With the rash of winter storms that have hit Canada lately, urban dwellers are experiencing some of the power uncertainty that is part of country living.
City folk take electricity for granted.
In the country, brown outs, black outs, even week-long power outages are commonplace. Rural property owners may have hydro on their land but that's no guarantee they will have electricity when they need it. Many of Canada's most beautiful cottage areas are too remote for affordable hydro. Cottagers regularly look for alternatives to electricity. Ironically, the space race and NASA may provide practical solutions for these energy problems.