Good Manners Richard Perez I learned manners from my parents. High on their list of good manners are consideration of others and responsibility for one's actions. Good manners such as these allow us to coexist and cooperate with others. In all our relationships with people, critters, and our planet, good manners benefit us all. Cleaning up our mess Burning dead dinosaurs have gotten us into big environmental troubles. We have made a global mess. We are sloppy energy eaters with very bad ecological table manners. Good manners dictate that we consider all that lives on our planet and stop making a mess. Then we must clean up after our century long fossil-fuel feeding frenzy. Renewable energy sources do not have the pollution of combustion or the deadly legacy of nuclear waste. Nature freely provides us with abundant energy in the form of sunshine, wind, and falling water. We must change our concept of fuel. Instead of waiting for our power to molder underground for eons, we can graciously accept Nature's gifts as and when she offers them. To refuse these energies is the height of bad manners. Our environment is dependent on the good manners of all living here. We have been unspeakably rude and crude to our planet and all lifeforms on her. We owe our world an apology. We must change our bad energy manners. Using renewable energy sources is no longer a matter of technology and money. It is a matter of changing attitudes and entrenched interests. Of good manners... Instead of fighting over the mess Burning dead dinosaurs has gotten us into big political troubles. There's something about concentrated wealth that brings out the worst manners in humans. Contrast the concentrated ownership of fossil and nuclear fuels with sunshine, wind, and water. It is difficult to imagine "cornering the market" on sunlight or going to war over the wind. Renewable energy sources are free and democratic. If we use these natural power sources, then we have one less reason to make war on each other. War is the worst of all possible manners. War denies all consideration of others and refuses responsibility for despicable actions. We can be responsible for ourselves! Living beyond the power lines is what got most of us started. It wasn't until we lived with RE systems, that we appreciated the freedoms associated with good manners. Good manners allowed us to live and work where we wanted, even if the location was impossibly distant from the power grid. A renewable energy system now costs less than one-quarter mile of new utility power service. Land without utility service is still less expensive than land that is grid connected. For thousands of home power users, having the good manners to accept Nature's gift has allowed us to afford our homesteads. Many systems also electrify home-based businesses. The types of businesses, their size and profitability, are like any American business. All these home businesses lack is the power bill, the commute bill, and the office rent. Everything from magazines to turbines to soap to flutes is being made with home power systems. It is very good manners to support one's self without harming others. What we have learned from using these systems makes renewable energy applicable and effective anywhere. Even if you now rent your energy from a utility, you can practice good manners by using power wisely. Efficient appliances like compact fluorescents, efficient refrigerators, and solar hot water heaters give their users lower power bills. They also lessen the pollution produced by nonrenewable energy sources. Some of the energy wasters we've uncovered are so simple as to be comical and so thoughtless as to be disgusting. Consider the case of phantom loads. Phantom loads are appliances that appear to be off, but instead are really still alive and sucking up electricity 24 hours a day. Check out the clock in the microwave, the instant-on, remote-controlled TV, and the clock in the VCR. Good power manners mean not wasting electricity on trivial and useless applications. I can wait 30 seconds for the TV to warm up, how about you? Want a statistic to show you the insult of phantom loads? Consider that the average American household supports 1.45 kWh of phantom loads per day. America's phantom loads waste enough electricity to completely power the countries of Greece and Vietnam with enough left over for Peru. Such is the depth of our insult to others. Good manners at our table are to take all you need, but please don't waste any. From responsibility comes dependability Independent renewable energy systems are self-contained, naturally-sourced, energy cells. Each supplies, and is cared for by its users. Natural power sources are harnessed locally. The energy is both site-produced and site-consumed. Renewable energy sources, particularly photovoltaics, are magnitudes more dependable than centralized power generation followed by wide area distribution. Here is, indeed, a formula for responsibility and dependabilityÄboth very good manners. From dependability comes self-sufficiency Making your own power is the energy equivalent of growing your own food. Life is an inherently vague process. Today one may be in good health and employed. Tomorrow one may be sick and broke. A renewable energy source offers freedom from rising power costs and monthly power bills. Make your own power, become energy independent, and use free, nonpolluting, sustainable, peaceful, and dependable energy sources all at the same time. Good manners include each of us bringing our share to the table. Good manners allow us freedom Those with good manners are welcomed and at home anywhere. If we were to improve our manners, then we would find a very different world welcoming us. We would find a world that is cleaner, more peaceful, more free, more dependable, and more self-sufficient. Such a world is a fitting home for generations of well-mannered children to share with multitudes of critters and plants. Home power people are not rocket scientists or millionaires or Zen masters. If we can practice good manners, then anyone can. Nature is asking us, "Please?" It is good manners for us to reply, "Thank you!" Access Author: Richard Perez, c/o Home Power, POB 520, Ashland, OR 97520 ù 916-475-3179