Green Page

I’m going on a diet.  It’s always good when going on a new diet to join with a supportive friend.   I’m starting my diet with about 200 others who attended the Cool Climate Cafe’s last week in Mt. Vernon and Anacortes.  It was part of the International Day of Climate Action (see www.350.org).  We all intend to loose at least 5,000 pounds by New Year’s. 

At the Cool Climate Cafe we heard presentations from Anacortes’ Mayor Maxwell, representatives from Padilla Bay Reserve,  North Cascades Institute, Skagit Beat the Heat and WSU Climate Stewards.  They talked about climate change and how it might affect us here in the near future.   The Mt. Vernon Cafe’ had a cool band called the Home Grown Tomatoes, which I heard was fantastic, like their name.  In Anacortes we had a great spread of local food donated by the deli and grocers in town.

Displays and information on energy efficiency, renewable energy and other cool topics were around the sides.  There was alot of cheerful chatter as the room filled.   High School students sat together at two long tables.  Just their presence reminded us that its their future we’re talking about.  I sat with a few friends in the back.  We decided to work together as a team.  Between the 2 Cafe’s 20 or so teams were formed representing well over 100 households. 

All of us are using the Low Carbon Diet, a book by David Gershon.  As with most diets, the first step was to measure our current weight or in this case, calculate our carbon footprint.   I sat down Sunday with my laptop and went to the website, www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd

There are alot of carbon calculators out there but it was important for all of us to use the same one.  This one asked for an average of the last year’s kWt use which is printed on my power bill, the amount of garbage we throw out each month, the amount we drive with both our cars and their gas mileage, and it included air travel.  As it turned out my carbon footprint was less than the average German but more than the average Swede.  It was less than a 1/3 of the average American. 

Living in temperate Western Washington means I don’t use alot of energy on heating and cooling.  I bought new Energy Star appliances last year to replace some that were over 20 years old.  I counted 19 CFL bulbs in use at our house and we use a clothesline whenever weather permits.  I usually take public transit to work and I fly once a year to visit family.  Pretty “green”, huh?  Or so I thought.

The next step was to come up with an action plan.  How would I loose 5,000 pounds when I was already so “green”?  The Low Carbon Diet book has a check list.  As I went down the list I was surprised to find how much weight I could loose by getting my car tuned up and properly inflating my tires.  Adding weather stripping and storm windows helps, alot, too.  But the shocker was how much weight I could loose by reducing my trash.  That’s especially challenging over the holidays when Americans throw away 25% more garbage.  (I’m offering a workshop on a Waste Free Holiday at Oak Harbor City Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 5:30-6:30pm for ages 8 and up.  At 7:00 pm Janet Hall will give a presentation called the Truth About Trash.   Call me for info 2 279-4762.)

Each week our team will address certain areas where we could loose weight.  I’ll keep you posted on how our diet is going.  If you want to shed a few pounds, follow along with our team.   

Also, check out www.theGreenestHouse.com, a reality TV show series made in Bellingham that shows 2 families competing for an  electric car.  Fun and frantic with lots of how-to info and resources all of us could use.