"My Elective Blackout"

I came across this article in Real Simple a long while ago and I LOVED it. My goal is go on a couple elective blackouts this year as long as my schedule allows. If I'm working on a show, that's not possible but if I can, I want to have a weekend of candles.

Click each picture for a larger view. It is worth reading the article.

 

What do you think about the article?

Electrical Overload

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I recently moved to New York for a job relocation and while I'm still getting situated, I'm staying in corporate housing. I am grateful for the benefit of corporate housing. It ties me over until I find a home. It's close to work and pretty much at the center of everything. The apartment comes fully stocked since most of my belonging are in storage and so I am able to survive until I find my future home in Brooklyn.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was all the things plugged into the walls.

 

This is a partial view of the kitchen. It's pretty nice. Lots of room and counter space. But let's count what's plugged in.

1. The fridge

2. The stove.

3. The microwave

4. The dishwasher

5. The toaster

6. The can opener

7. The coffeemaker

SEVEN THINGS! Just in the kitchen. Remember my old lovely apartment?

 

 At any given moment throughout my ENTIRE apartment only THREE things remained plugged in. The fridge, the stove and my internet router. Even the lamp featured in the photo was only plugged in when in used. Which was rare because you see how much light i get in my apartment!

So seven things for just the kitchen. Well, I immediately put the can opener, toaster and coffee machine in the cabinet. I haven't used any of those things since I moved in.

Now what you can see in this picture...

8. Floor lamp

9. Table lamp

10. Ipod/Radio player

What you can't see...

11. Flat screen television

12. DVD player

13. Cable box

14. Router

15. Desk lamp

16. Telephone

17. Heater/Air conditioner

Oh, I forgot to mention

18. Telephone in kitchen

19. Telephone in kitchen (yes there are two. One that connects me to the doorman)

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Now on to the bedroom.

20. One nightstand lamp

21. Another night stand lam

22. Heater/Air Conditioner

What you can't see.....

23. Another television. (A television in the bedroom. AAAAAHHHH!)

24. Cable box.

25. Yet ANOTHER telephone

And while its not plugged in there is a hair dryer in the bathroom.

25 things plugged in at all times! Are you serious! I can't even imagine what the electricity bill is! This isn't even counting the other things that you plug in every now and then. My phone chargers. My laptop charger and such! WTF!

I was excited to have received a $15 electricity bill in my old apt and now...holy crap. Luckily I don't have to see the electricity bill.

I've unplugged as many things as I can and have even considered moving the television in the bedroom into the closet but since its not my place I'm a little hesitant to make changes like that.

I find that its challenging to live a sustainable life when you don't have control. Like when I go home to visit my family, I eat what's presented to me. I'm not going to impose my lifestyle on them and change how they shop. And since this isn't my own apt, its just challenging. But I do what I can.

For the first few weeks I had a great deal of trouble sleeping. Part of me believes is due to this electrical overload. I can't wait to have my own apt again where the only things that are plugged in will be my fridge, stove and router.

How many things do you have plugged in?

Practical Steps towards lowering your utility bill.

A friend wanted to know the practical steps towards reducing my energy usage and decreasing the amount I pay on my energy bill.

I believe when I moved into my apartment back in May, my first two bills were about $20 to $22 dollars. That was with living my normal lifestyle without taking extra measures towards being more eco conscious.

Here is what I do and I know its not conducive for everyone. (Remember I live alone which means I live in a controlled environment in a small city apartment)

• Live alone. While some say its cheaper to live with roommates, I have found its cheaper to live alone. Or at least, if you live with roommates, live with someone who is conscientious about their energy consumption and amount they spend on utilities. My former roommates were more than ok with spending $100+ on the electricity bill. I was NOT ok with that. By living alone or living with people who are like minded you know that the lights are being turned off. You know that energy isn't being wasted. If you have children, you can teach them to be conscious of the energy they consume. I actually came across a toy called the Power Hog that children are to plug into the wall. And when its fully charge, there is something to indicate to the kid that they can unplug the piggy. And when the piggy runs out of charge, the child has to feed it a coin to turn it back on thus teaching the child that energy isn't free. Anyone know what I'm talking about. Even without these crafty little strategically marketed "green" toys, you can teach your children to turn the lights off when they leave a room, to not leave the water running, and such.

