New York Times: Incredible Advanced Technology Could Immediately Reduce GHG by 3%.

[NNadir]

A clothesline. It strikes me that I haven’t seen one since 1991, when I moved to Rolling Hills, Calif., a gated community about an hour south of Los Angeles. There are rolling hills, ranch houses, sweeping views of the ocean and rocky cliffs — plenty of room — but not a single visible clothesline...

...There were more than 88 million dryers in the country in 2005, the latest count, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. If all Americans line-dried for just half a year, it would save 3.3% of the country’s total residential output of carbon dioxide, experts say...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/garden/12clothesline.html?pagewanted=2&ref=science

I wonder how long it would take to implement. Hopefully industrial scale clotheslines wouldn't take too long to implement, but you never know.

[Auggie]

1. I'm putting one up on the weekend.

[Daedelus76]

9. much better/more practical...

... since they are forbidden by many HOA's as considered being "white trash", would be to have more efficient driers, and easier to clean clothes. Cotton is praised by hippies for being natural but in fact it's harder to clean than polyester. I know from my own experience. The polyester shirt can even often be worn for two or three days, whereas the cotton shirt gets dirty in only one day, because it doesn't carry moisture away at all.

[phantom power]

2. Did you ever see Trudeau's series of comics on clotheslines?

It was pretty hilarious, and dead-on (typical Trudeau). All about American's cultural aversion to clotheslines, as symbols of poverty, or white-trashiness, or something. I forget who, but somebody tries using a clothesline to save energy, and everybody comes down on them.

[NNadir]

5. Maybe we should try to make clotheslines fashionable.

Maybe Cameron Diaz could get one and be photographed hanging clothes while giggling in a skinny little outfit.

[phantom power]

7. Yes, and also market them thru Sharper Image, or Hammacher Schlemmer, etc.

The new power-less clothes drying appliance, constructed of space-age titanium alloy cable. Fully retractable! In six designer colors to match your HOA's approved color scheme!

[don954]

3. they are forbiden by my HOA

i hate my HOA, Ill be glad when i move soon...

[NNadir]

4. There should be a law about what HOA can and cannot restrict.

The role of government should be to regulate the common resources, and yes, the air respects no HOA association's rules. The wind can move past the gates and the walls.

I believe that in many places an item on the list of restricted things is solar cells. Now I don't actually believe that the solar industry is able to manufacture enough cells to fill any demand that might be generated by such a law, but at least we could give the industry a kick by creating such demand such as might be generated by telling HOA's to screw off.

[phantom power]

6. I think there may be some movement in this direction, as here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=88373&mesg_id=88373

[Kolesar]

14. We have to eliminate codes that prohibit bright white roofs that reflect 90% of the energy

IIRC, the sun sends 1 kW/sq meter of the Earth's surface. Dupont makes a material called a "cool roof" that reflects 90% of that energy into space. For comparison, a white asphalt singled roof only relects 20% at best. Black roofs reflect 0%.

There are restrictions on white roofs in some communities. These laws need to be superceded on a state or national level to reduce cooling needs.

In the big picture, bright white roofs "look best" on a flat or slightly sloped roof that is not visible from "the street". It would be best if new homes were not designed to have a lot of roof showing.

[july302001]

8. housecleaning day -

I just used mine today. The wind nearly blew the clothes down (despite best-intentioned clothespins), but they're dry and they smell fresh.

I'm a nut for drying stuff outdoors on the line if the weather cooperates at all. Love this advanced modern technology! :-)

[freethought]

10. My family always had a clothesline when I was growing up

Hang out basic stuff. Leave the underwear for the drier. Nobody around us said a peep about it until some yuppies-from-hell moved in next door. They never came out and said it but they would give hints that the presence of sheets,towels and jeans hanging in the open air was either "quaint" or "common", I believe the words were used.

There is NOTHING like sleeping on sheets that are just in from the line. I do hope we see some change on this issue. A great many of the housing developments these days, gated or un-gated, have covenants with the homeowners where outdoor clothes lines are VERBOTEN. Want to save a few more dollars set up another line INDOORS near the furnace or water heater. Sometimes it works well. IF you have to leave the stuff hanging a little longer, so what!

[NNadir]

11. The matter is perceptual. It's about marketing.

I think it would a useful thing for people to make the case that having a clothes line is honorable and a function of public spirit.

For many thousands of years, this was the main way of drying clothes. Sometimes what is "common" is beautiful.

I'm really serious that some environmental type Hollywood stars could do a world of service to the environment by being photographed hanging clothes on a clothesline.

[Shoelace]

12. it works! Even in Oregon!!

been doing it for ages. Not genes or cotton tops though. Sometimes it takes 2 days to dry blankets, etc., but it's worth the effort. One string of clothes wire across our carport does the job!

[Javaman]

13. We've had ours up since last summer. big savings on our electric bill. :) nt

[Kolesar]

15. I hang clothes on a line in my basement, then put a box fan on them.

I don't know the power rating of the fan, but I am sure that leaving the fan on overnight is less power than 30 minutes in the dryer. Besides, I hate shrunken socks.

I want a power meter for my birthday.