April Comparisons

This month there was good news and bad. On the bright side, there is a plausible explanation for our gas usage this month, so I am not too worried that it is a trend - at least, not until next month.

Electricity
809 kWh - April 2009
1222 kWh- April 2008

Gas
121 therms - April 2009 (32 days - 8 heating days)
101 therms - April 2008 (29 days - 2 heating days)

Electricity continues to go downward as we use less lighting and heat due to the longer and warmer days. Yeah!

Gas consumption went up, however, the bill for 2009 had 3 more days than 2008. Our average daily therm usage runs about 3- 4. Three more days would add somewhere between 9-12 therms to this month. The remaining 10 therms of usage is likely a compilation of the following: It was colder this April, we had company to stay (which we like ,of course), and hosted Easter dinner. All of these would likely increase our hot water and straight gas usage (showers, laundry, dishwasher loads, and stove top cooking). Too bad we can't see breakdown of our daily therm usage. Also, I believe we were away for part of the month last year, so it probably isn't a completely accurate comparison in the first place. On to next month!

Save big $$, Health, & the Environment 2!

The problem with grocery store produce is that it has to get to the grocery store. About 20% of the oil consumption associated with produce gets it from seed to harvest. The remaining 80% is the transportation from farm to plate. We all like produce, so what do we do?

Garden!!! - It is getting warmer. Anyone who knows me, knows where I am the moment it is above 45 degrees - my yard. I cut my nails off and go gardening. We have been accused of having a farm. I took offense at first, but hey the food we are eating tastes better, costs less, and is so much better for the environment. An investment of $60 will save you about $200 in grocery bills. Right now around me, you can plant peas, snap peas, leaf lettuce, green/bunching onions, spinach, lettuce, rhubarb, carrots, turnips, parsnips, radishes, asparagus, kohlrabi, etc. And that is just the first round!

Buy Local - When the farmers markets are out buy from them. The produce there took less oil to get there - it didn't come from another continent. If there is an overwinter greenhouse producer - buy from them. If you stocked up from your garden last summer - eat that in the winter.

Where's the Beef?- Meat is expensive in more ways than one. It really takes its toll on the environment to get that slab o'animal onto your plate. No, fish does not get you off the hook either. What to do? Go meatless for one day or three meals during the week. Use lentils, beans, pastas, home-grown veggies and you will probably feel better and be healthier too!

Happy Earth Day!

I hope everyone has a great Earth Day.

May we all find ways to make every day an earth day.

P.S. If you need help finding ideas find the magazine Dwell -

they had awesome ideas in the May 2009 issue.

Perhaps your library has it!

Cooking Cuts

So let's face one of the energy hogs of our household. The kitchen (ahh - insert jaws music here). In a kitchen we keep things cool and cold, so we can then heat them up and turn liquids into solids. Compounding this energy drain, this is all within the temperature controlled environment of one's house. So since we are not all going to start eating all our food raw - here are some tips.

1. Fridge/Freezer- when it comes time to replace - get the most efficient one you can. This also means evaluating whether your family needs the biggest, baddest one on the block. When you think about it, it doesn't make sense to pay to cool space in the house you pay to heat - if you aren't going to use all of it. Perhaps the 18-22 cubic foot model will do instead of the 24.5 cubic model. Side note - a full freezer cools more efficiently. If you have empty space fill it with an water filled jug. This will keep your freezer costs down.

2. Stoves - they are energy drains - use them judiciously. Preheat as little as possible. Don't wait around with the oven on. Consider cooking bigger meals less often and eating leftovers certain nights. When purchasing an oven consider that some newer stoves have double ovens in conventional frames - one smaller single tray oven and one regular oven. The smaller one will preheat faster and operate with less energy. This concept applies to a counter top toaster oven etc.

3. Use lids - covering the water when heating saves $$ and time.

4. Use only the amount of necessary water in prep - Using less will mean, less time, less money for the water and the gas to heat it. If we did this with pasta alone we would save staggering amounts of energy just in the US.

5. Use crock pots - Crock pots use a whole lot less energy when compared to a range or stove, even though the cook time is longer. The last stat I heard was 2 cents per hour.

6. Self clean your oven after cooking to reduce energy consumption. That oven has got to get to 900 degrees or so to self clean- it might as well already be at 400.

7. Keep your microwave clean - Microwaves are more efficient when they are clean. Best way to clean a microwave without unnecessary cleaners. 2 cups of water and several slices of lemon. Nuke it for 2 minutes and the crusties wipe away oh so easily.

8. Match your pan size to the heating element or turn down the flame on a gas stove. Element space or flame outside of the bottom of your pan isn't doing you any good - especially if it is in the summer when your air is on.

9. Fill the dishwasher - fill it up to the max and then run it.

10. Although scraping and loading is best, if you must rinse your dishes prior to loading them in the dishwasher, use cold water and skip the dish soap. This will save energy in heating the water and you will use less soap, less impact etc.

Habits

So, I have been thinking about what to post. While I have come up with many ideas, I wanted to talk about the common themes running through them. We all have to change our habits. This is not an easy thing to do. Supposedly, it takes 28 times to make a new habit and break an old one. My goal it to continue to evaluate what I do each day, and rooting out those habits that harm our environment one-by-one. Earth day is April 22nd. What habits can you change to celebrate?

Mine that I am working on:
1. Get the most plastic out of my kitchen as possible. It is not great for the environment and it is not good for us either as many of these plastics leach. (i.e. Ziploc, Rubbermaids, Saran Wrap etc.) We are switching to glass and being creative.
2. Not using the fluff cycle on my dryer. Are they dry? Just fold them - don't waste the energy or money to "fluff." Hopefully, someday I will not need a dryer.
3. Using less. I heard a quotation yesterday - I hope I got it right- "Fix it up, wear it out, use it up, make due or do without."
Fix it up - We are far to quick to replace things without looking if it can be fixed or has another use.
Wear it out - and then make them into something else. Perhaps Nate's jeans will become rags or shorts.
Use it up- this is a big one in the US - we throw away many of our containers that still have product in them. About 10% of toothpaste stays in the tube if you don't work at it - what a waste of product and our money! Squeeze that toothpaste out to the bottom. Draw it across the edge of our counter and get that last bit out. Use up the shampoo - turn it upside down in the shower before your recycle the container. Add water and get it all out of the bottle. If you aren't going to use it give it away- so it can be used not thrown out.
Make due or do without - Do I really need this - not just want it?

Need some ideas on things to change? See www.idealbite.com