 

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• Get outside. During the summer I spent little time at home. I work a full time job and I stayed active in either theater shows, beach volleyball teams, traveling, bike rides and such. By spending time outdoors, I was spending less time at home with lights on, watching tv and wasting energy. So add a thing or two to your schedule. Instead of watching tv with your children, take them to the park. Its free! Cable and Electricity are not.

• Unplug appliances from the wall or use surge protectors. The ONLY thing plugged into my walls on a consistent every day basis is my Fridge and Stove...which I don't really count. And my router for my wireless internet because if I unplugged that, it would take forever for it to reboot. I unplug my lamps from the wall. I unplug my phone chargers from the wall. My microwave stays off and unplugged unless I need to use it. So does my blender, printer, external hard drive and other chargers.

• Use less artificial light. This may be harder for some people rather than others. This lady that I work with always makes fun of me and says I like living in a cave. For every light that she turns on at work, I want to turn another off. I am quoted as saying that "fluorescent lights suck my soul away." I only like using enough light that's necessary. As little light as possible. Whenever I skype with Mr. Officer he complains about not being about to see me. While he has 20 lamps on, I think I have one on. "I know what I'm going to buy you," he says, "A desk lamp!" Its funny but its also true of me. I don't really like turning lights on. Turn on the lights only when you need too. Use candles. Use natural lighting. I have lots of windows in my apartment. Therefore I can use the sunshine for many things. In the mornings I just wash my face and brush my teeth. Since I'm not styling my hair or applying makeup, I don't really need the light on. When I shower, I shower with the light off. It feels better that way. Right this very moment, how many lights are on in your place?

• Own less stuff or own multi-functional devices. I don't have a flat iron. hot curler. blow dryer. dvd player. tv. wii. radio. alarm clock. toaster. food processer. Because I have less stuff. That's less stuff to use. My laptop serves as a laptop and a radio and a tv and a dvd player. Since I wear my hair natural and use simple styles like twist to make other styles, I don't need a blow dryer, flat iron, curler or anything else. (I don't even own a brush or comb!) My blender doubles as a food processor. My boiler toast my food just fine.
  

• Open the windows and Drink Water.  Because my air runs on electricity, I specifically did things differently as oppose to turning the air on. I kept my windows open for most of the summer. Since our summer this year was more like spring, there weren't too many HOT HOT days. If I were hot even with the window open, I'd SOMETIMES turn my ceiling fan on. But MOST times I'd drink water or lemonade. I'd eat popsicles and gelato.

So that's what I did. And by doing so I took an already cheap bill of $22 down to $15. But keep in mind, I live alone in a small apartment and I don't own as much stuff as the average person and I have an natural aversion to artificial light in the first place.

What to do when you live with roommates who don't care about energy consumption and the money they spend on utilities?

• Move Out or Find a Subleasee. (You can't change people. You can impact and influence them. But only to a certain point. And some people give no priority to the environment or the weight of their energy usage. Let those people be and move on and move out.)

What to do when you live with a spouse and family?

• Since its your family, you have greater influence on what people do in the house. And while a spouse may not be too keen on your new granola ways, I'm pretty sure they are keen on saving money. Why spend a saturday in the house with everybody watching their tv's in their own room or listening to their ipods or talking on their cell phones when you can go to the beach as a family? Or go on a picnic? Or play a game? 

