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 Sun Shines Again on Chez VidalPosted on Jul 28, 2007
Those readers who have followed the saga of Gore Vidal’s bid to harness the sun to power his house may be heartened to hear that the esteemed author has emerged victorious in his green-minded mission: Vidal’s solar system is back in working order. According to the solar power specialists who oversaw the installation process at his Hollywood Hills home, Vidal indeed did his part to follow the rule book in installing the system, which was activated in April but unceremoniously shut down in June, when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power came to inspect his setup. Thus ensued several rounds of bureaucratic shenanigans which pushed Vidal fully back onto the grid and spurred him to wonder just who owns the sun—as well as to challenge The New York Times’ recent take on the American public’s current level of interest in this crucial and renewable energy source. When his solar system was finally restored to full power in mid-July, Vidal had a few choice words regarding the aforementioned municipal utility: “I’m relieved to be back on solar power and no longer dependent on public utilities,” he said. “What funny words, as they’re about as private as you can get, and they like to think that they’re universal!” Vidal claimed that the DWP wreaked havoc on a perfectly functioning solar unit, which he pronounced to be “Wonderful! ... It’s the only time I ever felt free of a society which, I think, more and more people will want to feel free of. Once you’re no longer dependent on them for energy, you are free. So, it’s good for our spirits, it’s good for the environment.” Regarding his less generous critics from previous posts, many of whom gestured at his advanced age in order to question his grasp of technology or to cast him as an incorrigible curmudgeon or a witless fuddy-duddy, Vidal cheerfully retorted: “I have been actually accused of senility. Well, let me tell you ... I am in the springtime of my senility—a vigorous springtime! Jonquils are growing in my path. Watch out!” And after reading the New York Times piece downplaying the marketability of solar power, he composed the following response: “If this is literally true, what is the cause? It is certainly not the public’s indifference you confess; our imagination has been captured, as you admit. I suspect this disingenuous attack on an important form of renewable energy is as one with your usual veneration for vast monopolies, environment-wrecking projects and the like. But it is not wise, ever, to falsify a science or technology [about which] many of your readers know more than you do and where your advice in these matters is suspect. So cool off—there’ll be plenty of ice on Judgment Day.” Additional links: Click here to read about Germany’s Renewable Energy Law. Follow this link for information about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Million Solar Roofs plan. TAGS:
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Jump to Comments
By ---, August 12, 2007 at 4:57 pm #
I am happy for you, Mr. Vidal.
Keep speaking and fighting for the truth!
Christine Smith, Colorado
Report thisBy TomChicago, July 31, 2007 at 8:38 am #
Congratulations to you, Mr. Vidal. May there always be jonquils growing in your path!
Report thisBy Christopher Robin, July 30, 2007 at 10:17 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I’m glad to hear all your trials have had a successful result!
I just had a electrical fire myself,(a week ago) partially due to the power company (they won’t take the credit…surprise).
The home was saved due to being awake at midnight and the ability to find the fire extinguisher in the dark. But my poor computer (sad as it was) was among the causalities…I’m writing now on my sisters’s computer.
Speaking of solar,are the stars aligned to destroy the gods of electrcity? Or is this part of the Bush/Cheney plan to render America powerless?
Mr. Vidal he may be guilty of curmudgeon?...But why should he suffer fools quietly?...That’s part of his charm….Besides, he’s right to be outraged over the handling of the entire thing. But senility? not yet, as anyone who could writean essay ,like April’s:
“Hail and Farewell: the End of the American Empire”
...demonstrates to me, more sense lucidity and intellect than the entire editorial staff of the New York Times combined!
The sun may set, it also rises.
Best of luck with your new system, I hope to hear updates as to how it’s working out. For all your troubles, your helping to pave the way.
P.S. If you want to save a great deal of electricity, use a clothesline. (best of all) And if your dryer is so equipped, use the moisture sensor setting to automatically shut off your dryer when the clothes just turn dry. (adjust sensor setting until just dry after a few loads you should find the best setting where clothes are just dry, without dampness or over drying) Electric dryers are large power users.
