LOW Impact Green - Our Daily Green

Thursday, January 6, 2011

LOW Impact Green

This week, Our Daily Green has been receiving emails to participate in a fabulous week long No Impact project showcased by Yes! Magazine. If you're unfamiliar with the book, blog, and documentary by Colin Beavan, watch the short clip below. Briefly, he set out to live for a year with no environmental impact and chronicled his adventures in several media outlets. He's truly a "rock star" to the environmentally aware.




Such individuals inspire me to do better, but in complete honesty, I look outside at the 20 degree weather, with nothing but locally grown snow cones and salted roads, and I just find myself grateful for my heated indoor space and vehicle to move me from one heated space to another.

Much like aerobics classes can be too intense for a beginner, so can going green. That is why this week I've chosen to discuss LOW impact changes instead of the NO impact changes. (Today's No Impact challenge was to consume less energy and they suggested Herculean efforts that would intimidate a novice *a green green?*) 

Just like a couch potato will not do well in a triathlete competition, we'll start with baby steps here. Consider Our Daily Green your personal trainer.

Let's get started!

1. Get up and walk around your house and turn off any lights, radios, or televisions that are in unoccupied rooms. Pretend your father is walking around the house asking if someone owns stock in the electric company. Yes, that is part of the universal dad code, inspecting for unnecessary lights that are on.  

2.Make note of how many of those lights are still incandescent bulbs and put fluorescent or LED bulbs on your shopping list. Replace one bulb a week until you no longer use incandescent bulbs.


4. After you push the refrigerator back in, fill empty containers with water and put them in the refrigerator. A full refrigerator runs better and more efficiently.

5. Air dry your laundry. In addition to saving energy, it will add moisture to the dry winter air and also the clothing will be less staticy.

6. Lastly, now that you're warmed up, drop your thermostat a degree or two. Grab a sweater or blanket if you get chilly.

Not a bad LOW impact workout! Congratulations!

4 comments :

Eliza @ Appalachian Feet said...

Great list! I gotta say, that when you have a stuffed house just after the holidays (full of people who like to cook), it's a relief to hear that a packed refrigerator runs better. I'll just tell my mom that when she is harassing us to hurry up and eat all the leftovers!

I hadn't heard of the No Impact Project either -- fantastic!

FreshGreenKim said...

As long as the food isn't so crammed in the refrigerator that it interferes with air circulation, it will hold the cold better and keep less space for warm air to get in when the door is opened.

Jen said...

Hey there! Coming over from Green Follow Friday and am your newest follower. I am doing the No Impact Experiment this week. It is eye opening and some days are way easier than others.

FreshGreenKim said...

I'm excited to read more about it on your blog! Welcome to Our Daily Green :)