 |
|
| September 1, 2008. Day 82 - Haines Junction, Yukon |
|
|
|
|
| Great night of sleep in a beautiful log home all by myself, getting spoiled
:) In the morning Cindi came by to say hi and ask if I wouldn't mind showing the solar car to some of the kids in the neighborhood. I thought it was a great idea specially since the mechanic repair shops were closed due to the long weekend holiday, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share the project with the local kids. We scheduled it for 11:00. It turned out to be a great mini event. Little Callun enthusiastically helped me uncover and position the solar car on the street, a no exit street, got the array set up at about 09:00nish. Thanks Callun for your help! Soon after the array was set up one the neighbor (Sue) comes out to say hi and take a look at the solar car. Right away she offered me some coffee, I am not much of a coffee drinker but on the tour I started to drink it. Sure, coffee sounds good :) - Talking about Coffee, it reminded me of a recent conversation I had with someone about globalization, coffee, imports in general and the environment. FOOD FOR THOUGHT! - should people who care about the environment drink coffee or consume imported food and goods? transportation issues, fair-trade, etc... A few minutes later another neighbor (Donna) comes out to see the solar car, she read about it on the newspaper. She was thrilled to see it in person. She had baked muffins and brought us some. A nice warm cup of coffee, yummy muffin and good company... great way to start the day. Slowly people start to arrive, neighbors called other friends that called other friends by 11:00 there was a small crowd of about 35 people, adults and kids. I spend a good hour talking about the car, the project and the tour, answering questions. It was nice to see everyone's enthusiasm. Haines Junction is a small town, everyone knows everyone. Angie (Sue's daughter) made a few phone calls to see if one of the local mechanics were at home take a look at the van's transmission but no luck, everyone were away for the long weekend. My best option was to wait until tomorrow (Tuesday). In the mean time, I was asking around to see if I could find a volunteer to drive the support vehicle to Whitehorse. Sue, who just moved from Florida one month ago volunteered to drive the support vehicle until Whitehorse. Yeah! I joined Sue and Angie for lunch, Sue was trying a new stir fried recipe. Hey, don't have to ask me twice, I enjoy trying new dishes and it was delicious, Angie's had made some cheese cake, it was fantastic! I've got to visit them again :) In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to spend time with Cindi, Dave and the kids and had dinner with them. They showed me the beautiful home they are building. Dave invested a lot of time learning about different construction materials, technology and the environment impact his house may have in the environment. The house is being build with tiles made out of recyclable tires, wheat fiber boards instead of drywall ( I never heard of wheat fiberboard before), energy efficient triple glass windows, energy efficient doors, compact fluorescent light bulbs, high efficient appliances, Japanese style hot tube (taller, it use less water), fireplace, etc... The house is a well thought-out project, it even has a climbing wall inside and a few other fun things built-in. As for electricity, Dave looked into solar and wind versus the local hydrate and decided hydrate would have the least environmental impact for his home since the local electricity is generated by hydrate plant near, at the moment operating below is capacity. Dave was very diligent in his research and learning how to build a house for cold climate. I suggested him to talk to the wonderful people from the Cold Climate House Research Center in Fairbanks. Dave and Cindi are one of the most environmental people I meet, leading and living by example. They invest a lot of thought on how their actions impact the environment. I noticed yesterday, when we meet on the side of the road for the first time. Cindi and the kids got our of their way to remove beer cans from the side of the road to proper dispose of it, well done! Dave have been working as a adventure guide taking people on canoe and kayak trips all over the world in remote areas like the Arctic, Greenland and other exotic places. He was telling me about a beautiful 200km bay in Greenland that disappeared due to a glacier meltdown. It is nice to be around people to embrace a green lifestyle. Hope other will follow your example. We need more people like you! |
|
|
|