What were ways you lowered your utility bill? I'm looking to bring my bill from $15 to $13. Any advice on what else I can do? (I could watch even less tv on Hulu.com than I currently watch. Then my computer wouldn't drain as much and I wouldn't need to charge it. Instead I could spend more time journaling and reading books. I could also spend intentional weekends going "off the grid" with an elective blackout. )

When love isn't green

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I've mentioned a couple times, that while I am working towards living a more granola way of life, I am in a relationship with a man who doesn't always subscribe to that sort of approach. He has every opportunity to do so. I fantasize about his huge backyard. I imagine fruits and vegetables growing. Herbs and Flowers. I imagine using the compost from his kitchen to nourish the earth in his backyard. My fantasies run deep.

His backyard is used to store the trailer to his truck for his motorcycles. His backyard houses a rusted basketball rim but I believe it holds extremely significant value to him. And it houses all of Mr. Magoo's poop and pee.

I was speaking with Sam about how my life with Mr. Officer would align with these kinds of differences. These differences materialized in small ways during our time together at the Ritz last week while I was working in New York.

Let me explain.

I don't own a tv. By choice. I have a laptop and hulu and a netflix account. Any show that doesn't fit into either of those isn't worth watching.

Mr. Officer. He has a tv in every room of his house. A flat screen tv in every room of his tri-level, three bedroom, two bathroom house. Even the bathroom. Even the kitchen and dining room which open onto themselves each have a tv.

When visiting him, I don't make a fuss. It's his house. I'm a guest. His favorite guest! But its his house. He makes the rules. Just as I told him, when ever he came to Chicago he would have to do without a tv.

While we stayed in the hotel, I kept the tv off as much as possible. The TV served as white noise for him. So we went back and forth turning the tv on and off throughout the night. I could stand it until it woke me up again and then I'd turn it off. He'd put up with that until the silence of the night was unbearable and turn it back on. What if we ever live together? I have a no tv in the bedroom rule. He has a tv in every room rule and it has to be on at all times rule. WTF? I think I could compromise with it being in the room so long as I didn't have to hear it every night while falling asleep.

I also have a little thing about electronics in my bedroom in general. My cell phone, my laptop, ... all of that stuff. I keep it away from my bed. So in the hotel room I had my phone across the room on the desk while I sat on the bed....watching tv.... with Mr. Officer. My phone would buzz because of an email or facebook notification or text and each time I'd jump out of bed, check my phone, respond if necessary and then get back in bed leaving the phone on the desk. I must have jumped up like seven times before Mr. Officer was like, "What are you doing? Why don't you keep the phone with you in bed? You look crazy." I told him that I didn't like having electronics in bed. I liked having my phone away from me. "Suit yourself," he said. And throughout the night every so often he would send a text just to screw with me because he knew I'd get up each time. Silly Officer.

Now part of Mr. Officer's NonGranola Tendencies are due to his career. He always needs one or sometimes two laptops on him. His phones always have to be turned on. He has to use a variety of cars.

But seriously...he has seven computers, four cameras, three personal cars, two motorcycles, TV's EVERYWHERE, and the list goes on and on and all these things are ALWAYS on. The first time I stayed over night with him, I jumped at every sound and barely slept. At any given moment something would beep, tick, ring, or buzz. But I've gotten used to it. There are many adjustments I've made willing because its what comes with dating someone in his position. I get it. And while the thought of his electricity bill scares me, I know there are other ways he wouldn't mind being a bit more sustainable. (He probably pays in just taxes and tariffs what my full bill of $15 is.)

• I'm pretty sure getting him to recycle wouldn't be an issue. 

• Since he is VERY health conscious, purchasing organic fruits and vegetables would be a breeze. He loves local places. (He thinks New York is the center of the world.) So the whole eco-conscious eating thing would be SO easy. 
• It might take some convincing but I think after working him over a bit, he'd let me have my way with his unused backyard.

BUT

• I doubt he will unplug things from the wall. All of your arguments are not going to convince him.
• He will never get on a bus or train
• He probably won't ever buy things used.

The will he or won't he list could go tit for tat.

