lowimpacthome.org

Over the past few weeks, I have been contemplating over what to say next.  I have been very concerned about the economy, the state of America and what it is doing to my family and others that I know.

But it all came to me yesterday morning…

My husband and a band that he belongs to ( The New Memphis Hepcats) were scheduled to perform on a local daily news program, so I had the tv at work tuned to something besides the Golf Channel.  Well the President preempted the program, but I left it on since I was curious as to what he had to say.  Now let me “preempt” this by saying I voted for George Bush…2 times.  I am ashamed by this. You know what they say…”Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.” I haven’t decided whom I am voting for in the next election but I assure you, my decision will be well researched and thought out. 

So, I believe that I have the right to complain, I put my trust in him and he let me down.

As I listened I was appalled as to what he had to say.  What I heard was a bunch of, “I told you so’s” and “its all congress’s fault”. 

I started a project where I would compare prices and the cost of gas between my local grocery store and the granola store.  Well I haven’t been able to finish the project because every drop of my gas is precious and I can’t (even for science sake) to use any more then what is needed.  Now I know that I could offset that travel by riding my bike to work, but when it’s 95 degrees with a 85% relative humidity, riding is a tad bit uncomfortable. 

But I say all this to get to my point…with the rising costs of gas and food, it’s not time to play the blame game, it’s time to fix the problem before middle-class families like mine can’t afford to by the simplest necessities. Not to say that the problems of the poor are not important, but 9 times out of 10 they can apply for some type of governmental assistance (that’s not the answer either), families like mine don’t qualify for programs like that and we are starting to suffer. 

I don’t mean to sound ugly, but now is the time to forget politics, forget about suffering in other countries and focus on America’s recovery and may I say that offshore oil drilling is not the answer.  I agree wholeheartedly that buying 70% of our oil from foreign companies is ridiculas and we need to do something about it, I don’t think that potentially ruining more of the ocean is the right thing to do.  The President doesn’t agree with me on this.  However, I agree with the principle of why he wants to do it.  The less we need, the lower the price.  But what about spending that same money on more eco-friendly or earth friendly fuel production.  I say that then say “No more corn ethanol” that is not what we need, save the corn for the growing food crisis.  Now other forms of ethanol are good to research but NO MORE CORN. 

Speaking of which, my favorite gas station that is connected to my grocery store, that consequently gives me a discount on my gas when I buy their groceries, has gone to putting corn ethanol in their gas.  That makes me sad, especially when they are not cheaper then any of the surrounding gas stations.

Now especially is the time to write to your Congress person and voice your concern.  Don’t sit idly by as things get worse.  Take a stand and let them know that what is going on is not ok and you won’t stand for it.  Give them reasons to support eco-friendly research like wind, and solar power.  you voted for them, make them hear you.

It’s getting to be that time of the year again here in the south, time to turn on the A/C. I figure that we have about 3 more weeks of bearable temperatures and by the end of May the windows will be closed and the a/c will be on full time. Right now at the low impact house we have had the windows open and the fans circulating.

In fact we have used so little electricity (no heater or air conditioner) our bill has dropped another $50, for those of you keeping track that means that our current bill is now down below $80 or $100 with the additional green power cost.

And like the past 2 months, our water usage has been so little that we have continually gotten the “minimal usage” charge. In fact the bulk of our bill ($18.00) goes to have our trash picked up once a week. I guess I shouldn’t complain about the garbage and sewer cost, but it does irk me that I only need the trash service twice a month and still have to pay the same price.

Back to the a/c issue…I promise to keep the thermostat above 78 degrees when we are home and 83 when we are gone, which is a big change from the 74 that is was set at last summer. I am thinking that I will have to keep the whole house fan on when we are home, My husband is not exactly the nicest person to live with when he is hot and I have a terrible time sleeping when I am overly warm and here in the south just because the sun has gone down doesn’t mean that the temperature has done the same.

Where do you pledge to keep your a/c set at this summer…if you live in the south can you stand to go higher then me?

Now that I have reduced my energy costs by changing a few habits I can now buy green power.  I wanted to get a good grip on my normal energy usage before I added another $20 - $40 to my energy bill each month.  I am hoping to be able to keep my costs down throughout the intense summer heat by keeping my a/c turn up as warm as my family will let me. 

