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.
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. )
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.
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.
According to the EPA the average CO2 emissions per person per year are about 20,000. When I used their carbon calculator to figure out my yearly usage, I came in at about 7,000. (I'm not the average household. I'm single, like in a small city apartment, and am home on average of eight hours per day.) My survey results are below.
Today's challenge asked us to take a quick audit of or energy usage at home. I went around the apartment making note.
KITCHEN
Fridge - stays plugged in at all times Stove -I don't even know what the back of my stove looks like but I'm assuming its plugged in.
Microwave - stays plugged in at all times. (I could unplug this. I rarely use it. For a long time I didn't even use one. There are creative ways to heat everything up on a stove and its probably healthier for you anyway.)
Blender - never plugged in. Only when used. Coffee Maker - never plugged in. (The price tag is still on it. Anyone want a free coffee maker. I'll gladly ship it to you. Its brand spanking new! Why give it away? Because we have over 10 coffee machines at work..the real ones. Like the ones starbucks have or something. I can make any drink on Starbucks menu at my job!)
LIVING ROOM/DINING ROOM/OFFICE
Printer - stays unplugged unless it is in use Table lamp - stays unplugged unless it is in use
Floor lamp - usually stays unplugged unless it is in use. (Last two weeks, I've been lazy)
Laptop Power Adapter - stays unplugged unless it is in use. Speaker Power Adapter - stays unplugged unless it is in use. Blackberry Power Adapter - stays plugged in.
BATHROOM
iPhone Power Adapter - stays plugged in.
BEDROOM
Air Conditioner power cord - stays plugged in.
The items in green are easy fixes. I can just unplug them. I think its a great idea to keep things unplugged until you actually use them. And as you can see, I don't have many electronics. Not sure what to do about the fridge and stove. While Colin's suggestions in the how to guide to combat fridge usage are creative, I don't really care for them.
THINGS TO NOTE
I do not own a television intentionally. (I use my laptop to watch any and everything I want. Multi-Functional devices are great. Less clutter. Less things. More green)
In my bathroom...there is no blow dryer, curler, flat iron. (Please, I don't even own a comb or brush. I wear my hair naturally...which aides in my living a more sustainable life. But I do style my hair in many creative ways)
I am one of those that only like specific lighting and not just general lighting. I like as little lighting as possible. I like natural light. I like candles. And I pretty much keep my lights off. During the mornings I wash my face and brush my teeth with the lights off. Usually there is enough natural light seeping through. Besides I don't wear makeup, so I don't need extra light for all of that fluff fluff
I have yet to turn my heat on this fall. My bed has many blankets and pillows. When I'm cold I put a sweater on or socks on. I drink tea or hot cocoa.
Since I'm rarely home...I average about 8 hours a day and I keep most things unplugged and even when I'm there, its such low usage..my electric bill and gas bill are pretty low. My People Gas bill and ComEd Electric bill have been around $20 a month. I've lived in my apartment since May. I think that's pretty good. (When I lived with roommates this was not the case. Sometimes our electric bill was over $130. Freaking Crazy! It was a constant battle between how high or low the air or heat should be. There were TV's, Wii's, laptops,...things were always on all the time. And now, I pay $20 each for both those bills. Crazy)
I have other things that plug in but they are stored away until I need them...such as my camera power cord, external harddrive power cord and etc. For those with a billion cords, I recommend Smart Power Strips. I think they are creative and extremely innovative. Also, the prices are pretty reasonable...especially for the savings you will rack up.
So look, I'm just going to toot my own horn and say that I do pretty good with my energy consumption. There are a few areas of improvement. I could be more intentional and unplug those last few things that I keep in. But what I want to try are a couple things....
In the guide, Collin suggest using your laptop/computer for only work based reasons...perhaps for a day or weekend. And then...turning it off and living. Instead of facebooking everyone, call a friend. No, don't call. Go visit them. Go outside. Write in a journal. Read a book. Turn your computer off. I'm going to try this. Keep my laptop off for an entire day. Although I once went two years without a laptop..while stage managing. So I know its manageable.
While I can't do it during a production, I also want to go back to turning my phones off for designated times. I used to keep my phones off on Sundays. So much more peaceful that way. I want to find more moments to do this. It gives you the freedom to be a bit more present.
