Mules for Transportation here in Hampshire County by Sarah Purol
I have made reference to the fact
that in the quest for sustainable transportation animals would be a good option
to take a close look at. When we are
faced with a future where sustainability is a key factor it makes a great deal
of sense to remember that petroleum will be either very expensive or
unavailable and that has far reaching consequences.
We tend to forget how absolutely
dependent we are on petroleum products in our daily lives and the fact of the
matter is that we are going to have to live with a lot less of it…or perhaps
none at all.
What does that mean? It means there will be far less petroleum for
the following things:
Gas for cars. Diesel for cars. Home heating oil. Jet fuel. Asphalt for roads. Tires for vehicles. Plastics and composite
materials of various types. Fertilizer
for crops. Insecticides for crops. Certain types of medicine and cosmetics. Packaging for various items. The list is so long it would take the rest of
the page and…well…. you get the picture.
The main thing is of course
gasoline for our cars. When the crunch
hits…and that is coming very quickly…it will effect everything in a big way….and
we are not even remotely prepared for it.
We are so use to jumping in our own
personal cars to go wherever we want, whenever we want that we have
developed what I call a “transportation
entitlement” mentality.
Some of us will get electric vehicles
for personal transport and power them
from solar systems we have installed. I’ll
be watching carefully to see how well that pans out. Producing electricity with solar is a good
idea. So is producing electricity with
hydro systems and wind turbines. Using
electricity where you produce it is a good idea and I hope we can do that for a
long time into the future if we are smart and if we are lucky enough to be able
to manufacture and fix the components we need to keep the systems running.
But transportation using EV’s? Well..lets just say I’m not as confident
about that at present. For one thing,
cost is a big factor. For another thing,
the batteries are not so good at present…although that could change. I may yet jump on the EV bandwagon and put up
a solar array.
I’ve lived without electricity or
running water in a 3rd world country for two years as a Peace Corps
Volunteer so I’m not as worried about going without power as some folks
are. I suspect my husband will have to
have a solar array to be happy so I’ll probably leave that to him.
Some people are looking at alternative
fuels. You would think that with WV’s
history of moon shining and concurrent love of cars, there would be quite a
number of good old boys riding around in vehicles they had modified to run on
ethanol. Not so. BTW, I’m a good old girl myself and my
grandfather kept his 15 children alive for a period of time in southern WV
making the best moon shine whiskey in 3 counties so don’t think I’m picking on
the hillbillies. I are one and
proud of it!
Wood gas? Haven’t seen it even though these hills are
full of free wood if you have a friend with a plot of land and you have an axe
to go get it.
Algae? Not around here folks.
So…what are we going to do when the
gas runs out? And what are we going to
do when we can’t get the mechanical components from half way across the country
or world to fix whatever mechanical vehicle we have managed to either buy or
hobble together? Maintenance folks…maintenance! Just think what a headache it is now when we
need a car part and someone to fix our car!
How about mules? That’s right.
Mules. Now just take a minute and
think this through with me.
That is one thing we could
do around here. It could be affordable
for most people. It is certainly
sustainable.
Mules can be ridden and can pull a
buggy. They can plow.
Why mules rather than horses? Here are some reasons why I think I would
rather have a mule.
Mules endure heat better than horses do.
Mules have fewer feeding problems than horses do.
Mules eat less than horses do.
Mules rarely have hoof problems.
Mules excel in physical soundness.
Mules live longer productive lives than horses do.
Mules can more easily than horses be handled in large
groups.
Mules have a strong sense of self preservation.
Mules are surefooted and careful.
Mules incur fewer veterinary expenses.
So do I have mule yet? No. I
don’t have a place to raise one either but I think I might need to get a little
more active working on that.
