Let's say I'm going to take a road camping trip. I've got all the equipment and the vehicle, just no money. Is that possible? Well, this is Canada and there are lakes filled with fish everywhere. I could just eat fish that I caught myself. Also, depending on the season, there are berries and other vegetation to eat. If it was fall, I could hunt. Sure, I could possibly feed myself on this trip. Since I am an Ontario resident, I could camp on Crown land without charge, but not in parks. So, it wouldn't be as comfortable as staying where there are showers and flush toilets but it is certainly possible, maybe even desirable.
Now what about fuel? I could fill up the tank with gasoline at home and go about 300 miles (500 kilometers). Then I would be out of gas. That would be the end of the trip. It would be impossible for me to create more gasoline without money.
Now what if my vehicle was electric? Could I possibly recharge it myself without buying electricity? As part of my camping paraphernalia I could have a raft of solar panels. These could be set up to capture the sun's energy and recharge the vehicle. It might take longer than I wanted but eventually the vehicle would be ready to move on and it would cost nothing.
Instead of taking a camping trip, I might decide to take a boat that I can afford and motor across the Atlantic or Pacific and see the sights. I've got a really good outboard on the boat. How much gasoline will I need to take? It turns out any boat in an ordinary person's price range cannot carry all the gas drums it would take to make the voyage, let alone pay for it all. On the other hand I could easily afford a sailboat that would make the voyage for free.
You can sail on lakes too, of course, as well as paddle or row. It costs nada for fuel.
What else can we do for free instead of buying fuel? We can dry our clothes on a clothesline instead of in a dryer. We can walk to the store instead of taking the car. We could bicycle. You can pedal along quite easily at about 20 mph with a decent bike.
Other than walking, you do need to buy something to start out but from that point on there is virtually no cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment