Date: 2006-02-25
To: WeÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre great alternative energy conservationists!
Miles today: 0.0

There¢s a lot of talk these days about energy. (I¢m not counting the news story the other day that GM sold a ton of new ginormous SUV¢s that get 3 miles to the gallon to a bunch of people who hadn¢t heard anything about the topic.) Well, It seems estimates have claimed we¢ve plateaued on oil reserves vs. discoveries, meaning, we¢ll need to ramp up alternative energy R&D. Become ¢less addicted to oil¢ according to The President of these United States. Yea right, let¢s just drill in Alaska¢s wildlife preserve.Hey, but no soapbox here. I love mechanized travel ¢ saved me many a mile on foot into many a trail town. And I look forward to a nice hybrid-convertible as soon as they engineer one that really delivers. That won¢t happen until companies start dreaming about what¢s possible instead of being a slave to the status quo. If they build it we will come. Oh, that definitely sounds soapbox of me. Sorry. But it got me thinking differently about how a thru-hike is a grand gesture of conservation.According to some scientist that had nothing better to do on the Science Channel, a large oak tree can produce enough oxygen for two families of four, an impressive feat! I started to wonder how much gas saved, ozone depletion avoided, air quality improved, highway litter vanquished from auto-parts not falling off our chariots would result from thru-hiking? One person, giving up driving for six months, that¢s a lot of carbon dioxide and stuff that never happens. A thru-hike may be a true-life grand adventure in a world that has long forgotten how to have one, but it also seems to be a colossal foray into the world of alternative energy. Maybe ¢Old World¢ energy might be more accurate? Some other scientist figured out that eating celery used up more energy from chewing that it delivered as human fuel. (Man, we need to get these smart tree and celery scientist redirected towards new energy advancements.) Maybe there¢s a real Dr. Emit Brown out there who can turn banana peels and flux-capacitors into motion lotion?People love cars because of the freedom they provide¢¦that, and they just love cars. I love my hiking shoes and backpack for exactly the same reason. They¢re quite empowering, don¢t you think? Imagine how much oil would be saved if everyone walked one day a week or didn¢t buy 3 mpg vehicles? I¢ve heard (from another scientist) that if we all would just keep the proper air-pressure in our tires, it would be worth more oil than what could come out of the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge of headline controversy. Amazing.Wind-power has sparked major debates with the ATC lately as they tried to protect our journey on the AT in Maine. That had to fill them with conflict. Solar power is now making great strides; a lot of U.S. companies are trading actively on the Stock Market daily. So, we¢re at least now pointing in the right direction. Now we just have to give those scientist an extra push to be brilliant, to dream great things. In the mean time, a few of us will decrease our car usage and ramp-up our foot travel. Hey, this weekend become a trailblazer yourself, instead of that Sunday drive, get your honey and go take a nice long alternative energy stroll through the neighborhood.