I was just wondering aloud yesterday with some friends/future housemates why no one is talking about the coming disaster that is the ever-climbing price of heating oil. Turns out a few people are talking about it, notably my governor. Go Vermont!
It may not be an issue for people in other parts of the country, but most New Englanders still heat their houses with oil. The title of this story is: We Are Completely Screwed.
Me? I have a good job, so while I'm not thrilled at the thought of how much of my money is going to go toward heating my (new and otherwise exciting!) house next winter, I will be able to pay for it without real hardship.
But a lot of people around here? The ones who have no savings, no health insurance, and are spending all their earnings just to keep the gas tank full enough to get to work and back? They simply won't be able to turn on their heat when it gets cold. And if it's anything like last winter, the nastiest and snowiest in decades, it is going to get really cold.
I'm serious: disaster in the making. It may be slow and quiet, but that doesn't make it any less scary.
2 comments:
Hi Rachel,
I just wanted to post, for anyone stumbling across this, that SEVCA helps low-income homeowners with energy audits and then improvements designed to cut heating energy use.
Christopher
I'm a single mom in Seattle, with an old drafy house and an oil furnace. It used to cost $300 to fill the tank, and it needed filling 3 times a year. Last fill (a couple of months ago) cost $1300 - I was stunned. And the price today would be considerably more. No way I can afford to heat this house with the furnace anymore. I'm lucky in that we have an airtight insert in the fireplace, and I buy a pallet of energy logs every year - this year I will buy at least 2. And I'm not afraid to dumpster-dive for wood scraps - but I'm afraid I won't be able to compete for those next winter, I'm stockpiling now. Scary stuff.
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