Last night, our power shut off, while I was in the middle of a Skype call and my roommate was cleaning up after his epic dinner party. It left the apartment immediately in utter darkness. If such an event happens in the States, it is usually the result of at least a few months worth of unpaid electricity bills. In our case, it was more innocent, as electricity here is bought the same way you buy your cell phone time. You walk over to the appropriate office, pay cash, and they recharge your account. After a night in a dead apartment (thank god Beijing heat isn’t electric) I simply strolled over, handed over the cash, and the nice young woman recharged our electricity card, which I then plugged into the electricity meter. Bam, power back on.

A cash economy is a mysterious thing, and I don’t know if there have been any direct studies to see how it effects resource usage. I have read that the single most effective method of encouraging efficient driving is to mount a meter on the dashboard constantly letting you know your MPG, and the Chinese system is certainly similar. I am certainly using less electricity today than I did yesterday, slightly more compulsively turning off lights, unplugging the DVD player, and waiting until things start getting real cold before turning on the electric heater.