Power

I remember one summer sitting at home (I wasn't working at the time) enjoying the lazy days of summer. It was hot out, and humid. I think I'd lazily rolled out of bed around 10ish, plugged in checked the e-mail and headed upstairs to watch some TV, at least for a bit, I mean hey it's summer, and my last real summer before I started working so I was allowed not to think. Eventually the stomach started to rumble so I headed for the fridge, to see what I could forage. No sooner had I stood up, but the screen when black and house went silent. The power went out. So I thought to myself: "All right, I can handle this, I'll go get a book read for a bit. Wait and see if it comes back on." I settled back into my chair and began to read. My book wasn't particularly engaging and I tired of it quickly. I searched my options: go outside (it was raining), sleep (it was broad daylight, and I had just go up.) find something else to read. My mood was more than a bit restless, and so I opted to head into town, maybe hang out with some friends, socialize you know interact.

I could see the garage well enough (ut had windows) and cooling walked up to the garage door opener and pressed the button. Nothing happened. I pressed the button again. Still nothing happened. I looked up at the opener and cursed under my breath, everything looked ok, it was plugged in and.... oh wait the power is out. Even my car, with it's own delightful independent power source was trapped inside. I had to rustle around the garage to find an implement suitable to releasing the override before I could even begin my journey.

It may be a silly story, but it proves a simple, and not always obvious point: We need power; we need it and we are dependent on it.

How many times has the power gone out in your office and you've had to try to figure out what constructive activity you can undertake with no computer, printer, minimal light, and likely no phone. Even our phone numbers are now stored electronically (thank you outlook). At night or during hot or cold seasons we are at the mercy of the electrons. At we cower in corners, or huddle together for warmth. Even looking something as simple as a meal can be a challenge, especially if you have an electric stove. Prolonged power outages can be devastating, economically and in terms of human lives: think back to the Ice Storm '98. What if the 2003 North American black out had lasted days or worse occurred in the middle of winter?

Power, energy is an undeniable part of our way of life; it is necessary for our governments to function, our economies to run, for us to carry out our day to day life. It is integral to our survival as we know it.

Power and it's generation are key factors in an sustainable future and must be addressed.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/energy/rise_nuclear.html