© Courtesy of The Irish ExaminerWe have "the sun".
Well, first things first: after all those donations, it's going to cost six thousand dollars, just so you know.
Sometimes we can talk about "sustainability and all" and then joke a little about money.
"Consider using wax paper instead of wrap," and you'll start looking for one, and you can wrap your house in wrap for the same price.
Since sustainability is often associated with "doing the right thing," we forget that some "sustainable" things are all about money.
So, doing something doesn't necessarily make you a "better" person than anyone else, just better than the version where you spent an extra six thousand dollars to go to the club.
So look, the money isn't coming. Solar energy, on the other hand, is a new experience. We received them in February.
Winter is a great time to get it because everything gets better. There weren't many on the first day. Enough sun to toast a sandwich.
But dawn came, and it was like 2001: A Space Odyssey, when the sun and the black monoliths goaded a monkey to kill his friend with a bone.
"Thus Zarathustra" echoed in my head as I felt the sun's rays fall on the panels. I put it in the dishwasher even though there was room for one more plate. His head was spinning.
I have an application that tells me how many panels are being created. So you better believe I'm obsessively checking. Mrs. Beaton does the housework better than him.
We have received the first invoice. It was 100€ cheaper and we received 20 for our excess. There is no such bank that gives the same interest for two months. And at the risk of sounding like a knob, I love the idea of our humble roof creating extra current for the grid.
Yes, a data center hosting an eight-hour review of a two-hour YouTube movie will most likely go down to zero. But I think sometimes my cotton balls go straight to the ER.
Of course I'm wrong. I should probably buy a battery, an electric car and… a big roof maybe someday.
I know I can do better because I'm part of a large group of people interested in solar energy and it's full of people who know their stuff. People are looking for clues on roofs, car chargers, batteries, plug sockets. If he could, he'd take the money from his family.
There are qualified people who install the panels themselves. Here I was with my few kilowatts staring at sixth grade algebra like a kid with pencils. I'm terribly jealous, but I admire their skills.
The app tells me I've already saved about half a ton of carbon, though the panel still has a few years to go before it's carbon neutral.
But I don't care because there will always be a "solar problem" title. But forget the previous material issues, stuff like that.
For example, if you spank yourself every now and then someone suggests slapping a rabbit (animal), isn't that better than slapping a donkey?
The BER rating has increased slightly. They still say too much carbon comes out and we have to spend $000,000 to install some more magic to replace the gas, but I don't think they consider the rigors of rural education in the 1980s coupled with the heat
But still the sun: it's not magical, not huge, but important.
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