Yesterday, JenniferGranholm.com put up a page called "smallstepbigchange.org" with highlights of the meetings and the reasons why they are happening, and it includes a link to a list of the small things that you can do at home to help reduce your environmental impact.
Did you ever take the Earth Day Footprint quiz? Based on those (very) loose calculations, it would take 9.3 planets to support my current lifestyle- and I really don't consume that much. I never fly, I don't drive around a lot, but that is only because my car in ancient and I don't push it if I don't have to. I think most of my consumption on that quiz is based on the size of my house and the fact that I am a big-time carnivore who eats processed food because I don't like cooking or growing my own food.
So, I go look at the small list at smallstepbigchange and instantly I felt a twinge of guilt as I thought about the things that I should be doing- and things that I must do this winter out of pure economic survival alone.
See the news last night? See the price of oil and the costs of home heating fuel going right through the roof again? Ultimately that will be the thing that forces us to change our ways. We will conserve whether we want to or not. Sad that it takes that kind of pressure to make it all personal- but it does.
Let's play true confessions and go down that list.
Replace the light bulbs in my home with compact fluorescent bulbs. Yes, I will do that. Have been thinking about it for awhile. During the summer when it stays light until 10 or so, I didn't have the need for much indoor lighting. Besides, if I'm not in front of the computer, I'm in front of the TV, and I do both of those things in the dark most of the time. Now that it is getting darker earlier, I will check on compact bulbs.
Have my tire pressure and my air filter checked every time I change my oil. I have a very slow leak in my back left tire, so I check my pressure frequently when I notice it getting soft again. The air filter I should change soon- and here is a hint, buy those at the store and do it yourself. The oil change places charge an arm and a leg for them.
Look for the 'Energy Star' label when I buy new kitchen appliances. If I was in the market for such things, I would. But, I'm hoping the ones I have now will last because I really can't afford any new appliances at this point. I would love to get an energy efficient furnace too. The furnace in this house is well over 30 years old- runs great, but probably not energy efficient. (I also have a coal room in the basement. I can't imagine what it was like to have to feed a coal furnace. Life is better now than the 1920's.)
Only run the dishwasher when it's full and I won't use the heat dry option. Done and done. And I don't run it very often (see "no cooking" above).
Weatherize my home with caulk and weather strips. This is the biggee. I have a two story, three-bedroom house, insulation is pretty good, but the windows are not sealed. Over 1800 square feet. Last year, the heat bills ran well over $350 in the winter months, and now I hear that natural gas is expected to rise another 10%.
I did do some weatherization last year, but not enough. This year I am going to caulk, and plastic the windows where I can, and shut off the extra two bedrooms. The house is too big for just me, bought in another time, another life where I thought I would need this space, but things changed and now I don't. But, right now is not a good time to sell for obvious reasons, so I'm stuck here for the time being, and I must button it up this winter.
Take advantage of the recycling programs in my community. Done. Grand Rapids has free curbside recycling, and I have been doing this for years now.
Lower my thermostat by just 2 degrees this winter. See above, and, already done. I keep it at 65 and dress warm. Back in my old apartment I used to keep it at 72 (I hate being cold), but that isn't possible in this barn. One thing I want to check also this year is a programmable thermostat.
So, what am I missing here? Any other things that we should be doing? Small things in our daily lives that help save the environment, and save money at the same time? If you have any suggestions or things that you do, put them in the comments!