Solving problems is something that we all do everyday. If we are clever there is a bag of tools that we reach for when problems come our way. We do not just take one tool and apply to all problems as ˜the” solution. We use the best tool for the job at hand.Global warming is the problem that will require a large toolbox. This box will need to be full of all different kinds of tools for use in dealing with problems that we have never heard about or even thought existed.These tools run the gamut from low to medium and high-tech. Some of these tools have been around for centuries – we have just forgotten that they existed or how to use them. Many others have been invented within our lifetimes of our parent’s. The new ones that are already here are amazing and the ones on the way seem to be right out of a ˜Star Wars” movie.Low-tech ideas can include using heavy quilts as drapes. They will help to insulate your home in summer and winter, reduce your energy use and giving you a smaller carbon footprint. A very old one is using a terra cotta plant vase as a refrigerator. You take a large terra cotta vase and turn it upside down in a tray of water with the hole in the bottom plugged. Under the vase you have a stand that you can set something on that you want to keep cool. Place the whole unit in an area out of the sun but with some wind. Since the terra cotta is porous the water will be pulled through the material and evaporate thus using evaporative cooling to reduce the temperature inside the vase. Milk was kept fresh using this method for days.There is a series of books call ˜Foxfire” which details many low-tech ways of living. Walking instead of driving the car is low-tech. The ultimate low-tech method is to ˜turn-it-off” when you are not using it.http://www.foxfire.org/prodFFbooks.htmlMedium-tech (I don’t know what else to call it) is everywhere including things like compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy saving refrigerators and washing machines and using LCD televisions and computer monitors instead of the old CRTs. All of these will provide an immediate reduction in power bills and help to combat global warming.High-tech includes solar cells, which are now being used by many people as well as major corporations. The power they generate is sold back to the local power companies, with the power companies being required to buy it back and at a fair rate. Windmill farms, generators using ocean tides and nuclear power plants are all with us today. On the horizon are spray on photocells for your roofs and walls and paints with nanoparticles that alter their color with changes in sunlight and temperature.A good general rule for the future is “Low Tech Rules”. Use the lowest tech level that you can to get the job done.
Think Global – Act Local!
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