Report thisBy Brett Neuer, July 30, 2007 at 4:47 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Some thirty years ago, Ralph Nader said on the Tonight Show that the biggest problem with solar energy was that it has a nasty habit of going directly to your home. Utilities, public or private, are fundamentally at odds with any advance that can cut them out of the loop.
Report thisBy sns, July 30, 2007 at 11:56 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
are you residing in LA doug chalmers? hasn’t been much water lately to collect into those ol’ cisterns….but i was merely being facetious…..anyone know what the solar project set Mr. Vidal back by approximately?
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, July 29, 2007 at 4:50 pm #
#90631 by sns on 7/29 at 10:08 am: “...now if Mr. Vidal can only get his water and gas like this then he’d really be an isle adrift from the bleating continent…..”
Anyone with their own house almost can, ‘sns’.....
Report thisBy sns, July 29, 2007 at 2:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
now if Mr. Vidal can only get his water and gas like this then he’d really be an isle adrift from the bleating continent…..
Report thisBy Verne Arnold, July 29, 2007 at 1:53 pm #
#90576 by ardee on 7/29 at 5:38 am
(373 comments total)
Here we meet again, and I would second your post. We must individually take responsibility and follow our intelligence; not the herd.
Get off of the grid and into your soul.
Report thisBy carlito paquito, July 29, 2007 at 12:33 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
solar people power:) carlito paquito aka av guy
Report thisBy ardee, July 29, 2007 at 9:38 am #
Addendum to this topic:
As an employee of a major California utility I would add that both technologies, solar and wind generated energy are no longer single user systems. Anyone traveling on California I 580 soon enough notices the veritable forest of windmills covering the hillsides. These are generating electricity that is being accumulated and sold by Pacific Gas and Electric to both Turlock Power and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).
There is also much discussion about installing solar panels atop many SF high rise buildings and generating substantial electricity via that technology. The stranglehold of oil and coal on our lives and our planet is ebbing, as it must.
Report thisBy Verne Arnold, July 29, 2007 at 6:44 am #
#90538 by nikto on 7/28 at 9:03 pm
(Unregistered commenter)
You must know the amount of electricity you consume in a given month; cooking, washing, drying (clothes), tv, stereo, lights etc., etc. You must know this in watts and amps (there are conversion formulas).
Yes, you can power a house. Look on a website for solar panels. You will also have to know about batteries for storage and inverters for 12V - 110/240V conversion. For cost effectiveness, 6 volt lead acid deep cycle golf cart batteries are the best.
You should do the utmost to educate yourself and it’s not difficult to do…the resources are plentiful. If you know a long distance sailor they can tell you many things. Crusing sailors are generally experts on living off the grid.
Wind, Solar, Passive together can do wonders for comfort. Good Luck
Report thisBy Pavane, July 29, 2007 at 5:06 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Fixer, I hope so! For those who can not afford to move, mass production and a seriously lowered cost is the only thing that is going to work for us. I do take heart in the thought ... just hope it is not too far off!
Report thisBy Fixer, July 29, 2007 at 3:04 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Take heart, those who believe they could not ever afford solar power. The increasing popularity of solar means greater production of solar components, which translates to cheaper components. New manufacturing technologies are also decreasing the cost-to-build of solar panels. Affordable solar is coming soon.
Report thisBy RogerART.com, July 29, 2007 at 1:04 am #
4 Thoes with little $ and Solar People Power
see NEW… Earth Ball Homes and Greenhouses
at…
http://www.EarthBall.org
PS 4 thoes who have, we could use some stsrt up help
We R Ready To Create E.B.A. 4 Earth Citizens Around OUR Earth, and We R Ready 2 Move In… NOW…
PS. - E.B.A. Can B Self Contained & POLLUTE very LITTLE
Later, (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Report this.
