17. Grid and Bear It?
Grid and Bear It? Some people are born scientists: when they were lying on the backseat of the station wagon on family trips, gazing up at the rhythmic rise and dip of the overhead wires, they wanted to know how they worked, what they were for, where they were going. Others are born to be English majors: they used such opportunities to recite a nursery rhyme or go to sleep, developing a bit of curiosity only somewhere in middle age. Conversations between the two types (English major and scientist) at the latter stages of life might ensue, and the English major might actually learn something useful. English Major : (petulantly) Why do I need to know about the grid again? Scientist : Energy is everything, absolutely everything we do, buy, use, eat, wear, watch, drive, Everything. And if we want to reduce our CO2 output to levels necessary to lessen the chances of climate catastrophe, we will have to change a number of ways we use energy. This will involve electrification of tasks t