solar

I'm going to order a portable solar panel to charge my cell phone. They start at $13.00 but I'm going to buy the $24 model since it takes less time to fully charge it.

It seems like a novelty item right now and possibly more for entertainment value, but I could use this solar panel for a hell of a long time. Plus, who knows when the price of energy is going to start going up? Not that charging my cell phone puts a dent in my electricity bill or anything but it's a feeling of independence that I could charge a small electronic and be out in the middle of nowhere...off the grid.

I tell ya, after reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded I'm left with severe eco-anxiety. Before it's always been in the back of my mind. For example, having some type of alternative energy like solar panels or a mini wind turbine for my home in the distant future would be the coolest. If I did it I would go all out and want to be 100% off the grid, and maybe even feed the grid. Obviously a small wind turbine would be difficult in the Portland Metro area, getting a permit for it would most likely be impossible. But my mom's house in The Dalles could totally use a wind turbine. The wind there would totally make it worth it. The initial cost of the wind turbine is cheaper than buying solar panels at the moment. I was reading on treehugger.com and there is a little wind turbine called the Skystream 3.7. The google search on it had prices from $5,000. A full on solar panel set up is way more...

Enough of my daydreaming. I should go to bed and have sweet dreams. In the meantime I think I will have fun using my new solar panel when I get it in the mail.