If we could free ourselves from the dependence on natural gas, leaks like the last one wouldn’t be nearly as likely.

The problem is, natural gas works so well for us. I prefer cooking on a gas stove rather than an electric. A gas clothes dryer is more energy-efficient than electric. The ultimate solar dryer, the clothesline, isn’t workable for our home. Chuck and I have too many environmental allergies to make it practical to dry clothes or sheets outdoors.

But we could —

• heat our water with solar power
• supplement our home’s heat with solar
• generate electricity to drive our many computers
• generate electricity for lighting the house, powering the refrigerator, and more
• and more, and more, and more

Neighbors and acquaintances with wood burning stoves and heaters speak highly of them. Our fireplace isn’t located centrally enough to be converted to heat for the whole house, so I guess that’s out.

And then again, I must remind myself that the gas main break wasn’t the direct result of a natural gas problem – rather, it stemmed from the repair of the water supply pipe, which was broken by part of the crew working on remaking our street and sidewalks.

Honey, maybe we should move to the country where we won’t have to worry about frequent road construction. That might work.