Somebody with thinner skin than me likely would have received his first email like a kick in the teeth: "Dear Ana, Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm. I've had a solar thermal water heater for 25 years, and I built it myself out of old bits and pieces. And you think you're bringing about the solar revolution?? Ha!" I, however, smiled. This was music to my ears. I hadn't met Art Bartsch yet; I couldn't wait.
Art's message hit me while I was still high on the success of one of Squamish CAN's best projects, "The Solar Revolution." We had just celebrated Squamish Climate Action Day with the launch of two brand spanking new solar thermal water heaters installed on the roof of the Cedar Valley School in Valleycliffe. We made the headlines - coverage in The Chief that week read, "Setting a new solar standard." Inevitably, it caught Art's eye.
I replied apologetically for my ignorance. "I wish I had known that before, Art," I said, making sure that my eagerness to learn showed and shone at the end of every sentence. Bingo! Two days later, I got a call, "Come and take a look if you want," he said in a somewhat diluted accent from Switzerland.
I picked a brilliant, sunny day. Everything in Art's house was designed and expected to work with the precision of a Swiss watch, as blatantly announced by the label on the intercom attached to the gate: "RING BELL 3 TIMES AT 10 SECOND INTERVALS." I cursed myself for ringing too fast before I finished reading the sentence. Had I blown it already? Butterflies in my stomach told me this was a man I had to know. I waited and nervously hoped he'd forgive my impatience. Finally, he appeared from the back of the house. As he approached the gate, I anxiously studied his face for signs of annoyance - there were none. Instead, he offered me half a smile and a hand dressed in a thick, white gardening glove.
By the time we reached the garden, Art had already started telling me about his treasure, and there it was - the solar thermal water heater that he built with his own hands so long ago. It took some perseverance, but trial and error eventually led to perfection - 25 years later, he still reaps the benefits of clean energy and low, often laughable bills. He must have spent no more than $1,500 on the whole system. In contrast, the units at the Waldorf School are manufactured in China and, without rebates, the equivalent set-up will cost a homeowner between $5,000 and $6,500.
I was busy contemplating the figures in my head when Art shook me out of my awe-stricken stupor with an animated discourse on all the other "futuristic" projects that have filled the years - a satellite dish made of hundreds of minute pieces of mirror glass (later turned into the ceiling of a gazebo), a solar oven still in the works and a smaller instant solar water heater for an outdoor shower, not to mention the extensive vegetable gardens that feed him year round, and the house itself, which he purposefully built to take advantage of passive solar heating.
We went indoors to feel the clean comfort of heat provided by the ingenious combination of nature and smart design. If we hadn't shifted the subject to our shared origins in Europe, I am certain I would have remained speechless for the rest of my visit. Here was an example of sustainability at its best. Art may be 76 years old, but he is clearly a man of the future, ready for life on our new planet. Did he know about sustainability all along? How is that possible?
Sustainability. It seems we have adopted a new name for a very old way of living; we haven't discovered the Moon, after all. Stepping outside to put my shoes back on, I took a last glance around - Art's sustainability principles have obviously stood the test of time. I wondered if generations to come will be able to say the same about ours.
Art walked me to the gate. This time, the smile was full and the hand had lost its glove. As I walked down the street, I thought that perhaps his first email had been a kick in the teeth after all, and I was grateful - I noticed that I lost a milk tooth or two; now, the new ones are coming out nice and strong.
Ana Santos is the co-ordinator of Squamish Climate Action Network (CAN). In her spare time, she is a professional translator. You can contact her at [email protected] and read previous Moving Planets columns at www.movingplanets.net. The contents of this column do not necessarily reflect the views or principles of Squamish CAN.
