Most people know October is Breast Cancer awareness month. This is a great cause, but since it's one most people are familiar with, I'm going to talk about a less common issue October is also an awareness month for: energy usage.Now, if we're being totally honest, I find awareness month's kinda silly. I mean really, if it's important enough to be aware of for a month, isn't it worth talking about the whole year? Plus watching big burly football players running around in hot pink for a few weeks is just comical (the NFL is focusing on breast cancer awareness month this year, with some--imho--humorous results).
But as a self-proclaimed eco-nerd, I'll use any excuse to clamber up on my little soap box about environmental issues. Energy usage especially, since it saves so much money to pay attention to it--and I'm as frugal as I am eco-nerdy, so it's a fave combination :)
However, as a teacher I'm also aware lecturing does no good. So instead I figured I'd just talk in circles for a while, and hopefully leave you so confused that you find yourself accidentally buying compact flourescents (CFLs) or cold water laundry detergent the next time you're at the store without even realizing you're doing it ;)
And because I just love commenty goodness I'll leave off my ramblings with a question: what, if anything, do you do to try to keep your energy usage down in your home or office? I'm always looking for new ideas to try, so I'd love to hear yours.
(By the way, that pendant that provides the perfect illustration for this post comes from NoisyBirdStudio's shop and is on sale for 3.95 right now)
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5 bits of commenty goodness:
I hadn't heard of energy awareness month before. Very interesting! We use CFLs and have one of those new fangled HE washing machines and a heat pump which we try to use as little as possible but still remain comfortable. Love the lower utility bills!
love the pendant! I didn't realize I could buy cold water laundry detergent - I just wash my clothes in cold water. We have CFLs in the house, and I unplug appliances when not using them. Except for the TV, which is kept on for the doggie (sound only) when we're out of the house. Now, I'm partial to hot showers!
I constantly nag my family to unplug things when they aren't in use, to turn off lights in empty rooms... etc, etc, etc... I FINALLY got my hubby to unplug his laptop when its not on and is already fully charged.
We use the CFL's in every possible place we can, both at home and at our store. Not only do they use less power, but they are cooler as well, so it cuts down on air conditioning at the store... we have a rain barrel. Always turn off lights if I will not be in the room for 15 - 20 minutes or more... we have solar tube lights in the kitchen. And in the bathroom... if it's yellow, let it mellow... if it's brown, flush it down...
Awesome pendant, thanks for bringing this to our attention!
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