things have gotten a little crazy here in juneau. spring is prime avalanche season in town and this year the drama is quite personal--for all of us. ten days ago, an avalanche knocked down one of main hydro-electric power lines. the line is high above line and difficult, apparently, to maintain. so the ENTIRE city--around 30,000 people--is now being powered by diesel. that's right. diesel.
i'm kind of surprised a cloud of exhaust hasn't started to hover over town. but it also means the rate of energy has jumped 447%.
needless to say, we are no longer drying clothes or thoughtlessly leaving lights on. we unplug everything and turn the water heater off. the fridge is at the lowest setting.
but its not just us. amazingly, the entire town dropped its usage by 20% in the first few days after the disaster. the town is sold out of clothespins and drying racks. fred meyer's has every-other-light turned off. the public library switched off its "express elevator." the mayor turned off the time & temp sign downtown.
its incredibly hopeful to me. all of us pitching in is actually making a significant difference. we're doing all these things that we should have been doing anyway...but the money is the motivator. and while that's kind of gross, it is incredible how the town is really working together to reduce usage.
(photo from the juneau empire)
