That last post was a serious paper cut. Sorry. The global picture for energy and the environment is not grim, but it is gloomy. As individuals we can only add our voices to the big conversation, and wait for change. Our votes, our opinions, our blog posts all count, and we must keep them coming. But for today, tomorrow and next week, you can do many things for yourself and your family. Here are some suggestions.
One. Drive less. Don't worry about buying the Prius, or the scooter, just cut your mileage by smart thinking and planning. CARPOOL! Pick stuff up on the way home instead of going out again. Shop weekly, not daily. No cruising for the teenagers. Cut your weekly mileage by 25%, it's like buying into the next smaller class of vehicle. An SUV turns into a subcompact if you drive it less.
Two. COOK! AAAAAEEAHHHHH!! Your kitchen is the greenest place to eat, depending upon the menu. No styrofoam takeout packaging, no exhaust fumes while in the drive-thru, no wasteful high-energy fat fryers and radiant warmers. You come home with real food, cook with less energy, present with less marketing and fuss, and you're an energy superhero. Really. And even packaged frozen stir-fry veggies count. Toss 'em in the skillet with some chicken bits, and you're Emeril.
Three. Hang your clothes out. Simple. If your zoning doesn't permit exposed lines, get a rack at the big box store and hang some things under a ceiling fan, or next to an open window. Use the basement if you have one. Don't forget the fan. Won't work as well when it's already terribly humid outside. Pick your days. The only gas drying clothes emit is water vapor. Ralph Nader is smiling somewhere.
Four. Use curtains and drapes. On the sunny side in the summer, on the shady side in the winter. Turn windows into walls with coverings of all kinds. Welcome that sun when you want it, shut it out when you don't. Put off using the air conditioning until you've tried the window thing. Use the fans after the clothes are dry. Wear fewer clothes. Keep a robe by the door for the UPS guy.
Five. Balance your budget. No kidding. Live within your means. It may be the most global, local, cosmic thing you can do for your impact. The real villain of the current unpleasantness is not your SUV. It's debt. Not spending more than you have to spend is a worldview, not a newfangled secret. You raise your own consciousness about the cost of your entire lifestyle when you ponder what you need and what you just want. A hundred small choices a week can add up to revolutionary change at your house----- while you wait for evolutionary change all over the planet. And when you're being careful, you can splurge sometimes. It's built into the program. Bring home a pizza, watch a late movie, take a bubble bath. You're doing fine. Footprints in the sand, growing smaller, smaller.....
One. Drive less. Don't worry about buying the Prius, or the scooter, just cut your mileage by smart thinking and planning. CARPOOL! Pick stuff up on the way home instead of going out again. Shop weekly, not daily. No cruising for the teenagers. Cut your weekly mileage by 25%, it's like buying into the next smaller class of vehicle. An SUV turns into a subcompact if you drive it less.
Two. COOK! AAAAAEEAHHHHH!! Your kitchen is the greenest place to eat, depending upon the menu. No styrofoam takeout packaging, no exhaust fumes while in the drive-thru, no wasteful high-energy fat fryers and radiant warmers. You come home with real food, cook with less energy, present with less marketing and fuss, and you're an energy superhero. Really. And even packaged frozen stir-fry veggies count. Toss 'em in the skillet with some chicken bits, and you're Emeril.
Three. Hang your clothes out. Simple. If your zoning doesn't permit exposed lines, get a rack at the big box store and hang some things under a ceiling fan, or next to an open window. Use the basement if you have one. Don't forget the fan. Won't work as well when it's already terribly humid outside. Pick your days. The only gas drying clothes emit is water vapor. Ralph Nader is smiling somewhere.
Four. Use curtains and drapes. On the sunny side in the summer, on the shady side in the winter. Turn windows into walls with coverings of all kinds. Welcome that sun when you want it, shut it out when you don't. Put off using the air conditioning until you've tried the window thing. Use the fans after the clothes are dry. Wear fewer clothes. Keep a robe by the door for the UPS guy.
Five. Balance your budget. No kidding. Live within your means. It may be the most global, local, cosmic thing you can do for your impact. The real villain of the current unpleasantness is not your SUV. It's debt. Not spending more than you have to spend is a worldview, not a newfangled secret. You raise your own consciousness about the cost of your entire lifestyle when you ponder what you need and what you just want. A hundred small choices a week can add up to revolutionary change at your house----- while you wait for evolutionary change all over the planet. And when you're being careful, you can splurge sometimes. It's built into the program. Bring home a pizza, watch a late movie, take a bubble bath. You're doing fine. Footprints in the sand, growing smaller, smaller.....
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