So, Saturday was the Big Day. The article was about four (nearly) normal people and how they tweek their lifestyles to reduce their footprint. An artist, a translator, a chef and a mathematician (me), each talking about everything, but focusing on a different part of everyday life - house & garden, cooking, recycling, driving, etc. I'll give a summary of the part about myself, since I'd rather not translate the whole article.
I mentioned that when eating out I use my own fork instead of a plastic disposable and I try to communicate that I don't want a plastic lid or straw with my drink. I always carry a plastic bag with me in case I need to buy something, for larger, planned shopping I use cloth bags. I put the TV, DVD, sat, etc. on a strip with an off switch and have three 220 liter (58 US gallon) barrels for rain water, mostly for watering the garden and washing the car, but I'd like to use it for flushing. More ways to save water: when the Wife and I pee right after each other, only the second person flushes, and often the flushing is with grey water from washing hands. Toilet paper made from recycled paper - it's grey, not bleached white with flowers on it, and it doesn't smell like roses or vanilla or pine trees, but it gets the job done just as well. The refrigerator is the most energy efficient model we could get and we try not to freeze too many things. When we need to thaw something from the freezer we put it into the fridge for the night.
I log the electrical meter every morning, and the water and gas meters every five days. This allows me to notice the effects of any changes we make. We're planning to replace the toilets with low flush models, and replace the on-demand gas water heaters with a super insulated tank, where the water will be warmed with heat from ventilation through a heat pump.
I also log my car trips: where, how far, how much fuel, driving conditions. I've blocked my grille (but can open it when I hear the fan turn on), covered the rear wheels and extended the roof and sides. "When I saw Adam's car, I wasn't surprised that people keep shooting pictures" - the reporter wrote. What goes on behind the car is just as important as in front. The ideal shape would be a water drop. The mods cost about 300PLN (US$100) and will pay for themselves after 15 fill-ups. I got my inspiration from EcoModder.com (See? See? I'm advertising
)
But you can get real savings without investing in aeromods: Pump up your tires (a little more is better than a little less), remove any roof racks as soon as you're not using them (up to 30% greater FC, even an empty rack will put you back 5%-15%), get rid of extra weight (I replace my back seats only when I know I'll need them), fold passenger side mirror on long distance trips. Just as important is driving style: don't floor the gas when you've got a red light ahead, use engine braking instead of the brake pedal.
And please note: I'm not doing this to
pay less, I'm doing this to
use less. For me, gas should be twice as expensive, then maybe the owners of huge SUV's would finally wake up.
