10 days and counting

We are in our 10th day of power outage from the ice storm and I took a walk yesterday to find out about how our power arrives to our home, a convoluted path through the woods to a larger line, then to larger lines in a complicated incoherent grid. I was pleased to find that there were no obvious defects in the neighborhood, and so there are more than just us on this line waiting for repair. We hope we are not forgotten. Our electrical system is a remnant of the great depression, and the efforts of another Democratic president, FDR, to restore the American economy which collapsed in the stock market crash of 1929 and following a period of senseless, irresponsible investment on Wall Street. They say that which you don't remember, you tend to repeat, and at some point, you would think we would learn from the lessons of history and make new mistakes rather than the same ones over and over again.

Here in Arkansas we are set up for continuity of the dark ages. If you invest in a grid-tied solar or wind powered system that has the potential for helping to save the environment you can save some money, but not be paid when your generated power exceeds your needs and puts energy back into the system. That is a strong deterrent to investment in local power production. That is something that State law needs to fix, but the same power coop that is working hard now to restore power, also works hard at the state legislature to protect the status quo.

In 1995 power transmission losses through the power network were 7.2% of power produced, which means that a significant cost is incurred in global warming just to keep wires humming over long distances.

Sometimes history repeats itself because of our stupidity. Sometimes we repeat history out of wisdom and vision. It is ironic that Obama's first FEMA disaster declaration was Northwest Arkansas with our antiquated power distribution grid, shut down by a random distribution of ice. Part of Obama's investment in economic recovery should be to localize power production, increasing efficiency and resiliency in our network. We can produce our own power on rooftops and hillsides, eliminate the transmission losses and build a more secure future.

For our children's future, however, we need to think beyond the electric grid and consider their hands. We know they need to be engaged in learning and making, and yet, as a nation, we take no action. But we can take matters in our own hands. Take a kid and introduce him or her to the joy of making, cooking, planting or making music. Nursing and caring for others is good, too.

Parents during the crisis found going without power to be very challenging for their kids. No games. It is a shame that we have engineered their lives to be so dependent when they could be learning self-reliance and the quiet within which the best ideas take root and grow in the imagination.

Today in the Clear Spring School wood shop, the 5th and 6th grade students will be working on puppets, and the high school students will be working on the boat and starting to make a table of elements for the study of chemistry.