Another culture clash -- the growing popularity of old-time backyard clotheslines

The Wall Street Journal reports today on a hot topic that' s bound to get people's knickers in a bunch ... the resurgence of backyard clotheslines.

Back in the day, everyone had a clothesline where they hung wet clothes to dry. Dryers were for rich folk.

Today, the opposite is true. Everyone has a clothes dryer, except for poor people, right?

Except that some environmentally conscious families have begun eschewing energy-intensive dryers in favor of nature's sunlight and gentle breezes.

That, of course, has created problems since many homeowners' communities have specific rules against "letting it all hang out." I mean, who wants to see their neighbors' drawers flapping in the breeze?

The federal Energy Information Administration says that dryers consume as much as 6 percent of total U.S. electricity usage. But there are at least 60 million Americans who live in communities that ban outdoor clotheslines.

Talk about your culture clash. Free-spirited environmentalists versus rules-oriented, property-valued homeowners associations. Both sides can make fundamentally sound arguments that their position is best.

Who do you think will win?