This entry was posted on 3/2/2007 12:05 AM and is filed under Action.
A participant suggested that a feature be added to the blog - ".....something real definitive like, what are you going to do today to help this problem?"
So, here it is....
Sometimes writing a goal down and to making it public can help get it done. Forward comments on what you're going to do today or this week to help solve one of the 4 biggies. Follow-up later on how it went ......
3/2/2007 8:12 AM
Maureen Brady wrote:
Today I'm driving my wife all over town! We went down to one car to try to live more simply and responsibly. It's sometimes inconvenient, but feels right on! Reply to this
3/7/2007 5:09 PMMary J Green wrote:
Today I asked other faculty members working with me at our Primary School if they were bothered by the excessive heat in our building. Also asked if they were aware of the fact that out of the three buildings in our school district our facility had the highest heating bill per month. They shared their frustrations explaining how they have to open their windows during the winter to cool their rooms down. We plan to bring this "waste of energy" issue up for discussion at our next faculty meeting. Reply to this
6/14/2007 9:53 AM
P-Philly wrote:
For the last several days (temps have been over 80 with humidity) our family has not turned on the A/C and kept the windows open and the shades slightly closed to keep the house cool. There was plenty of wind blowing for circulation and comfort. Reply to this
Cool! (so to speak) Easy to do, and Mother Earth and your bank account thank you.
When I was a kid we didn't have A/C (and had to walk 3 miles barefoot to the one-room school -- kidding), but had an attic fan that worked great - drawing cool evening air in from first floor windows, up to the second floor and out the (initially) hot attic. MUCH less electricity.
Unfortunately, results tell us that most in the U.S. are not like P-Philly -- it's going to take an increase in non-renewable energy prices for significant change.
P.S. - (business tip) Get your federal representatives to enact a tax shift to energy and then get into the attic fan business.
9/18/2007 10:12 PM
bob wrote:
we just bought a home on the equator. 12min. south. no heating , no A/C. constant ocean breezes. no car. we will retire there. soon.
I love listening the the rich telling us how they will conserve and tax everything to death for humanity. After all it won't hurt you, will it?
Lets all line up at the voting polls. question 1: Let's shaft ourselves. How many votes? zippo.
However I am for a vehicle weight tax. and an over 1,600 CC tax on engines. An exponential cost rise, not linear. So that H2's (Hummers) pay $10,000 year on tax. No one needs an H2 (or the like). So if you have a car that is under 2,500 lbs and is 1,600cc then no tax. Set the bar and hope for the best. Reply to this
10/29/2007 11:56 PMSusan Dunn - Coach wrote:
Your blog has made me more conscious. I have turned off the heat/A/C (I live in Texas and it is beautiful weather), and am going to use as little heat as possible this winter. I called the condo manager this morning to come check on my leaking toilet. Then I passed your blog link on to about 20 people, and linked it on my blog. Keep up the good work. Susan Reply to this
2/9/2008 3:48 PM
Paul Riehemann wrote: In an early-February 2008 post, I wrote, "...most often I drive a minivan with just one or two people in it, I don't carpool and I've taken the bus once in the last five years. Yes, there are energy conserving actions our family takes, BUT....."
I'll sleep better after I list here some of the efforts we do make. I say efforts, because that's what they are. There's little financial benefit so we're really just doing them because they're the right thing to do. Yes, we could do more; much more.
I look forward to when a federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy is enacted....then there will be a real financial reward too. For example, it's just over 20 miles round trip to work, so even in our minivan it costs less than $3.00 per day to drive to work - not much of a financial incentive to do something else.
Our list:
House - We added another foot of blown-in insulation to our already well-insulated attic a couple of years ago. In the coldest upstairs room we use those ugly plastic window coverings to keep heat in instead of having the whole house warmer just for that room. - We keep the thermostat really low in the winter (can you say 'sleep hat?') and use the central A/C 10-20 times each summer.
Transportation - On average I bike/run/rollerblade to work 1-2 times each week. Having a shower at work is terrific.
Other - Our lawnmower doesn't have a motor. - We don't own a snowblower or leaf blower. But, 'magically' our driveway is sometimes cleared of large snowfalls and snowplow 'plow-ins' by a couple of nice neighbors with snow blowers. - We've taken a fair number of 'bike-only' vacations.
