How could you lessen the impact of Global Warming?
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Reduce Footprints is stepping up the “Change the World Wednesday challenge“!
Not content with a weekly challenge, we’re being asked to take part in a DAILY challenge along with the Ecumenical Lenten Carbon Fast
As Reduce Footprints points out, even though many of us are not Christian and don’t observe Lent, we are interested in living a “green” life so she’s posting up their daily challenges to see if we can accomplish them.
To begin with we’ve been asked to focus on a rather deep and meaningful topic:
“Consider and discuss the actions we might undertake to lessen the impact of Global Warming and learn about the impact our life choices have on the lives of future generations. Find out what we can do to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for generations to come.”
To be honest I felt a bit overwhelmed with this one, I mean, where do you start?
As I regularly share on this blog, the Universe has a magical way of co-operating with us when we open our hearts and minds a little! Just the other week I was talking to Mr Green and explaining how we had fallen back into bad habits with our electricity consumption. We agreed we needed to do something about it, but somehow we just hadn’t got around to it.
Yesterday, lo and behold we were sent an Onzo electricity monitor to review.
Cutting down on electricity is one of those things where I regularly fall off the bandwagon and I don’t really know why. There are huge benefits to ME as well as the environment if I use less energy, so I can only put it down to laziness.
Bad isn’t it? I mean, how difficult is it to turn off the router at night?
Anyway, the Onzo arrived and with it a renewed motivation for reducing our electricity reliance. We decided to have a ‘normal’ week so we can see how much we can save by making small changes to our lifestyle. I’m not looking forward to sharing the figure with you as I expect it is way above average.
At Chez Green we do not have gas. We use electricity for cooking, back up heating and the immersion tank. we have a woodburner for heat and it will heat the water, but I pop an electric heater on in our bedroom each night and if I work upstairs during the day I use a convector heater. We run LED lightbulbs downstairs which use solar. During the summer when the woodburner is not being used, we have to heat water with electricity too.
I’ll tell you more details about the Onzo another time, but suffice to say this helpful monitor is cheering us on already and has set us a daily target of 16.6 kwh per day. Yesterday we came in at around 12, so that was pretty good going.
So for today’s challenge I’m lessening the impact of Global Warming by making more conscious choices about the amount of energy we use in the home.
What could you do to lessen the impact of Global Warming?
3 Comments
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I think you will be surprised at the outcome of your monitor experiment. From the sounds of it, you do really well at using minimal energy. If you compare your usage to the American average, I’ll bet that you are a “superstar”. That being said, I personally believe in “continuous quality improvement” and feel that I can always do a bit better than I’m currently doing. So your monitor is going to be a great tool … and will give you the ability to know exactly how taking small actions will affect the overall picture. I do hope you’ll share the results. 🙂
When I first read today’s challenge, I wasn’t all that thrilled. It’s a little too “big picture” for me. But then I realized that it forces me to think in another way … to consider how my actions, today, tie into the lives of the next generation. As it turns out, I rather like that way of thinking … it’s like reaching into the future and developing a connection.
Thanks, Mrs. Green! 🙂
I read the challenge yesterday, and like you I thought, “Wow, this is heavy!” And then I realised that I have been considering a post along these lines for some weeks, even to the point of starting it, but never finishing. I am not entering the daily part, but I have posted on what I see for the future; and it’s not rosy.
AV
@Small Footprints: Hiya, I agree totally that “continuous quality improvement” is important. It’s good to go right back to basics too because I know I fall off the bandwagon and gradually let old habits creep back in.
Thanks for your thoughts on the enormity of this challenge, I guess it’s the natural law of consequences all over 🙂
@Argentum Vulgaris: Can’t wait to head over and see what you have written – thanks for the heads up!