Being energy wise is becoming more and more a part of our culture recently. Conserving energy in our homes and driving is very worthwhile.  Even though oil prices have come down to half of their peak in mid-2008, we know that they could go up again in a hurry.

My vehicle is a large Yukon, which is great for hauling things.  Mileage is not so good, but I’ve cut back to making three trips to the office weekly whenever possible. The fuel budget has been helped by that strategy.  I would get a smaller car, but this baby is pretty useful for carrying loads and large groups of people on a trip.

We have tried to cut back on energy usage at home by installing extra insulation and double-pane windows.  The news stories do have some influence on our way of living, hopefully making us think about ways we can cut back with all the energy talk.

Imagine the wasteful expenditure of energy in fighting a wildfire, with Diesel for fuel-guzzling choppers, planes and trucks.  Also, think about all the gasoline used by folks vacating their threatened homes.  Check out the Minutemanfire website to see if there are other posts about preventing wildfires and their effect on civilization.  It is amazing that homes could be destroyed even with tile roofs and a swath where the vegetation had been removed.

Rebuilding a fire-damaged home likewise utilizes energy that would otherwise be saved, a further link between fires and energy usage.  We may not think about it much, but in fact there is a connection between fire prevention and conserving energy.