Lemming Tracks: Ah, For the Solar-Powered Days of Yesteryear

This would be a good time to point out that I'm writing from a distinctly American perspective in this post. Quite a few parts of the world don't use clothes dryers to the extent that America does. I've heard that a coming trend is 'solar' clothes drying: hanging up lines outdoors and letting clothing dry in the sunshine and fresh air. Birdsongs, too.

Sounds nice - with just that touch of nostalgia that means so much.

I remember clothes lines, the fun of running through aisles of damp sheets and shirts, the graceful dance of clothing in the breeze.

I also remember how important it was to put the clotheslines under open sky.

Partly because the laundry got more sunlight that way. Partly because birds perch on branches and overhead wires.

There's a reason why so many Americans bought so many clothes dryers, so fast, when the costs got low enough.

More:

• "Lemming Tracks: STOP THE WASTE!!! RECYCLE EARTH'S PRECIOUS LINT!!!!"
  (April 20, 2010)
• "Change, American Culture, Trilobites, Humanity's History, and the Big Picture "