Energy efficiency
I am complaining a lot about that it is cold in the houses etc. Of course when you have been biking the whole day, you are soaked in sweat, in addition your body is really low in energy at the end of the day as it is very hard to keep the energy up, so you really feel you want a warm room and a hot shower. But I sometimes feel like a wimp compared to the average Ukrainian!!!
But of course the Ukrainians are really talented in saving energy, and they are a hardy lot. People sit outside and play games or drink, a lot of the bars still have their outside tables (in November!). Other ways of saving energy is that they travel a lot by bus, not even the farm family I stayed with had an own car. Also they do a lot of hitch-hiking so the cars are full of people. I was a bit surprised the first times I saw properly dressed ladies in the fifties waving down cars. My understanding is that hitch-hiking in Ukraine normally comes with a contribution to costs and is not a free ride as it is in most Western countries. I mentioned before that there are hardly any or very weak street lights. etc. etc. So in the end they are just better adapted to a society after peak oil.
Men playing domino.
The vodka (or gorilka as they call it here) is perhaps another secret. I guess it is in a way an inteligent use of bio-energy. Ethanol is very concentrated energy (that is why you can drive cars on the stuff) and a shot that is swallowed whole without doubt make you feel warm for quite a while. Adding new shots througout the day possibly keep you warm. I still haven't learnt how to do it without falling off my bicycle. Looking from another perspective, perhaps improvement in housing could play a role in combatting alkoholism. I wonder if it did that in Sweden?
Surprisingly there seems to be NO development of normal biofuels (I now mean other bio-fuels than vodka) in Ukraine. One would imagine that with such abundant land resources and limited own energy sources there would be an interest.
But of course the Ukrainians are really talented in saving energy, and they are a hardy lot. People sit outside and play games or drink, a lot of the bars still have their outside tables (in November!). Other ways of saving energy is that they travel a lot by bus, not even the farm family I stayed with had an own car. Also they do a lot of hitch-hiking so the cars are full of people. I was a bit surprised the first times I saw properly dressed ladies in the fifties waving down cars. My understanding is that hitch-hiking in Ukraine normally comes with a contribution to costs and is not a free ride as it is in most Western countries. I mentioned before that there are hardly any or very weak street lights. etc. etc. So in the end they are just better adapted to a society after peak oil.
Men playing domino.
The vodka (or gorilka as they call it here) is perhaps another secret. I guess it is in a way an inteligent use of bio-energy. Ethanol is very concentrated energy (that is why you can drive cars on the stuff) and a shot that is swallowed whole without doubt make you feel warm for quite a while. Adding new shots througout the day possibly keep you warm. I still haven't learnt how to do it without falling off my bicycle. Looking from another perspective, perhaps improvement in housing could play a role in combatting alkoholism. I wonder if it did that in Sweden?
Surprisingly there seems to be NO development of normal biofuels (I now mean other bio-fuels than vodka) in Ukraine. One would imagine that with such abundant land resources and limited own energy sources there would be an interest.
Kommentarer
Postat av: kari
well - well,I belive that keepig the houses warm helps people to drink less. I also think it is part of the culture, so even if the houses could be improved, it would take a generation or two before you could see any changes. In Sweden drinking increases among young people, could be because they are too much outside, no don't belive so.
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