A Little Noise

Culture is a way of living. Some ways of living have lasted unchanged for thousands of years, and some are products of very recent discoveries. The 8th Annual Renewable Energy Roundup and Green Living Fair in Fredericksburg, Texas, highlighted a number of these, from the ancient art of wattle and daub construction, to the modern photovoltaic panel and low-wattage LED lightbulb.

The fair covered a full city block. We went mostly because of a passing interest in making biodiesel, which appears to be pretty easy to do and costs less than a third of current gas prices. We also visited booths about wind and solar power, collecting drinkable water from rainfall and from dehumidifiers, and building supplies made from all sorts of surprising materials

Considerable industry was driven through simple non-electric means for thousands of years – and I’d call this more attractive than a landscape draped with power poles and electrical lines any day.

We found a method of transportation that uses no oil and has eco-friendly emissions (or at least the originals did, and they’d keep the lawn trimmed and fertilized for you too).

According to these folks, recycling is all fine and dandy, until you begin subjecting criminals to nasty chemicals, at which point it becomes cruel and unusual.

This is the kind of public transportation I’d like to see in my city.

Seating might be a little cramped for some of you 6’+ folks. Guess you shouldn’t have eaten your broccoli when your mother told you to.

Texas is an ideal place to take advantage of the power of the sun. The kids got to make solar ovens out of pizza boxes, plastic wrap and tin foil (in the photo you can just see a couple next to my right hand). It takes a little longer than a microwave to make s’mores with this method, but then again you don’t get to sit around on the grass while waiting on the microwave either.

Since Fredericksburg has a strong German heritage, it was necessary to sample some German beer. That’s a Spaten Oktoberfest, for those of you keeping score at home.

If, like me, you don’t really like beer, you can just purchase a pair of beer goggles instead.

After you’ve spent all day dragging yourself around to all kinds of boring booths talking about renewable energy, it’s nice to have a little down time.

We like to order the catch of the day.

One (or two!) should always use the buddy system.

Keeping it up close and personal.