Although I find it funny. One of the organizations he leads is all about mentoring children. He's also a basketball coach and he has been quoted as saying, "We need to leave the world better than we found it." or something to that effect. He uses that to talk about why its important to have great relationships with children. But of what use is having people, if the very world itself can no longer sustain us. Perhaps if I use his own logic and the things he cares about, I could spin it in a way that would shift his paradigm of thinking and he might try a few granola things.

I will definitely be using the tips from Green Girl Meets All American Boy to figure out our sustainable life together. My friend Sam mentioned that since dating her awesome boyfriend, because they are near each other, they pick up habits and tendencies from each other. Now he is recycling more and being more conscious about the way he consumes and his energy usage. Perhaps once I live closer to Mr. Officer that will be the case too. Does any one have advice? I will also say that its not my goal to convert him to my paradigm of thinking and if he never set foot in a thrift store it wouldn't be the breaking point of our life together. I just think there is room for growth and I don't want to ever lose any of my granola tendencies. HELP!

Utilities.

I just received both my ComEd and People's Gas bill in the mail today. I was so eager to open the bill that I ran up the stairs to my apartment. Who ever heard of that? Someone being excited to open a bill.

But I was! I have been even more intentional over the past month in my usage and habits at home in regards to electricity and gas that I've been itching to see if I'm making any difference.

Last month I paid $20.60 for my gas bill and $19 for my electricity bill.

This month, my gas bill isn't as accurate as it should be. People's Gas took it upon themselves to enroll me in their budget plan since the winter is coming. Their presumption that I would need this budget plan annoyed me. I know winter is coming. I know my bill will probably be more as I turn the heat up...but even still I am finding other ways to keep my bill from going through the roof. I had to call in to take myself off their budget plan. Also, while it will be December 1st, I have yet to turn my heat on. Why? Because I don't need to. My apartment is small and cozy. If I cook dinner, that heats my apartment up. I have lots of blankets. I wear long sleeves and I drink tea.

Even with the budget plan, my bill this month for gas is $21.00. Minus their bs and the taxes and tariffs for efficiency program and environmental charge..my bill really comes to $17.05! How amazing is that!

Some people are going to roll their eyes when I tell them my electricity bill.

Are you ready for this?

With all the taxes and tariffs included my total electricity bill comes to.....$15.43!!!!


I am just feeling really good about myself right now. Who knew putting the microwave on a surge protector and turning it off indefinitely would decrease my bill? Nowadays...everything is unplugged from the walls except for the stove, fridge, and router for my wireless internet.

This brings me back to living with roommates where our electricity bill ws $130 once and I was made to pay a 1/3 of that even though I knew I didn't use that much energy. Now I'm able to get an accurate read of what I really use.

The goal is to bring the gas bill down to $18 including taxes and the electricity down to $13. We will see what happens. Any suggestions on how I can further decrease my monthly utilities bill?

Dr. Greg Watson and Blacks in Green

While the event took place more than a week ago, I'd love to spend some time talking about what took place. Two Fridays ago, I went to a speaking engagement hosted by Blacks in Green where Dr. Greg Watson was speaking.

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There are a couple things I'd like to talk about therefore bare with me if this gets long. Why don't you go grab a cup of tea and come back after you've settled down a bit because there are quite a few things I want to say. And I don't know if I may some things that are offensive or make you uneasy and I won't apologize for them but I'd love your reactions to them Or maybe what I'll write will be roses and sunshine and we will all feel better about the world. I have no clue right now.

First, I found out about Blacks in Green while taking courses in Green Business through the Chicago Center for Green Technology. The courses that I took for the most part were engaging, challenging, insightful and full of lively and interesting debate. Although the class I was most looking forward to turned out to be the biggest disappointment unfortunately. While taking these courses there were quite a few people who I continued to see throughout the various classes. Because we had to sign in with who we were affiliated with, I started seeing a reoccurring theme of people from "Blacks in Green." Eventually I googled it.