On that note, I once read an article in a magazine where a woman when off the grid for an entire weekend. I mean she didn't turn lights on, no cell phones, no tv...no nothing. (She did use her stove though. One creative stove use was to boil a stained shirt in hot water to remove it!) The article was two pages long, I have it filled away and will scanned it in. I've held on to that article for many years now and it was so beautifully written.
Perhaps I'll take an entire weekend and go off the grid. Maybe I'll try doing it once a month.
Having listed my granola tendencies in regards to energy usage, do you see other areas where I can improve? I am all ears!!!
A few of my most recent granola tendencies.... (i'm scared if I keep going down this path, you might actually catch me hugging a tree)
COFFEE AND TRASH
Today, since I'm being more cognizant of of trash, as I have been the past couple of days, I give second thought to most things that I grab. As I mentioned before I've been putting honey in my tea so that I don't have to open and discard little sugar packets. Today when making my coffee, I almost grabbed the little containers of half and half creamer. But that would mean two small containers of waste to throw away. So instead, I grabbed the skim milk and used that as my creamer. I've never done that before. And you know what, I liked it! My coffee was smoother and my stomach handled it much better. I suppose I should stop drinking coffee altogether but that won't happen until pigs fly. So in fairness I drink fair trade coffee that is distrubted locally. Intelligentsia.
PAPER
I have been using my phones more to take down notes instead of post its and even scrap paper. I am also printing so much less that its ridiculous. Do they give awards for that? Because I deserve top honors. If only you could see how much I used to print a day. Maybe 50 pages or so a day sometimes. And in the last week I've printed one page because for accounting reasons I had too. But when I spoke to my boss about it, he said I'd no longer have to do that starting January 1st. Yea! I didn't have my phone on me at one point today, so instead of grabbing a post it...I did something probably worse...I wrote on my hand instead. Ink poisoning or Killing Trees? I've been using Evernote. I was able to put in on my mac laptop at home, my iPhone, and my PC at work. Unfortunately it doesn't work with my blackberry pearl. However, if you have another kind of blackberry, I think you are all good. In a meeting I used it to take a picture of a graph someone drew. I used it to take notes for another meeting. At my pc, I used it to snap a picture of a website that i want to go back too. (Now if I must use paper however, at my job we use 100% post consumer recycled paper and recycled post its and scrap paper...fyi)
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRICITY
In my 15 months of working at my job, before this last week, I've turned my computer off only ONCE. My computer has been turned on for more than a year non stop. Yes, tree huggers everywhere...say a prayer for me. Its the culture of my job. No one turns there computer off. We just log off at night, if that. One person said be programmed his computer to automatically turn on and off. I can do that on my macbook pro but not on my pc. Anyone know of a way to do that on a pc? Well, it doesn't even matter. Because since last Thursday, I have been turning my computer off at night.
CELL PHONES AND ELECTRICITY
My lovely friend Sam mentioned that she no longer keeps electronics in her bedroom and has found she sleeps better for it. In the book Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, Karen Kingston speaks about this. I highly recommend the book! Anyways, Sam told me about this last Sunday when we got together to make Apple Pie with Gouda Crust and Stuffed Tomatoes. So on Sunday I moved my phones into the bathroom. (I been hitting snooze too much anyway) So now my alarm goes off and I have to go to the bathroom to turn it off. Which then since I'm up, I brush my teeth and began my day. Along with doing this, I stopped charging my phone all night. While I'm consistent with letting my battery run down on my laptop before I charge it, I don't do that with my phones. They stay plugged in from the time I get home until I leave the next day. Since Sunday, I have just left them uncharged. When I wake up in the morning, there is still enough juice in it to begin my day with. Nice!
UPCYCLING
An associate at work received an invitation to some event...that doesn't really matter. What matters it that it came in the most beautiful envelope I had ever seen in my life.
As she was telling me about the event, I kept starring at the envelope. She started to throw it in the trash. "WAIT!" I said a little too loud, "Are you going to throw that away? I could cut off your name and use it for arts and crafts. As well as a reference for the perfect colored dress that I want. Can I have it?." She smiled at me and then passed it along. Trust me, the picture doesn't do it justice.
I'll take a picture of whatever I use the brown envelope for. Most than likely it will be in one of my art journals.
What are you latest granola tendencies? Any suggestions on further steps I can take?
By the way, I'll be featuring my first interview with Sam and her roommate Laura on sustainability and their city dwelling granola tendencies. Stay tuned.
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