As the days grow shorter and evening clouds appear like cotton balls on the cold horizon, America decorates for the holidays.
It's always the weekend following Thanksgiving when I watch my neighbors climb ladders and stepstools, arms laden with Christmas lights. There is no change, despite the raging war in Ukraine, despite the anxiety about the lack of energy in other parts of the world. Why should we worry? America has plenty of natural gas, fossil fuel, and electricity, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is so far away. Here we mostly worry about power failure after massive winter storms or hurricanes. The only outcry this year has been the rising gasoline price, which everyone feels in a country where people depend on cars.
Not so in Europe. Take Switzerland, for example. That mountainous country has no significant natural resources and depends on imported gas and oil from abroad. The only optimistic outlook for electric power was provided by the hot summer months of this year when glaciers melted faster and filled up the hydropower reservoirs in the Alps. A shortage becomes particularly problematic in winter when people most need heating, lighting, and hot water.
A few weeks ago, the Swiss government announced a worst-case scenario where energy quotas would have to be imposed. Grim-faced
Mr. Parmelin, our energy minister, announced steps he would implement if the country faced shortness of power. Some of the measures are amusing. One of the escalation levels states that laundry would not be allowed to be washed hotter than 40 Celcius (104 F), and irons and tumblers would be banned! The use of streaming services such as Netflix would be prohibited, and hot water in public toilets would be turned off. Room temperature in private apartments and houses could not exceed 68 Fahrenheit. In an earlier statement, Mrs. Sommaruga, another minister, suggested that family members take showers in pairs and avoid baths altogether.
The government's website (Nicht-verschwenden.ch), the "don't-waste" campaign, offers simple tips for citizens on preserving energy in daily life. Energysaver tip number two advises cooks to use lids on pots when cooking and not preheat ovens for baking.
Swiss people find these energy-saving recommendations for private households a bit comical. Especially since mountain towns would still be allowed to use snow cannons to prepare ski slopes, ski lifts and cable cars would be running, and hotel saunas would be open.
Would there be climate police checking people's thermostats, cooktops, and laundry rooms? Would people turn in their neighbors if they violated a breach of the rules? What would happen to the Swiss who showed up with a freshly ironed shirt?
In France, climate activists climb buildings at night to turn off shop window lighting. In Germany, citizens who decorate their houses with Christmas lights receive threatening letters from anonymous protesters.
Some towns in Switzerland forgo their holiday decorations this year. In some villages, the Christmas tree on the town square is only lit when passersby pedal on a connecting bike, creating power.
People in Europe are interested in wood again. Prices for firewood are in high demand, and the prices are skyrocketing. Wood is the new toilet paper!
Europeans want to get away from fossil fuels. Heat pumps are the new trend. They function like large air-conditioners in reverse. Heat pumps run much cheaper than oil heating units and can run off solar panels. The only problem is the long wait for them and the lack of knowledgeable installers.
Despite all the worries and fears about the coming winter months, we are luckier than the people in Ukraine. Putin's army methodically attacks the country's infrastructure, destroying power lines and shelling electric substations. Next to the terror of war, many Ukrainians live in cold, dark apartments, meals cooked on primitive wood stoves.
Next time we turn on the lights, shower, and drink a hot cup of coffee, let's be grateful. May the Holiday lights warm our hearts.