By nikto, July 29, 2007 at 1:03 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Is there anyone reading this today who knows the approximate square-footage of
current-technology solar cells
required to power, say, a typical middle-class American home with a family of 4?
That would be a valuable statistic to have at one’s disposal, in order to help “sell” solar power,
I would think.
I mean, can a roof-full of cells power a whole house,
or close to it?
I’d love to find this out.
Solar cells are still expensive because they are not (yet) truly mass-produced.
Mass-production=price drop
Thast’s the Free Market, baby.
Report this(Or so they say)
By Sally A. Bridges, July 28, 2007 at 11:37 pm #
Oh, would that I could afford the luxury of solar power. I envy those who can afford it. Having said that, Mr. Vidal, I don’t begrudge you the freedom. I was rooting for you. It is sad, though, that those of us who can’t afford it, are the very ones who would benefit from the long-term savings. I realize that it is helping our planet, and if widely used would help our country escape dependency upon oil, foreign or otherwise. Dear Mr. Vidal, maybe you could do something by championing the cause. You are well-known and respected and have connections. Just a thought, from someone who has less than you.
Report thisBy Pavane, July 28, 2007 at 9:48 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I wish rather wistfully I could go solar too. But on a single mom’s budget, I know it will never happen. Still, I am very glad for Mr. Vidal and all those who can!
Report thisBy Louise, July 28, 2007 at 9:35 pm #
#90378 by Ernest Canning
“I prefer Gore Vidals supposed senility over dubyas dyslexia.”
Here! Here!
#90382 by ardee
“So it is possible to win over a bureaucracy! Let us all take heed…..
Vidal ages well…..”
Yes it is! And yes he does!
#90385 by rjones2818
“Egads! Free from the government? Mr. Vidal may be slowly turning conservative in the springtime of his senility (or radicalizing toward anarchy)!”
We must always make the distinction between government control, [current conservative policy] and a “public” service, which is what our utilities should be. And would be if folks would wake up and realize the conservatives aren’t, conservative that is.
#90484 by weather
“You should have never left Naples Gore, youd have all the sun you want.”
Oh contraire! Thank goodness you did Mr. Gore. We are all richer for our experiencing you.
Uh ... sorry that sounds a little odd.
We have learned so much from you, thank you for being and for being here.
Report thisBy weather, July 28, 2007 at 7:52 pm #
The NYTimes died on 9/11. Its spirit got crushed in its own rubble.
The NYTimes is no longer a newspaper, it’s a PR firm for white-collar criminals, Israel and Ugly Hollywood personalities.
You should have never left Naples Gore, you’d have all the sun you want.
Report thisBy nf, July 28, 2007 at 2:50 pm #
Perhaps Mr. Vidal will share with us the name of his installer as I certainly would be interested in this technology for my desert home.
Report thisBy rjones2818, July 28, 2007 at 1:02 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Congratulations, Mr. Vidal. Now if only Mr. Buckley were to join in the solar power quest, you’d have icons from both spectrums fighting the good fight. You’re description of feeling free from the government should encourage him!
Egads! Free from the government? Mr. Vidal may be slowly turning conservative in the springtime of his senility (or radicalizing toward anarchy)!
Report thisBy ardee, July 28, 2007 at 12:59 pm #
So it is possible to win over a bureaucracy! Let us all take heed…..
Report thisVidal ages well…..
By cann4ing, July 28, 2007 at 12:51 pm #
I prefer Gore Vidal’s supposed senility over dubya’s dyslexia.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, July 28, 2007 at 11:03 am #
Governments ‘always’ know best - that’s why we ‘always’ have wars! Freedom is too precious for the individual so our free society is restrained by those who wish it to be otherwise - for their, or their friends’ benefit. Arnie has shown his worth once again as a Neocon/Neo-Nazi/Facist leader of stormtroopers!
By the way, were they wearing black shirts this time too? So amazing how those with no ability to think are always so censorious of those who are capable of original thought ....but that is US government policy these days, anyway…...
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