A couple of weeks ago, I went to the premiere of a documentary called
Escape from Suburbia at the Lethbridge Public Library with Chryslyn and a few other friends. The film talked about how society and our lifestyles, as they are now, are not sustainable, and the idea that we are reaching "peak oil," meaning that very soon we will be see a decline in the number of barrels of oil the world is able to produce per day. The film questioned whether the global lifestyle we've become comfortable with will be able to be sustained long term, and suggested that we need to start making changes and downsizing. Can we keep shipping our food from far away places, or should we be growing more of our own with inner city community gardens? In a few years, will it still be affordable to buy strawberries in December, roses in February? As we reach peak oil and the demand becomes greater than the supply, oil prices will inevitably rise, which in turn will affect the price of transportation, which will affect the price of any shipped products. Already, we watch the price of fuel skyrocket each summer. Do I need to start riding my bike more?
What about alternative energy sources? The film, while stating that they should continue to be developed, suggested that these other sources will never be able to meet the energy needs the world has come to rely on at this point. It suggests that mega-cities such as New York and L.A. simply aren't sustainable in their current form.
An interesting, and somewhat frightening subject to ponder...
With all of this in mind, and with gasoline prices at all-time highs again this summer, I've started to think that new technologies for vehicles really are "smart." Chryslyn's aunt and uncle are part-owners of Energy Smart in Lethbridge, a business that sells geothermal heating and cooling systems for homes. For an extra $12,000 added onto a mortgage, a person building a new home can have a heating system that eliminates the need for natural gas and air conditioning. Although electrical bills go up slightly in the winter to pay for the pump, energy bills overall are drastically reduced because of the elimination of the gas bill. The system apparently pays for itself in 10 years (and maybe less if gas prices continue to rise).
They also sell energy efficient hot tubs that are designed specifically for the cold climate of northern areas such as Canada.
And most importantly, they drive a convertible Smart Car, which is really the whole point of this blog entry, because they let me take it for a spin on Sunday afternoon in the glorious Lethbridge sunshine. Amazingly, although it looks so incredibly small, while driving it, you have tons of leg room and such a huge dash board that you forget you're driving a small car (until you turn around and realize that the car ends right behind you). The car certainly isn't most peppy in the world, but maybe it's time we refocus what is important to us in this world.... Is it being the fastest in the present, or is it having a future? The car is a diesel and supposedly gets really incredible mileage. And despite not being overly peppy, it is a heck of a lot of fun to drive. Below are pics of the test drive, courtesy of my friend Kyle, who also felt we should have a photo of the Smart Car beside his (fuel-guzzling) Jeep.
Four of Chryslyn's relatives are visiting from Paraguay, so we had a BBQ with her extended family Sunday afternoon at her parents' house.
Part of the reason for the get-together was to celebrate the convocation of Chryslyn's younger brother, Sheldon, from the U of L with a History degree.
Chryslyn's mom.
Chryslyn and Rio.
Her dad...
Many gifts were handed out from Paraguay... I received some Paraguayan deodorant... OK, OK, I get the point! Yeesh....
