Meera Subramanian
  • Home
  • Books
  • Writing
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Photos
  • Events
  • Speaking
  • Contact

in praise of geysers

October 10, 2013 By meerasub

geyser

It’s simple. Ten minutes before you plan to bathe, you flip a switch. The light comes on and the water heats up. You wash. You turn the switch off. Geysers, as these small almost-instantaneous-but-not-quite hot water heaters are called in India, are so smart. I don’t keep a kettle simmering all day so that when the urge for a cup of tea strikes, I can have it instantly. (btw, for my tea at home, I use this, one of the best Christmas presents I ever received.) Same idea. Yet this is how we heat water in American homes. It’s the second largest energy expense in the average home, typically accounting for about 18% of the utility bill.

This one in the guest house where I’m staying is particularly cheerful.

Filed Under: travels Tagged With: conservation, energy, india

Follow Meera on Substack

for the very occasional bit of news.

Categories

Tags

Alaska anthology A River Runs Again Art awards birds of prey books book tour Cambridge cape cod climate change conservation death dissent Elemental India energy events Fulbright india InsideClimate News journalism kenya Knight Science Journalism middle east Nature New York City organic farming Orion peregrine falcon pesticides photography politics pollution environment radio readings renewable energy reviews science Society of Environmental Journalists teaching Texas travel USA vulture water

Archives by Month

Connect

  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

© 2025 Meera Subramanian | All Rights Reserved. | Mastodon | Website design by Sumy Designs, LLC