When Climate Change Melts Your Relationship

Everything was going great until I told him to dump his kerosene lamp for an LED. My boyfriend and I had been dating for six months when we had the biggest fight of our relationship over the carbon footprint of a kerosene lamp. We had finished dinner in the cozy cabin of his sailboat and were about to begin a game of gin rummy to determine who would do the dishes when Doug stood up and banged his head on the kerosene lantern that dangled from the ceiling. He cursed as the lantern swung back and forth, dribbling kerosene onto the table. I teased him because he did this almost every night, and then I wiped up the spill with a greasy rag and told him about a book I had been reading that listed kerosene as one of the dirtiest fossil fuels. I guess we should probably get a different lantern, I said. Maybe LED. I love this lamp, he said, leaning over me with a match to relight the wick. The lamp glowed brightly for a moment and then dimmed, its warm, yellow light filling the cabin. Reading by the light of that kerosene lamp felt like going back in time. It imbued the cabin with nostalgia for an era I had never actually lived in, one where sailors navigated by the stars and burned whale oil for light. I often wished I had a headlamp when Doug asked me to read aloud to him on the settee, my already poor eyesight undoubtedly worsening as I squinted under the dull glow of the lamps flickering wick, but it made everything feel so romantic. Reading Jack London stories to my lover, his head in my lap, the sailboat gently swaying with the waves, a hundred sea lions barking like dogs and belching under the distant pier he was right, it wouldnt be the same under LED. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? . Want all of The Times? .