Damn, Mel Gibson Got Here Before Me!
As Sartre’s character exclaimed in “Nausea”, “Things are bad! Very bad!”
Today I went out foraging for ice and gasoline. I went south, towards D.C., and stumbled upon an open gas station. I greedily filled the tank. I now have a range of 300 miles! I have heard, through the rumour mill, that there is a place called “The Great Valley”, many miles to the north, where people still have energy. I’m recruiting a team of lawyers, doctors, engineers, and ex-military to make the journey with me, to see if it’s true.
While I succeeded in scoring a tank of gas, I failed utterly to find ice. That’s right, ice! Here in America, the nation’s capital, and we cannot find the solid form of water! Congress, stop fighting and pay attention!
Seriously, this is getting bad. The temp hit 100 degrees again today. Pepco, our energy company, is telling us to relax, they’ll get to it when they get to it, probably a week from now. Stay cool, in other words.
Many have broken down and bought diesel generators, which make a hellish racket, 24/7. I have a better idea: why don’t we all slap solar panels on our rooftops, form a cooperative, and sell the excess energy to the folks up north? Yes, it would be a big investment up front, but, in the long run, wouldn’t it be “cooler”? And please don’t tell me it’s not “economical”. Maybe not with oil at $100 a barrel, but how about 3 years from now, when it goes to $200?
Rupert