This Covid business has put a damper on travel, especially travel abroad.  Nevertheless,  let’s take a moment to visit a young couple sipping coffee and sharing croissants at a sidewalk café just blocks from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  Then let’s stop in for a cup of tea and Hobnob biscuits with Gram and Poppy in their English garden by the Thames.  Up for an idyllic hike through the Swiss Alps?  We can join Hans and Elina for a hearty tramp.  Otherwise, we could circle halfway around the globe to Japan for a picnic with the Takahashi family in their cherry orchard. 

        Ahh!  A mini-virtual tour and nary a hint of scarcity or deprivation.  What may be surprising is that the contented folks in these scenarios, on average, use far less energy than you and I do in the U.S.

        Yup, according to worldbank.org that young French couple and the Takahashis annually use about half (per capita) of the energy that Americans use.   Gram and Poppy use only about 40% as much and Hans and Elina a thrifty 30% as much!  Indeed, the average Joe or Jane on earth uses only about one quarter of the energy that Jack and Jill in the U. S. use.

        Something’s out of whack here.  One might presume that the luxury of using almost four times as much energy as the average earthling should make Americans four times as happy – Not!  A recent international survey ranks Americans as the ninth most content people in the world.  Clearly, folks can lead happy, fulfilling lives using far less energy than we do here.

        We now know that much of our energy use contributes to the atmospheric pollution accelerating destructive severe weather events.  And what a summer for those!  Even so, for many of us the knee-jerk response to the concept of reducing energy use implies sacrifice, deprivation and loss of “the good life.”  Hans and Elina would disagree; there’s plenty of good living happening around the world with the thrifty use of fuel.

        We could be thrifty too!  The tools to greatly reduce energy loss, increase energy efficiencies, and transition to clean energy sources are at hand.  It will mean change, but it doesn’t have to mean deprivation.  Let’s make that change and protect the only home we’ll ever know, here where we’re all forever… Earthbound.

        Wanda turned off the news.  “Droughts, deadly heat waves, record forest fires and on and on.  I wish I could do more about the climate problem, but I’m just one person.  What can I do?”  Wanda  muttered to herself as she fell into a fitful sleep.  Little did she know that 4 spirits* would answer her wish that very night.
 
        “Wanda Doomore?” whispered wispy Jen Urrate. “You could have a home energy audit and then install the recommended efficiency upgrades and/or solar panels.  Both are now so affordable that most folks can finance these home improvements and actually have LOWER combined loan & energy monthly payments than they currently have.  Check out Legacy Solar Co-op.  It’s offering a solar ‘group buy’ deal in your neighborhood right now!”**

        With baseball cap askew, Lefty O’Vers visited Wanda next.  “Hey Toots!  That day-old stew you threw in the trash tonight is going to rot in a landfill and spew methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  Ya can’t be just tossing out perfectly good leftovers!  And don’t be fooled with ‘best by’ and ‘use by’ labeling.  That usually just refers to the peak freshness of the product, not its safety,” Lefty wagged his willowy finger.

        A droopy eared, wet nosed, shaggy spirit visited Wanda next. “It’s all just clever marketing!”  barked Kane Niene.  “Did you ever smell the disgusting stuff I find to roll in and eat?  Dog foods advertising ‘Beef Dinner’ or ‘Lamb Stew’ and such are appealing to the human buyer, not the dog.  We could care less!  Gimme the stuff that’s lower on the food chain - poultry, eggs and cheese, and I’ll gladly wolf ‘em down.”

        Finally, “OK, call me Mr. Obvious if you like,” moaned the fourth spirit, “but we all just need to drive and fly less.  Combining errands, taking public transportation when possible, sharing rides with others and only flying for infrequent special trips will not diminish anyone’s life.  Many find that less can indeed be more,” advised the elfish Les Ismorre.

         Wanda sat up with a start!  “Weird dreams!” she muttered to herself.  Then she remembered the wish she made before drifting off to sleep.  “Hey! I got my wish!  I really can do more.  And why wouldn’t I?  Because this is the only home I’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”

*Courtesy - Yana Pashaeva                   **LegacySolarCoop.org

        Anita D’Side slipped into the Y-Go-By Tap to get out of the blazing sun and cool her parched throat.  “We’ve got to do something about this climate business,” she murmured to herself.  As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting she spotted her old pals, Wanda and Dee, in a corner booth; a lively debate was underway.

        “We’re never going to reach our clean energy goals without a huge expansion of the electric power grid,” Wanda Biggstuff stated.  “One of the marvels of the 20th century has been the electric grid.  It connects centralized power generation facilities and distributes the energy where it’s needed.  Now, we just need to make it bigger!” argued Biggstuff.  “We’ll expand the system and swap out the fossil fuel generators for clean energy sources.”

        “Girl, you’re living in the past!  If you haven’t noticed, we’re well into the 21st century.” countered Dee Versiffie.  “Switching to a diversified energy generation, storage and distribution system is the fastest way to reduce our use of greenhouse gas-emitting fuels.  And, it’s more secure, creates local jobs, and doesn’t require all that expensive infra-structure.”

        Anita listened as the two argued back and forth until finally, “Ladies please!  Don’t you think that perhaps you’re both right?  Don’t we need both systems?” Anita asked.
 
        “Well yes,” Wanda admitted. “We do need both systems, but here’s the rub.  We’ve got to transition away from fossil fuels – and fast!  While doing so, one of these systems will surely become the dominate model.  And that will set the stage for how we create and distribute energy for decades to come.  So it’s critical that we choose wisely.”

        “And as we transition, we have to keep in mind both the jobs that will be lost and the new career opportunities it will create,” Dee added.  “It’s an exciting time.  We can build a new world that gives everyone their fair slice of the pie while we put the brakes on climate change.”

        “Golly, it’s hard to decide which way is best,” Anita D’Side declared. “Heaven knows we can’t just keep pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere willy-nilly.  So while this gets worked out, each of us needs do our part by finding ways to reduce our energy use RIGHT NOW.  Because after all, this is the only home we’ll ever know.  It’s where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”