At the moment of the summer solstice, 4:20 tomorrow morning, the sun will be directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer, about eight time zones to the east of us in the Saudi Arabian desert.

The summer solstice is one of the four distinct points in the Earth's annual journey around its energy source. At this moment, the north pole is inclined toward the sun, which takes its longest path across the sky. Above the Arctic circle, the sun doesn't set at all. In Antarctica, it doesn't rise.

The summer solstice is a great time for learning or remembering ways to sustain ourselves using solar energy.

Let's start with four simple technologies that allow the sun to provide important free services for our homes and families. Each of these low-cost and readily available solar collectors improves the quality of our lives and increases the pleasures we take in everyday necessities. They connect us directly to the beneficence of the sun. They also save money and are great beginnings for a less polluted environment and greater independence from the big energy companies.

Start with the easiest: The solar clothes dryer. Just stretch a line between two trees or poles in a sunny spot in your yard. Then pay attention to the weather. On those beautiful sunny days, you'll have another good reason to go outside. Our solar clothes dryer is in and around the garden, so not only do we enjoy the fresh air and sunshine which make the clothes smell so good, we also get to appreciate and check on the flowers and vegetables growing there. Beside these simple pleasures, we feel good about not generating greenhouse gases or radioactive wastes for so simple a need as drying clothes. It also virtually eliminates maintenance and repair costs.

The most important of these four simple solar collectors is the home or community vegetable garden. This is especially true if it is managed organically and worked with hand tools. The garden turns sunlight and organic wastes into the most delicious and nutritious food you can eat.

For air conditioning, trees are quiet and also solar-powered. And not only do they run on free energy, they are free themselves. If you leave almost any piece of land around here alone, trees will grow. They'll absorb solar energy that otherwise would heat up your house, and make it uncomfortable. They store that energy in wood, leaves and food for the following year. Trees are filled with cool water, flowing up from the ground to the leaves. As this water evaporates, it further cools the environment. Of course, the shade itself is much cooler than the surrounding sun-filled areas, and the trees seem to encourage refreshing breezes. A few trees, selected or planted to keep the sun off a house during its long journey across the sky this time of year, have a great effect on the interior's comfort level.

South facing windows are the fourth of these low-cost solar collectors designed for a better tomorrow. Although we appreciate our four large southern windows most in the winter, when the sun shines directly inside and warms our house, they are also provide pleasure now. They're shaded all day by tall trees pruned of lower branches so they admit the winter sun. The windows open onto a yard filled with trees, shrubs and flowers. The viburnams, rugosa roses and peonies are especially beautiful now.

All four of these solar collectors provide a valuable and necessary service, in a passive, quiet way. They provide pleasure and comfort without polluting the environment. They never become obsolete. I've used most of these simple technologies for more than 25 years. They are reliable and long lived. My appreciation for their elegance grows with each year. The pleasures of sun fresh clothes, just-picked garden vegetables, shade trees, rooms warmed by the winter sun don't fade; they point the way to a sustainable future.

Go solar now!

Happy solstice.

This is Bill Duesing, Living on the Earth.

This page and its contents are copyright © 1997 by WSHU-FM, Fairfield, CT, and by Bill Duesing.