Still Obsessed with Noise Issues

    It's all a trade-off, isn't it? I don't like the noise of the washing machine, but I'm willing to endure it for the unmistakable convenience of doing my laundry at home. I will forego the convenience of the heat pump not to have continual motor noise in the house, but I will put up with the occasional starting-up noise of the refrigerator to be able to keep my food cool. Convenience, noise pollution, economy, environmental concerns—balance one against another, and another pops up.

    A heat pump is an efficient way to heat the house and is probably more environmentally suitable than burning with wood, even with a stove that heats efficiently with little pollution, because there is always some smoke. On the other hand, what runs the electrical power that runs the heat pump? Pacific Power uses coal, and even though I participate in its blue skies program, I'm not sure I've offset the use of coal that powers my heat pump. Hard to tell.

    And burning with wood doesn't pollute just from the smoke. A gas-powered chain saw cut down the tree, and even if were a tree already dead, am I not depriving birds and insects of homes and food in that snag and depriving the soil of the rotted wood that enhances it? Probably my two cords of firewood a year don't make much difference in those ways, but it's all a matter of balance. Years ago I read of an old woman in some poor country who walked miles each day to gather her firewood, and how she has to walk farther and farther every year. If "everyone" heated with wood, we, too, would soon run out of wood to heat our homes. Since we heat our homes with electricity, are we still being careful of use, overuse, and balance?

    I'm pretty sure I'll be glad to have the heat pump to cool the house in the too-too-hot days of summers. But which electrical appliance takes more energy, the heat-pump cooling system or the electric fan I used to run for hours during those days?

    It's such a balancing act: work, convenience, air pollution, noise pollution, heat, cooling, the needs of other species, carbon footprints, economy, personal needs, public responsibility. I think there is a way to stay in balance, but the balance must always lean in favor of the environment if we want our conveniences and pleasures to continue.