the lure of wealth: fossil fuel fast

In my attempts to get off the fossil fuel addiction, Im working on 2 strategies:

1. less or no automobile use

2. heat the house with "alternative means"

The first one is coming out of my Lenten discipline of sleeping by 10, awake by 6. Im ramping it up to include a walk to the train (at Temple U) in the morning, which gives me even more time to get present and listen before the workday begins. Plus I get to see interact with parts of my neighborhood that Im apt to drive through than walk. Even today I had a brief but sweet interaction with a guy sticking his head out the door remarking on the cold weather. We agreed to disagree, kindly. Not driving my truck around keeps me from being addicted to going wherever I want whenever I want as fast as I want.....depending on my two feet, and SEPTA keeps me disciplined to a schedule, and keeps me in touch with the heartbeat of the city. plus its so much cheaper.

The second phase of the fossil fuel phase out plan is two fold:

2a. Install an EPA certified wood-burning stove. My pal John just put in a stove and he cooks his place out. Its going to be some bones to get it rolling, but nothing compared to my gas bills every winter, and we keep that thermo at 60 degrees! PGW is going to have a lot to answer for one day, to a lot of people. The great thing about wood is that with the right stove, most of the environmentally harmful exhaust gases can be reburned to add more heat, and keep the smoke out of the atmosphere. Plus wood is a renewable resource, and ill be getting all of my wood from salvaged sources (pallets, construction scraps, wood flooring contractors, fairmount park commission, etc) Hmmmmm, Ill need my truck for this...compromise.

2b. This is the new cool part im pretty excited about. Build and install a solar "heat grabber", which is nothing more than an airtight box, with a plexiglass top, black painted aluminum backing, some insulation, caulk, some scrap 2x4s, and a cheap fan and thermostat. check out these links. you can build one for about $100, and it provides free solar hot air throughout the winter, even on some cloudy days.