Sometimes it pays to think

There is nothing like a hefty hike in your electricity bills to make you aware of the wastage you incur on a daily basis.

The other evening I was going through my house and I suddenly thought of the imminent increase in my energy bills. I looked around the house and noticed that the hall lights were on (four bulbs) as were those in the living room (two bulbs), the kitchen (a large neon tube), the dog's room (one bulb), the staircase (two bulbs), the main bedroom (six bulbs), the front gate (four bulbs) and outside the main door (two bulbs). The television set was on in the living room and the red light of the TV set in the kitchen was also on.

I decided to look around the house and found there were two spare refrigerators on for no real reason, the computer was on and the emersion heaters (three) were all working overtime.

The pond fountain was on, as was the water pump on the roof.

In fact, my whole house was humming and there was only me at home at the time. I said to myself that this was a normal situation and for years we must have been wasting energy for no reason at all, other than for the convenience of having a well lit house, immediate warm water to wash with and cool water to drink. Probably hundreds of liri wasted each year.

I then remembered the old saying of a brick in the toilet cistern saving a litre of water each time the toilet is flushed. I sat down and did a mental calculation. Each flush would save one litre of water. Number of flushes per day per toilet - approximately six. Number of toilets in Malta and Gozo - approximately 250,000. Number of litres saved per day - 1,500,000.

Number of litres of water saved per year in Malta and Gozo - 547,500,000!

All this water can be saved by putting a full litre bottle of water, or the equivalent, inside the flushing of each toilet in our islands.

My mind started to really get going and I realised we are a very wasteful people. We waste so much and it is all so unnecessary.

We throw away enormous amounts of food and drink. We use much too much water unnecessarily and we use too much electricity. We waste too much petrol by insisting on using our personal transport to go everywhere. It is only by a sudden and massive increase in the bills that we incur for our indulgences that we suddenly realise we are throwing our money, literally in some cases, down the drain. Money we and our country can ill-afford.

What is the solution?

Maybe we should think before we use, eat or drink to excess. Realise that by leaving our light and electrical appliances on we are wasting our and the country's money. Realise that by wasting food and drink we are using monies that could be spent for much more useful purposes. Stop and think before we travel alone in a car when we go to work; in fact think before we do anything to excess.

Times are getting harder and common sense is needed to keep our lifestyles to an acceptable standard, without going over the top.

I stood up after my mental exertions and thought just how a hefty increase in my monthly outlay can affect my way of thinking. It was the same after I received my first traffic fine of Lm30 for going too fast through the St Julians tunnel. My car has never exceeded 45 kilometres an hour ever since!