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| Reichenbach waterfall near Meiringen. The place of the last fight between Holmes and Moriarty. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
I use energy from http://www.ewr.ch/ in Meiringen near where Sherlock Holmes fictionally fell to his death with Prof. Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls.
They do a great job producing hydro-electric electricity. They sell this under the http://www.1to1energy.ch umbrella organisation for renewable Energy in Switzerland.
So why is using it wrong ?
When Great Aunt Clara gives you £10 to "spend on something sensible", standard operating procedure is to go to the pub, take it or another similar note out of your pocket and buy beer - It's what people do !
A few weeks later you buy a pair of socks. With a prick of conscience you think - " Aha - that's what I'll tell Great Aunt Clara I did with my birthday money."
Strangely this is not as deceptive as it seems because money is interchangeable - i.e. a £10 drinking voucher is indistinguishable from a £10 sock-buying voucher. Like it or not Great Aunt Clara is fully aware of this. What she means is - I would rather you were wise with your money but I love you anyway. Only when you give up beer - could Great Aunt Clara categorically deny she sponsors your drinking. - And Great Aunt Clara is lovely so that will never happen.
The same problem applies to renewable energy. As long as any part of the process of supplying enough energy to everybody involves digging up coal / oil / tar sands / shale or whatever, harm is done. It's a bit like the beer from Great Aunt Clara. Only when total demand is met by so called "renewable sources" can any individual user maintain they are not sponsoring "unsustainable" use.
This tells us that whoever we are and whatever we do - it is better that we do it efficiently - and this is why we at kWIQly do what we do!
Note1: we are kidding ourselves if we think we use is ever truly renewable - it's against The Second Law Of Thermodynamics ! - and that made the statute books long before man first lit a fire.
Note2: Great Aunt Clara actually reached 104 years - but then passed on before I was old enough to enjoy beer. Nonetheless, I did drink her birthday presents, and I also bought socks, because financial balances carry over from time to time just like Carbon Dioxide does !
Polite Request - If you find this message important please tweet it out or "like it" on facebook or do whatever else you do best.
