No heat for now
With the exception of our electric space heaters, our heat will not be turned on ahead of schedule, according to the city government. I have mixed feelings about this. Of course, I would like to be warmer, but knowing that the manner in which our collective heat is produced (a coal furnace down the street), I'm not looking forward to the coal-stained winter days ahead.
The other night I after washing dishes in cold water in my still-unheated kitchen, I thought to myself, Once my brain stops chattering i will get all self-righteous about my small carbon footprint. I know that the heating restrictions are to conserve resources, like coal. And I am free to plug in all the electric heaters I like, provided I want to bear the burden of the electric bill.
Nearly every year in the US around this time we would be wondering whether to turn down the thermostat and dress more warmly in the house to save money. I wonder if we would ever have considered to turn off the heat entirely until some arbitrary date (like November 15 as dictated by policy of the city of Beijing) or until after five consecutive days of very low average daily temperatures (like 5 degrees C, again, as the policy of the city of Beijing). I doubt we ever would. What remains to be seen if we ever will once we leave here.
The other night I after washing dishes in cold water in my still-unheated kitchen, I thought to myself, Once my brain stops chattering i will get all self-righteous about my small carbon footprint. I know that the heating restrictions are to conserve resources, like coal. And I am free to plug in all the electric heaters I like, provided I want to bear the burden of the electric bill.
Nearly every year in the US around this time we would be wondering whether to turn down the thermostat and dress more warmly in the house to save money. I wonder if we would ever have considered to turn off the heat entirely until some arbitrary date (like November 15 as dictated by policy of the city of Beijing) or until after five consecutive days of very low average daily temperatures (like 5 degrees C, again, as the policy of the city of Beijing). I doubt we ever would. What remains to be seen if we ever will once we leave here.
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