Solar Energy: Don’t Leave Home Without It!
Are you going on that summer holiday in August? If you plan on staying at a five-star hotel on Oahu, then please do not read this post. If you are planning on getting out of the city but want to stay connected, then you should read on about how solar energy can help make your trip easier.
I just came back from a glorious vacation with the family. We couldn’t get enough of the fresh air, the vistas and just the immense and penetrating beauty that the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion have to offer. And the kids were especially happy that we could stay connected.
You may enjoy the hiking or admiring the views, but you need to remember that the kids want to be able to use their electronics even when the nearest outlet is miles away. And in an emergency, you don’t want to look down at a drained cell phone. This risk is especially acute when you are using a lot of energy on your cell phone to take pictures. Then you need to make a telephone call and you may not have enough juice on your tablet or cell phone. That is no problem. Just connect your telephone or tablet to a solar backpack and you can stay connected.
The National Park Service is using solar energy for remote toilets. The small solar panel can power the fan, which provides a less “natural odor” in the back country. In some national parks, there are solar, composting toilets in the backcountry.
Solar bags are also a great way to start a conversation with people from all over the world. Some days it seemed like we were meeting more people from Australia or even China than from the United States. They all want to know about what those solar panels you have on your day pack and whether there is enough power for a laptop. If you want energy just for a telephone, think small, but a small solar backpack is not going to power your laptop.
We stayed in the lodge in Zion and the kids were happy to power their electronics with old-fashioned power from an electrical outlet. We don’t have much television or cable at home but the kids became addicted to the new Discovery program, Naked and Afraid.
Two strangers, a man and a woman, have to survive in the wilderness for 21 days. They meet as they say au naturel, not a shred of clothing and they have to figure out how to satisfy their most basic needs (no, no that, I am talking about food, water and shelter—this is the Discovery Channel).
They each are allowed one item, so you would think that they would take a flint to start a fire and a knife. Those are probably good choices for a survivalist. But if you asked my kids what they would take with them in the wilderness, right towards the top of their list would be a solar backpack. That would probably be the best choice for them, because I think that they would have a rough time of it, 21 days in the wilderness. It would be much better to have a solar bag and a cell phone and get out of there as quickly as possible.
Enjoy the remaining summer days and don’t forget to bring your solar energy with you.