Last year during the hottest month of the year my electricity usage was 1410kwh, last month we used about half that much.  We are lucky since we have large trees in our yard that help shade the house durring the hottest parts of the day, hopefully due to that shading we will be able to keep the windows open and run fans instead of the air conditioning. 

I’ll do more research but I would imagine running a fan 24 hours a day would be much less then running the a/c, even if it only runs several times an hour.  I read once that  most of the electricity that the a/c uses is during the start up (the turing on and off) and not in the actual running.  

If you want to find out if you can buy green power from your local power company visit the US Department of Energy’s website.  There you can click on your state and look to see if your local power company is listed.  It will direct you either to their website or to the green power provider’s website.

If you live in Memphis, you can visit MLGW directly or TVA’s website for details about signing up, you will need your account number.

This is a great and easy way to reduce your footprint, so go out and buy some green power today!

Now that we are 10 weeks into my experiment I thought that I would do a quick update on my progress.

Below is an excerpt from my very first post, read more here…

Most everyone is interested in reducing their carbon footprint and reducing their impact in the world, here are the 10 items that I would like to address in my home this year.

1. Recycling
2. Composting
3. Eliminate toxic cleaning products
4. Cut energy costs
5. Become plastic free or at least plastic less
6. Limit the use of my car
7. Buy Green Power
8. Buy more local products
9. Set up an urban garden
10. Stop eating out

So lets see where I am at…

#1. I recycle everything that I can, in fact most weeks the recycle bin is fuller then my trash can. 

 #2. I have started a composting bin.  However I have been waiting to buy worms, I was worried that they would die in the cold.  Next week I will send off for the worms and then get the worm bin moving.  I do have to say that the compost bin that I have in my laundry room has been doing a good job all by itself.  I have been using it since the begining of the year and I have yet to need to empty it.

#3. Elimiating toxic cleaning products…I have been working on this slowly.  As you know I have been using a Cleaning Service to do my major house work, this month I didn’t use them but I think from now on I will use them once a month, so if I am not doing much cleaning I am not using up the chemicals that I have on hand.  I might go ahead and Freecycle the toxic products and keep the safe ones, that way I can have a clean start.  The only problem that I have been having with this item is that all cleaning products come in plastic.  I have used baking soda and vinegar, but they just don’t get rid of most of the stains or soapy residue in the bath tub.  I do try to buy only recycable bottles of cleaner or ones that can be refilled, that is better then some of the #5 bottles that are under my sink.

#4.  I have cut my energy costs by almost $50 a month, just by changing 10 habits.  That was easier then going plastic free.

#5.  I have dramatically changed my plastic habits.  I can even go to the store and not buy any plastic packaging.  The best part is besides the milk issue, we haven’t had any issues with missing out on some of the plastic wrapped foods. 

#6.  Limiting the use of my car has been a tough one.  In fact we will be talking about this topic next month.  I rode several times in February but my knee hurt so bad after those few times I am almost afraid to get back on my bike.  I am on some good drugs now and the swelling has finally gone down, so I will start working back up to the full 6 miles next week.

#7. Now that I have reduced my energy costs, I can start buying green power.  Here you have to buy power by the kilowatt hour and you can’t easily change it month to month, so this will be another topic for discussion next month.

#8.  As far as buying local products, I haven’t been able to do that at all.  For some reason the Farmers Market is only open in the Spring and Summer, so once that opens I will be able to buy all my fresh produce from local vendors and maybe I will get lucky and other products will be offered there too.

#9.  I have talked with my landlord and putting a garden in the backyard is off, but maybe I will be able to grow some veggies in some pots on the back patio.

#10.  Stop eating out…HAH!  This item seems to be impossible.  It’s not that we have overscheduled lives, but somedays we just don’t have the time to cook dinner.  Since both of us work it is very difficult on days that we have activities to find the 30 minutes that it takes me to cook a well balanced meal.  I know that 30 minutes isn’t very much time, but somedays it seems like an eternity.

Well that’s were things stand so far, somethings are getting easier while others are not.  We still have a lot to talk about, so stay tuned…

The last two tips have a lot in common, but let’s tackel #2 today.  I think that the last two tips are pretty obvious ways in which to save money on your electricity bill, but I know that they are not as commonly used as the other 8 tips that I have talked about.  Well let me preface that with saying, tip number 2 is not commonly used in my neck of the woods.  So with that said…let’s get on with it.