Now let me pause. While I am Black, you'd never catch me starting a group like Blacks in Green. While I think it has its time and place and it geared towards a certain group, its just not the type of thing I would do. Those are the same people who would get upset with a group called "White in Green." We'd label that as racist. So why Blacks in Green. I just think it limits the possibilities. Besides, I don't think its a sustainable approach in the long run. I know if I started a blog called "Black Girl, Green World." that blog would generate more traffic and if I added "finna" and did a post on "How to be Green in the Hood," so many black people would read my blog and perhaps nominate me for the Black Web Blog Awards.

And while that is great for someone. I think its foolish for me. Whatever. While I don't like the name of "Black in Green" I did join their meet up group because they do all sorts of things all over Chicago and I felt like I had something to learn. Even though I've been in the group for almost a year though, I never participated in any of their meetups. Going to Dr. Watson's speaking engagement was the first.

First thing I noticed was....

....lots of PAPER!!!!!

There were four sign up sheets for an event that had about forty people. I mean, really. I know you don't want people waiting forever to check in...but for sheets. That's like ten people sign in per sheet. Didn't someone own a laptop? Couldn't they have had an eletronic sign in. You walk in and the person at the table ask your name and whatnot and they type it in?

Then the table was just sprawled with all sorts of hand outs and this and that and blah blah blah. And even during the conversation, they passed out pieces of yellow paper so that you could write your questions on for Dr. Watson. Honestly, Dr. Watson had made the room so inviting and welcoming that it didn't need to be formal enough to write questions down. After the first question was asked from the sheet, everyone just spoke freely.

There were snacks. I didn't take the time to see but I wondered if they were organic and local. There was wine. I wondered where did it come from and what impact it placed on the earth. And I wondered if they wondered about it.

Some politician's assistant spoke first. He read from some script about all the wonderful things Chicago is doing to make the world more sustainable and while many of them were actually intriguing and good to learn about, I rolled my eyes. I thought, "You have this whole freakng speech and yet I can't find a place that I can recycle and compost in the city. Are you kidding me? Shut up and let Dr. Watson speak."

Next two journalist spoke. They both were award winning, world traveler amazing people. And I thought, it would be great to know them but that wasn't why I came.

Then Naomi Davis spoke. She read a poem. And her energy was very....hmm remember the talking tree from Pocahantas. The wise spiritual welcoming tree. Something about the energy of that tree reminds me of her. I mean that as a highest compliment. I'd love if someone said you remind me of a mountain, its strength. Or of the wind or the moon. So I really mean it with the best intentions.

Then Dr. Watson spoke.

He spoke on many things and I took detailed notes and perhaps that will be a post too in which I just give you the minutes of the speaking engagement. Right now I'm just writing from memory of things that were said and what stood out.

Dr. Watson spoke a great while about the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative.  Have you ever heard of it? I remember hearing about it in one of my sociology classes during undergrad. I believe it may have been Urban Sociology. (Since I have a problem with keeping every notebook from college, I'm sure I still have the notes from that study and lecture and will look for it). I've taken the words straight from their website because there is no way for me to say it better.

The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) is a nonprofit community-based planning and organizing entity rooted in the Roxbury/North Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston. DSNI's approach to neighborhood revitalization is comprehensive including economic, human, physical, and environmental growth. It was formed in 1984 when residents of the Dudley Street area came together out of fear and anger to revive their neighborhood that was devastated by arson, disinvestment, neglect and redlining practices, and protect it from outside speculators.


DSNI works to implement resident-driven plans partnering with nonprofit organizations, community development corporations (CDCs), businesses and religious institutions serving the neighborhood, as well as banks, government agencies, corporations and foundations. The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative has grown into a collaborative effort of over 3,000 residents, businesses, non-profits and religious institutions members committed to revitalizing this culturally diverse neighborhood of 24,000 people and maintaining its character and affordability. DSNI is the only community-based nonprofit in the country which has been granted eminent domain authority over abandoned and within its boundaries.

Later on, it says....

