THROUGH MY EYES -- RON DAVIS

My wife was wondering why I didn’t lift a finger around the house over

the weekend. I gave her my amazed look. “Don’t you know there’s an energy

crisis?” I asked. She assumed that same confused look politicians get

when you ask them why they haven’t fulfilled their election promises?

“The governor’s asked that we conserve energy,” I continued. “I’m just

trying to do my part.”

“Not that kind of energy, you nitwit!” she fired back. “The governor’s

talking about electrical energy. You know -- like the lights and your

computer you never turn off.”

“What harm can I be doing?” I responded. “So it costs us an extra

couple of bucks. We can afford it, moreover, why should I worry about

conserving when some jerk leaves his lights on in the office all night?”

After I said that, I felt like I was going to experience my first

rolling blackout.

“You’re a power-pig,” she shot back. “You’re the reason we dam rivers,

pollute the air and pump warm water into the ocean.”

“Just because I leave my computer and bathroom light on?” I asked.

“That’s right!” she said. “It isn’t the dollar cost of electricity

that’s the problem. It’s the idiots like you who are too lazy -- no, too

selfish -- to conserve electricity, who force the construction of new

power plants.”

When my wife gets up a head of steam, there’s no stopping her.

“You know where power plants are built?” she questioned. “In places

like Huntington Beach -- right on the ocean.”

“But we have a power plant already,” I responded.

“Yes, and it’s expanding -- that means more environmental impacts --

because people like you won’t conserve electricity. And, we’ll have to

have more. That means even more impacts on the environment.”

She wasn’t going to let up now.

“Do you have any idea how much it costs to construct and operate those

plants?” she asked.

“Billions, I imagine,” I said.

“I’m not talking just about the dollars and cents, but the

environmental costs,” she continued. “Where do you think the energy comes

from to generate the electricity? Do you want more drilling for natural

gas and oil? Do you want our countryside blighted with these ugly plants

all because you’re too lazy to turn off your computer -- because you

won’t turn off the television set or stereo when you run to the store?”

“I never really thought of it that way,” I answered.

“Of course you haven’t,” she said. “The only electricity you’ve

conserved is the small amount running to your brain, and believe me, that

kind of conservation is not helping the problem.”

I had to admit she was right. I hadn’t been doing my part.

“So,” I announced, “I’ll go upstairs, and shut down the computer and

turn off my bathroom lights.”

“That will be a start,” she said.

“A start?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Grab the vacuum so that we can clean out all of the

dust from the coils of the refrigerator so it can operate more

efficiently. Then you can clean the filters on the heater. Right after

that you can adjust the thermostat on the hot water heater to 120

degrees. Next you can do a load of laundry, remember to always do a full

load and clean the lint filter in the dryer.”

“But,” I protested, “I wanted to watch a movie.”

“Great idea,” she said. “After you’ve done all that, you can movie

your big butt down to the store and buy some of those condensed

florescent light bulbs that save almost 75% on energy.”

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]