Use green power, like solar or wind generators.

Pretty obvious right?  If you want to be more energy efficient, make sure the energy that you are purchasing is energy efficient.  Installing solar cells and wind turbines are more prevalent in other parts of the country, especially on the West Coast but even here in the Grand Ole South you can still purchase solar cells.  One of the most cost effective and smallest ways to start using green power is to purchase a solar water heater.   

True, photovotaic cells are still pricey but there is a large income tax deduction of up to $4000 that you can take if you purchase solar cells.  So while you might spend around $5000 to install a solar power water heater, you could recoup the savings almost immediatly. 

For those of you that can’t afford to purchase things like that or if you are a renter like me you may still be able to purchase green power from your local utility.  I know here in the Mid-South we can purchase green power from the TVA.  It is $4 for 150 kwh, so for $40 extra a month I can purchase enough green energy to cover my electric usage and even part of my neighbors.  

Does your local utility offer green power?  Have you thought about purchasing solar cells or a wind turbine?  Do yourself and the planet a favor and think about it.

I have an issue with Walmart.  I have always had an issue with Walmart.  Even after they announced plans to only stock CFL lightbulbs, I still had an issue with Walmart.  It’s not just that they help to rid the world of small businesses or that customer service is not something that they encourage.  No it’s mostly because I think that the Walmarts of the world encourage over consumption and wastefullness.  Now I say that and more then likely this weekend I will saunter into a Super Target to buy shoes for my son.  But that doesn’t mean I will like it, it just means that there is no other option. 

But now I have another issue with Walmart, they are puting ethanol in their gasoline. 

I happen to be traveling down one of the busiest streets here in my home town and since my husband forgot to tell me that he needed gas, I had to stop at the local Walmart to fill up.  Getting gas at Walmart is not a normal thing for me, so while all this talk about ethanol in gas maybe old news to some, it’s new to me and I don’t like it.  ***UPDATE*** BP is also selling gasoline with ethanol added.  I don’t know about you but I plan not to purchase gas from either Manufacturer.

I personally think that ethanol from corn is a very bad thing.  According to this article, we would never be able to plant enough corn to keep up with the demands for ethanol and other corn products.  Plus folks in the Amazon are cutting down precious rain forests to plant corn to be used in ethanol production.  That’s really bad!

This post from Eco Geek give you the long story in short:

Long story short? Corn ethanol isn’t working. It’s inefficient, reduces supplies of actual food which actual people need to actually eat, and increased demand is only leading to the destruction of the last untouched American prairie lands. But solutions might be on the way in the form of cellulosic ethanol, which is much more energy efficient (though more expensive) to produce, as well as alternate forms of biofuels that are more energy dense and gasoline-like than ethanol…

Why don’t we spend our money on electric cars or other types of fuel cells, wouldn’t that make more sense?

 Here is a story that I never thought I would read:

George Bush’s policies on just about everything to do with the environment are wrong headed and destructive, but you cannot say the same for his ranch in Crawford Texas. Amazingly, given his oil industry links, Bush’s ranch is off-grid, boasting a range of eco-features including geothermal heating and cooling, that would make Leonardo di Caprio proud…read more

Apparently George Bush’s Texas home is off the grid.  He is using green power in his home…wow!  So why doesn’t he support more green initiatives, it would probably increase his popularity if he did. 

Speaking of political parties…what is the green stance of your candidate…do you know?  What about your Represenatives are they going for the green?  With global warming on the rise we can’t wait another 4 years for a major change in environmental issues.  We need to act now…make sure your candidate share all of your values not just some.

You want more questions about environmental issues at debates…sign the petition!

Most everyone is interested in reducing their carbon footprint and reducing their impact in the world, here are the 10 items that I would like to address in my home this year.

1. Recycling
2. Composting
3. Eliminate toxic cleaning products
4. Cut energy costs
5. Become plastic free or at least plastic less
6. Limit the use of my car
7. Buy Green Power
8. Buy more local products
9. Set up an urban garden
10. Stop eating out

Now I have high expectations but I don’t think I can do all of these all at once. So I will ease myself into this by trying to accomplish at least one item per month. Remember I have a husband and 4 kids to convince, and I am sure that a coupe would ensue if I took things to quickly. So my first goal will be to learn more about the recycling in my community and surrounding communities and how I can use them more wisely.