DSNI's major accomplishment has been, and continues to be, organizing and empowering the residents of the Dudley Street neighborhood to create a shared vision of the neighborhood prioritizing development without displacement and bringing it to reality by creating strategic partnerships with individuals and organizations in the private, government, and nonprofit sectors. That shared vision first emerged from a community-wide process conducted initially in 1987 that resulted in a resident-developed, comprehensive revitalization plan.

The 1987 comprehensive plan was updated in our urban village visioning process in 1996, involving over 180 residents and organization representatives. Their ideas affirm many elements of the 1987 plan, add important refinements and renew their commitment to creating an "urban village" and declare their belief that "Anything Is Possible". From this process, a major commitment was made to enhance economic power in the Dudley neighborhood. Through DSNI’s community land trust, the Dudley neighborhood has the only permanent affordable housing in the city of Boston.

Residents continue to guide this plan which established community control over a critical mass of the 1,300 parcels of abandoned land that had come to characterize the neighborhood. Residents gained control by convincing the authorities in Boston’s city government to take the unprecedented step of granting the community the power of eminent domain over much of the vacant land combined with a partnership with the city on the publicly-owned vacant land. The Dudley neighborhood thus acquired valuable assets, established a community land trust, set a criteria for development and a "place at the table" for the planning and development of the community.

 Did you take the time to really read that? What if every neighborhood was like that? Wow. We'd really get things done. Dr. Watson brough up Dudley Street for two reasons because he once served as their Executive Director for four years and highlight the power of what communities can do when they ask and take initiative.

I believe Blacks in Green partners with various neighborhood initiatives and groups in the chicago land area and some leaders and activist were in attendance. One group represented a portion of the Riverdale community and after hearing about the Dudley Street Neighborhood, they spoke of their frustration with limitations and with not knowing what they could do. One woman spoke at lengths about that fact that many of the local cable services refuse to allow cable in that area. I'm not sure of the technical way to explain this.

For example in my building if you want internet, you can only sign up via comcast. My building or neighborhood or who knows..haven't authorize AT&T for example to offer internet. And even if they did, I don't even think AT&T is in that area, although they are three blocks away. How that is divided is a mystery to me.

Therefore with this neighborhood in Riverdale...NONE of the cable and internet provides will touch their land.

Some people spoke about the impossibility of that. There was no way that it was completely impossible for them to have internet in their neighborhood. Others asked whether they had them at the library or not? I think the answer was no because their library couldn't afford it. That led to a woman from that group saying everyone couldn't afford a computer. Then a man in the back mumbled that they couldn't afford not to have one. I agreed with him. With the cheap cost of brand new dells, how someone can't afford one is beyond me. And if a brand new dell is cheap, how about a refurbished one. Even cheaper. Where else is your money going? Financial priority, planning and management in the black community leaves much to be desired.

Another man stood up and said why didn't they pool the neighborhood and collect money. One might only be able to give 75 or 100 or something and then as a large group they go to best buy and said, "We have x amount of dollars, can we get a deal on 75 computers." Then he said, you may not get them all but maybe they will give you 60. And there you go, your neighborhood has computers.

How that allows them access to the internet, I am not sure?

Listen, I know someone might think, how the hell is she telling people how to spend their money. Some of their neighborhoods are the most at risk, have the highest unemployment rate and receive little assistance. But some of these same people always wear the latest jordans, go to the beauty shop every week and always were Apple Bottom Jeans and maybe that's why you can't afford a computer. Not because you don't make a million but because when you have 100 dollars to give it to Apple Bottom Jeans instead of organic apples and an apple computer. (I am going to piss someone off. It is not my intent.)

Many of these efforts such as the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative work because they are community based. And the lack of unity amongst communities right now is ridiculous. Children are beating each other to death with two ply wood, so I'm not sure how those same neighborhoods are to band together and proactively seek internet resources and discounted computers. I don't believe its a hopeless situation but I just have heard of any realistic approached to progression.

