We quickly realized after writing yesterday’s post that we were completely fried. After a quick trip around the small city of Aberystwyth - which included the requisite visit to castle ruins - we decided to do “take away” for dinner. So we got ourselves some salads, a couple sandwiches, and a fruity drink and headed back to our cosy B&B. We chowed down on dinner while watching our favorite (or should I say “favourite”) British tv show - Golden Balls. It’s a game show too elaborate to explain here, but we’re already plotting how to import it to the States.

Our plan worked, and we awoke this morning recharged! We had an interesting breakfast conversation with the only other guest at our B&B. He was fascinated with the American West - he knew the names of all the cowboys at the OK Corral (and was even wearing a Doc Holliday t-shirt) - and he had some…shall we say politically incorrect views of American Indians, no doubt formed by his idolization of John Wayne and Bonanza.

We left the B&B - after taking a picture of the farm goat who reminded us of Lucy - and headed north for Machynlleth (mack-UHN-kleth), where the Centre for Alternative Technology is located. This Centre is located high up a mountain in an old slate quarry. Its mission is educate people about sustainable living and alternative energy.

To get up the mountainside to the Centre, there is a hydro-powered train. Visitors load into one car at the base of the site while another car at the top of the hill fills its base with water. When the car at the top becomes heavier than the visitors’ car, the bottom car slowly rises up the mountain. On their way down, the cars also use regenerative breaking, creating extra electricity for the Centre.

Once on top of the mountain, we realized that the Centre really practices what they preach. The centre is mainly powered by solar panels, a few wind turbines, biofuel, and hydro-electric. Some bathrooms use rainwater both in the toilets and faucets, while other restrooms turn the waste into compost. There were many middle school aged student groups touring the centre while we were there, and the kids seemed quite grossed out by both the smell and the thought of human waste being reused.

Speaking of student groups, a place like this would be great in the states. There were many hands-on displays where students could generate electricity by making waves, spinning turbines, and controlling the amount of sunlight falling on solar panels. Peter especially enjoyed climbing inside the hub of a wind turbine!

Much of the information presented matched what we have learned so far on our trip: wind power is cheap and easy to install, the power of the waves is a great way to make electricity, and improving the  heating and cooling efficiency of all types of buildings is a sure way to reduce carbon emissions. However, we both recognized the definite bias of their campaign.  While the Centre produces a lot of electricity on-site (and even sells any extra electricity they produce), they still must supplement their energy needs from the national grid. Their yearly goal is to sell more than they take, but it is unclear if they have achieved this goal. Some exhibit boards had doomsday-type proclamations, including one which forecasted war and abject poverty for all. This same exhibit board said that if the world embraced alternative energy sources, no one would be poor and every human would have more than enough electricity. While engaging, this hyperbole can give students a sense of hopelessness and reduce their desire to change.

We’re now tucked in a mountain valley in far northern Wales. (Luckily our lodge has free internet access in the communal lounge, which we’re enjoying while a guest’s child watches the Simpsons over and over again - they love the Simpsons here!) Outside, the wind is whipping down the valley, and we can just barely make out the peaks of the slate mountains around us. Hopefully the weather will clear tomorrow so we can take some pictures.