Exploring reality and artifice in the Saturday New York Times

Two articles in today's New York Times underscore the difference between perception and reality in more ways than one. On the hand, there are abstractions; political talking points, statistics with little if any context, and outright lies. On the other hand, there is cold, harsh reality.

For people living in rural Maine, the reality is very, very cold right now. One family on extremely hard times is a retired couple on by the name of Robert and Wilma Hartford. The Hartford's are on disability, making a bad situation even worse. Dan Barry of the New York Times reports:

Heating oil currently averages $3.71 per gallon, and that doesn't include delivery charges. To add insult to injury,  the Obama administration and Congress have trimmed the energy-assistance program that helps the poor — 65,000 households in Maine alone — to pay their heating bills. Eligibility is harder now, and the average amount given here is $483, down from $804 last year, all at a time when the price of oil has risen more than 40 cents in a year, to $3.71 a gallon.

That adds up to about $350 a month just so that homeowners can prevent themselves from freezing to death. And it's not as if the oil delivery man is getting rich off the endeavor, either. Ike Libby, owner of hometown energy, confesses that he would sell his business in a heartbeat to be a store greater at Wal-Mart.

Are we going to use 19th century technology to heat our homes?

Seriously, he said that.

That's the reality. Fossil Fuels aren't cheap: they're expensive. Many alternatives are more affordable that the status quo and would help, rather than hurt, our economy. Thermal solar systems could save homeowners in cold weather climates hundreds, even thousands of dollars every year.

The savings wouldn't stop there. Fewer oil deliveries to far-flung residences would mean less diesel. Less diesel and less oil would mean fewer oil tankers making deliveries.

Or we will enjoy the comforts of the 21st century instead?

The savings continues. Less oil and diesel exhaust means less particle matter in the atmosphere. Less particle matter means fewer heart attacks. Fewer heart attacks means fewer ambulance trips to the hospital. Not only does the ambulance use diesel fuel, but that life-saving medication that the paramedics give you to keep your heart from killing yourself? That's right, it comes from oil!

But that's not the analysis that the New York Times--or any other mainstream news source--chooses to pursue. The Grey Lady saved that ink and paper to "analyze" the political implications of the nation's unemployment rate that had just "fallen" to 8.3 percent. It's almost farcical to hear Mitt Romney and company complain about high unemployment--a problem that wasn't on the Grand Old Party's radar until January 20th, 2009. A problem that has was caused by and has been exacerbated by Republican policies.

But the article implores you to keep reading. Obama might win, he might not. Check the polls. But it's early. Check back again later. Keep reading your daily paper. Follow us online. Stay tuned after this commercial break.

The artifice of the news cycle never ends. It's not so much a cycle as a continues stream of horse manure. Occasionally, that manure does fertilize the soil of news into something that is actually newsworthy, and we learn about the Hartford's.

We can do our best to stop the lies. In this case, any homeowner who pays for heat in the winter (just about any of us) can benefit from a solar heating system, even in grey New England. Some companies, like Sunrise Solar in Vermont, specialize in geographic areas in which there is little sunlight in winter. Maine Solar is another example of an organization that tailors to the needs of local residents.

Said the wise man: "Be the change you wish to see."

It's worth noting that a solar system need not replace one's entire heating system, but can simply augment it. If the solar panels only heat your hot water to 100 degrees, your furnace won't have to use nearly as much energy as if it were heating 40 degree water.

If one of us embraces the future, well, that's one person who's saving some money and helping out the environment. If a dozen of us do it, well, than we might even establish a trend.

And if we all do it? Then we've solved a very big problem.

What are we waiting for?