However, the way we live has an impact on those around us (included in "those" is our environmental surroundings - land, water, creatures, etc.). But it also has an impact upon us.
The way I live impacts me.
As an example: have you noticed those who work with power tools on a daily bases later in life needing hearing aids? But there are also all sorts of other connections being made between health issues and sitting all day, too.
Harry Bryan has a blog post on Off Center Harbor titled "My Thoughts on Power Tools" that is worth taking a read. Even if you don't own a boat building shop, it is interesting to see his thought process at work. In case the link doesn't work because you need to be a member (which I think is worth it), here is a brief synopsis.
The dream shop "was constructed in 1976 and, although the original plan was to wire the building for electricity, the ancient bandsaw and the 12” Parks planer ended up being powered, through belts and pulleys, by a 1961 Vauxhall Victor four-cylinder car engine. For the builder of small craft, a bandsaw and thickness planer can do most of the work of taking rough lumber to where hand tools can compete with their powered alternatives. Our opposition to the building of a nuclear power plant nearby postponed our connection to the grid, and in the meantime, we came to enjoy the challenge of trying to sustain a business without electricity. We have gradually added 110-volt power, through an inverter, from batteries charged by sun and wind. But the system is small and we must continually husband its output.The Vauxhall Victor has sense been replaced by a Kubota, which is filled 5 gallons (about $20) a time. So a question is always asked, "Does it make sense to use the ship's band saw to cut this keel timber?" Yes, that is a good use. "... this plank?" No ... for that a peddle powered band-saw works better.
"Two beliefs have always influenced our decisions.The first is the impossibility of unrestricted growth in a finite space. Not only does this apply to our small shop, but if the earth has not already reached its carrying capacity, the exponential growth of population and the energy used by that population must inevitably bring on a crisis. While I wish it were not so, I believe that we have already exceeded the earth’s carrying capacity, and most of our politicians, along with their economic advisors, are dead wrong to insist that more growth will bring us to better times.
"The second guiding conviction, to quote E.F.Shumacher (author of Small is Beautiful) is that, “To talk about the future is useful only if it leads to action now.” Ralph Waldo Emerson urged the same message: “Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed.”
Part of what Bryan reflects upon is the perceived vs. actual gains. What is the set-up time needed? What is the cost of the tools? How much faster is a power tool than a hand tool in a job by job situation? (Here he gives an example of shingling his shop roof with a hammer or an air-compressor-nail-gun; the difference (if all goes smoothly) is about an hour. And then there is the noise and dust to consider. [Other folks have mentioned how nice it is to talk to someone while working, instead of everyone wearing ear protection.]
To judge whether or not to use (or purchase) a power tool, I have found it useful to use a factor of two. If a power tool can do the work twice as fast, with subtractions as noted in the above examples [set-up and take down time plus maintenance, etc.], then I will contemplate its use. A thickness planer, a bandsaw for heavy work, or a table saw to cut long rabbets in hardwood, fall into this category. On the other hand, almost all crosscutting of wood can be done quickly and accurately by hand.Definitely worth pondering.
Blessed Be
Joel
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