When people here in the U.S. think of solar power, often the first thing that comes to mind is the costly and mysterious system of panels and batteries they imagine they’ll need to run standard household appliances and electronic gadgets. This misconception is convenient for the fossil fuel industry, which depends on our continued reliance on their products for their continued success.
Here in the high desert of far west Texas, we have one of the sunniest, driest climates in the country - and yet many people still overlook all the excellent opportunities we have to employ the power of the sun passively – without spending a cent on panels.
After hearing acquaintances speak of purchasing new clothes dryers and witnessing college students, tourists, parents of small children, and others stuffing quarters into the barely-functioning units at the Laundromat, I became inspired to try to raise public awareness of the elegant simplicity and beauty of clotheslines through a kind of “happening” which combined performance art and public demonstration.
As part of the 10.10.10 international day of climate action, I organized “Big Bend Clothesline Appreciation Day: The Miraculous Clothesline Revival” by establishing this blog to raise awareness about the inefficiency of electric dryers and encourage folks to try using a “solar powered laundry drying apparatus” (clothesline) instead. Wearing a costume inspired by Ama the Hugging Saint, I put up a clothesline in downtown Marfa, Texas and offered to free hugs to anyone willing to be wrapped in a warm towel dried in the sun.
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