I’ve been tagged by Litlove with the energy crisis meme she and her son created. Since my husband and I think about environmental issues a lot and try very hard to leave a small footprint, this is a perfect meme because there is always something more a person can do.
What do I fear about a serious energy crisis?
On a large scale I worry about the economy crashing. I worry about the resulting social upheaval such a crash could create–islands of wealthy people in gated communities who still have energy and cars and food as though nothing has happened surrounded by a sea of have-nots. Not like Mad Maxx but more like Parable of the Sower. On a personal level I worry about not being able to keep my house warm in the winter. I also worry about being able to keep cool during the summer especially since my husband has MS which is exacerbated by heat.
What would I miss most in a world with rationed energy supplies?
I would miss the convenience of being able to turn on a light at any time, reading in bed late at night, my washer and dryer, the Internet. I would miss the Internet very much. I wouldn’t miss cars though. I think being able to ride my bike on the freeway surrounded by other people on bikes would be cool.
What can I do to help?
About a month ago I started washing all our clothes in cold water. Today I started turning my computer off when I was done using it instead of just allowing it to go to sleep. This spring my Bookman and I will be renewing our CSA (community supported agriculture) share. Last year was our first year. As vegans we have always been conscientious about the food we eat, now we are paying more attention to where it comes from. Eating locally and in season makes for delicious meals.
Other things we have been doing for awhile now include using rechargeable batteries, replacing all of our light bulbs with compact fluorescents (including our porch light which rarely gets turned on these days), buying in bulk, bringing our own reusable cloth bags to the grocery store, composting, driving a hybrid car when we have to drive but taking the bus/train/walking/cycling most of the time. We also try not to buy plastic. We use cloth napkins, never buy paper plates, paper napkins, or paper towels.
There are lots of places on the internet you can go to discover what kind of impact you are making on the planet. The Nature Conservancy has an easy to use carbon footprint calculator that will tell you what your footprint is. And they have all kinds of suggestions on simple things you can do to make a difference.
If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.
You might add not having children. Whether it is intentional or not, it reduces your overall impact dramatically. As does being a vegetarian. I read once that it takes less energy for a vegetarian to drive than a meat-eater to walk. That’s how much energy is wasted making meat.
A small footprint, huh? What size shoes do you kids wear?
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
I didn’t realize that washing your clothes in cold water saved energy, but that makes sense. I wash all my clothes in cold water, but that’s because I’m the typical single guy who does his laundry at the apartment laundromat. I just toss everything together–whites, colors, etc.–to get my quarters worth. I realize now I do a lot to save energy and the environment, but that’s because I’m usually broke (yay for being young, with less-than-stellar credit!) and living on my own, so I can’t afford an astronomical electric bill or a gas-guzzling car. I turn everything off when I’m gone, to save money.
Whew! Being cheap never felt so good!
Here from Litlove (where I loved your piece on Emerson). Parable of the Sower turned me into an environmentalist overnight, and when I first saw this meme I thought of it, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to come back here to visit your site again.
Stefanie – this is full of wonderful suggestions for things to do. I shall be following up as many of these as possible. And I can see I really do need to read the Octavia Butler! Thank you so much, my friend, for taking part.
Great list of things you’ve done. Hobgoblin and I are joining a CSA this year, which I’m excited about — we’ll be forced to eat our vegetables! But mostly I’m happy to support local agriculture.
Sylvia, good point about the kids. We did make a purposeful decision not to have them and one of the reasons was overpopulation. I haven’t heard that comparison between vegetarians and meat eaters before. I know not eating meat has a huge environmental impact. That’s one of the reasons we went vegan
Brandon, LOL! Now you know you aren’t being cheap, you are doing your part to save the planet
Emily, hello, welcome, and thank you! Parable of the Sower is a powerful book, isn’t it? And of course I’d love to have you visit again!
Litlove, glad to take part! I forgot to mention recycling. We take pride in how empty our garbage bin is every week. Unfortunately we don’t get a discount for having less trash than our neighbors. I would love to hear what you think of Octavia Butler.
Dorothy, thanks. We had a great experience with our CSA last year. We got a full share and have never eaten so well. I hope you enjoy your CSA. I really think they are the antidote to corporate agribusiness.
This sounds intriguing. We do many of the same things as you do, Stefanie, except for the composting and CSA. Both things we want to start doing. Now that we have a house rather than an apt. it will probably be easier to set up composting. In my town there is a fee for each bag of garbage you put out, so reducing it really has an immediate effect. As for CSA, I have to look around and see if there is anything near me. Of course, now that I have a yard I could plant a garden, too! Ooh, and put up a clothesline… Can’t wait for summer.
We also decided to become vegetarians partly through concerns about the environment, and have chosen to be childfree for some of those reasons as well.
Just popped from here to bookmooch and back to add ‘the parable of the sower’ to my wishlist. I’m pretty environmentally concious in a cycling vegetarian seasonal-eating kind of way. I think cutting all plastic bags out of your shopping routine and switching to renewable energy are two of the easiest yet highest impact things anyone can do. And reducing flying to necessary ‘love miles’ only! A tricky one, that, but worth considering.
I’m with you on all those things I’d miss. Man, are you doing a lot already (says the competitive, edgy part of me). I need to get cracking. Stay tuned for me post on this (which is almost written and will probably be up in the next couple of days).
P.S. Sorry to have monopolized your “recent comments” section, but it’s been a while since I had the time to stop by, and I had to catch up!
Melanie, I wish got charged by the number of garbage bags I put out but my city’s garbage removal doesn’t work that way. They do give me a discount for recycling though. I hope you find a CSA in your area. I don’t know what took me so long to join one but I’m glad I did.
Maggie, good point about the flying. I hate flying so don’t do it often. But the next time I do I will buy carbon emissions offsets to have trees planted somewhere. I hope you are able to mooch Parable of the Sower!
Emily, LOL, I don’t mind the monopoly at all
If everyone felt competitive about what they are doing to save energy I think we’d be able to slow global warming to a crawl.
I really enjoyed your answers Stefanie. And, I took the Carbon Footprint test. All that driving around affected my numbers – at least we do have a little car! But, I am with you on the energy efficient light bulbs, taking my own shopping bags to the store whenever possible, eating organic, etc. I just know that with a bit more effort we can do more here at Casa Bookgirl.
Iliana, we are both also good at recycling books at Half Price Books, aren’t we?
Interesting post. I was recently thinking about how hard it would be to survive if we slipped into another ice age. Combined with an energy crisis that would be really tough.
Oh, don’t fear plastic completely. It can be very useful in permanent applications. If it replaces something metal or ceramic or wood which would be likely to break and require replacement, then it can be more environmentally friendly. Of course, layers upon layers of plastic wrapping, which rarely get recycled, are right out.
Here in Japan, almost every washing machine only uses cold water. At first I was disappointed, but haven’t had any trouble getting my clothes clean.
Also, eating foods in season seems to be a very Japanese way. To appreciate the fleeting nature of things.