One older gentleman stood up and spoke about how many resources and networking possibilities were just inside the room we were in. One person would say they were stuck with one kind of problem and someone else would stand up and say they worked with organizations that dealt with those problems. One person would say they needed a resource for something and someone else would stand up and give them a website to visit. So this older gentleman said there was a need for centralized information where people could go to find out about resources. Many of these people knew what they needed or had ideas but had no clue how to go about finding them.

This made my ears perk up because that's the type of thing I am interested in finding and being a part of. Last year when my company began to take sustainable initiatives, I had no clue where to begin. I just google corn cups and found articles and googled green business. I was starting from scratch. And sure there were organizations I could pay to be a part of to find a more centralized approach to this information but something about that annoyed me. Therefore, I started a binder with all of my findings with the research, with products, with websites, I started ordering books and sample products. This binder was my go to guide for all things green business. One of our vendors came by our office one day to introduce a new product we had recently purchased and in an impromtu meeting I ended up pulling out my binder. He was so impressed with this information that he offered to buy it from me on the spot! I didn't sell it. It had some things that contained sensitive information. And why should be pay when I found all the information for free. I had just organized it. Plus, knowing him he was just going to restamp it with his companies name and say he had developed it. I declined his offer.

But seeing how eager he was to purchase this binder, I wondered how many other people could benefit from something like this. Or did it already exist? When I was pursuing my certificate in Green Business, I took a course called "Researching Green." This was the one I most looked forward to. I spent hours upon hours researching things and it was only when I was 75% of the way done, that I found out how to really search for what I needed. So I thought this class would give great direction to me on how to further my own research. PLEASE! Girlfriend had hardly any clue what she was talking about. I was a little upset that she had wasted over two hours of my time basically teaching me how to type "green" in google. Aah!


Back to the talk with Dr. Watson. One thing he emphasize was the power that we could have. Communities could get together, develop municipalities or go to ones that already exist and take a proactive approach to the utilities in their neighborhood. We believe...well I believe I can only have comcast because that's what I'm told. But what if my entire building...or ALL the buildings my management company ran banded together and decided we wanted to change. I've never known a group of people in unity who banded together for a social movement only receive "no" forever. Eventually some form of change took place, even if it took decades, death and getting your hands really dirty. I just find it inspirational that if a community could get the local government to grant them eminent domain ... what can't we do?

This really encourages me when it comes to my building and their lack of recycling. I want to write a petition and letter and gather all the signatures of those in my building and go to our management company. Perhaps we can spur change! We just need to figure out how to link up, leverage each other and lead. That's the motto of Blacks in Green. "Link. Leverage. Lead." I like that.

Before any speaking took place, a video was shown that was so inspirational. I hope you take the time to watch this 6 minute video and perhaps if you want to learn more you should visit his website. William needs no introduction.



Click the link for more information on William.

Utilities

Not sure if you can see this too clearly but this is my natural gas bill for this month due on November 17th from People's Gas, Chicago's choice of vendor for this utility.

The total bill comes to $20.60

I think that is amazing!

And..and..the bill is really $16. The rest is taxes and politics and some environment pact thing.

I think that's impressive and look forward to making it even lower. I once knew a women with a two bedroom apartment who's gas bill was about $12. Crazy!

It will be interesting to see my gas bill during December and January when hell freezes over and the devil decides to blow a cold wind in chicago to make up for lost time.

Somethings that aide in this that may be different for the average household is that

• I don't cook ever day
• I don't have a programmable thermostat
• My apartment management is amazing with checking our filters and ducts and all that whatnot. (don't remember my old apartment management doing so. they were so amazing that when the roof in the bathroom above the shower started cracking and falling, their solution was to tell me to shower with the window open because the steam did it.)
• I have yet to turn my heat on
  

I also just received my ComEd Electricity bill and the total for that was $19. The bill went down $1 from last month. I wonder if its because I've been unplugging EVERYTHING from my walls except the fridge and stove.

Is your gas and electric bill high or low? When do you start turning your heat on?