new hobby?

Those of you who have the misfortune of having to consort with me in an offline manner, already know that I have developed a preoccupation.... no.... infatuation with the idea of free energy and alternative fuel sources. This arises from my intention to eventually move to africa and use subversive, anarchic methods to save the world from certain destruction. A few of you have unknowingly aided my obsession with your links to sites dealing with the subject.

Since my landlord dropped off the dehumidifier (the newest weapon in the seemingly futile war against basement leakage) I have been pondering the issue of water conservation, and taking a cue from my friends in monrovia. In stead of throwing it out on the lawn, the dehumidifier water has made its way to the bathroom where it will augment toilet consumption, and I currently have an experimental solar still in the backyard. I've placed some pails outside to collect rain water.... a seemingly pointless activity given our average rainfall.... but I've done it nonetheless.

The magazine that my friend lent me has confirmed what I've been suspecting for sometime, that my respect and love for God ought to affect my approach to the environment and use of its resources. I've read through the majority of the fairly thick mag and the various articles have encouraged me as well as providing me with lots of new ideas. My brain is brimming with internal diagrams, topics to look up, experiments to perform, you name it. information overload, really, and most of that information is incomplete.

The point is this, that the degree of careless waste in my life is quite high, and I ought to be at least trying to live a little more responsibly. I have friends living in refugee camps, for crying out loud, who routinely run out of clean water before the sponsor money comes. Who am I to run it all down the drain? I would be ashamed to have those friends over for the weekend, to see the excess in my life.

I think most of us agree that spirituality is not all meditation, prayer, and fluffy theologizing..... it also has a lot to do with the nitty gritty boring details of life in general. How can I mistreat the planet simply out of convenience and not feel that mistreatment somewhere in my own soul?

So.... I am pondering some lifestyle changes. Part of me thinks I'm headed for failure.... I can hardly keep this house halfway liveable... but I guess not trying would be the bigger failure. The matter has become an issue of conviction, whereas before it was merely an issue of obligation.

I will formulate a plan. I will approach it as an adventure and a challenge. I will imagine that my mother has said I can't succeed, and that statistics show she's right.