSS: hihi dorothy and her son
Hi Violet
ReplyDeleteyou need to share how to find out the daily kwh usage, can't just share that you found out about it and not tell us how, inquiring minds need to know...... lol
Thanks
Don
#1. Sorry, but I can't see you raising bunnies to kill and eat. So that would be a waste just buying them to start with. Besides, to raise them costs money too, and that's just more work for you in taking care of them.
ReplyDeleteI think solar energy or even having a windmill installed, if it would work, is a great idea. But both cost a lot of outlay in the beginning. But I guess you could start small and then build on it over time.
Good luck. :)
I agree with Sandy about raising bunnies for meat -- but I don't know if you have a hard time eating your chickens. Do you name them? I am sure you couldn't eat duck meat.
ReplyDeleteWe have been sitting here wondering if the tankless water heater actually is saving us money (aka energy) since to get hot water to the other side of the house (kitchen or powder room) or upstairs to the middle of the house (master bathroom or hall bathroom (above the kitchen), we have to run the water quite a while to clear out the cold in the pipe and get the heated water to wherever we are. How much water are we wasting and what does it cost in energy to get it clean and so forth. Sigh. Not sure it wastes more cold water than the tank heater did, which was in pretty much the same place. Maybe I'm just more aware of it.
In the meantime, I've been knitting carrots this weekend. Veggies, maybe fruit, and further maybe cookies and cakes will be for Max's birthday in less than a month. (I finished the Valentine gift for sister & BIL last night -- blocked today, with a fan on it to dry it, since it had to be on the bed where we sleep. It's almost done.) Do you know how many carrot patterns I have, between free ones and those in books I already have?