- Change a bulb. Easy, right? You probably have a burned out bulb that you've been meaning to get to anyways. I first started doing this on porch bulbs that would burn out every month. Once I changed to CFL's, I haven't had to change them again (over 2 years now). The lazy cave geek in me loves this one.
- Grow a garden. Every year, we dig up thousands of acres of land to plop our homes on. We are digging up farmland and planting houses. Thus, each year, we have less farmland and more people who need to eat food. A garden is a much more efficient use of whatever tiny plot of farmland you have than a bunch of grass. It uses your water more efficiently. If you compost, you can cut down on the solid wastes you send to the landfill, etc. Not to mention the fact that the mere act of wallowing around in your own soil will inspire you to want to preserve and protect it.
- Get a plug-in hybrid or an Electric Vehicle. Ok, Og have problem here. Og still have dinosaur. Dinosaur is paid for. If dinosaur go away, it fill junkyard with tons of steel. I mentioned that I like dinosaurs. I also do NOT like to buy new vehicles. Hey, waste is waste and I also feel that the current batch of hybrids are going to have all sorts of maintenance problems down the road (maybe this is just superstition), so I think that plug-in hybrids and pure electrics are actually a better option. Not that they eliminate emissions (can you say 'Coal-fired power plants?'), but they give our nation options and a possibility of exploring new power sources. Now, please don't take my criticism of current hybrid technology as a criticism of people driving hybrids. If you are driving one now, Good job. You may proceed to the bonus round--especially since plug-ins and pure electrics are not widely available (although if you want to really be cool, check out a tesla)
- Build an EV. This is perfect for Og. Og loves dinosaurs. Og loves projects (though rarely finishes one). maybe Og should start small like this ATV. If you are a sport-compact guy, truck guy, lowrider or rodder, what better way to make a unique ride than to make it Electric (and possibly throw up a solar panel to charge it) and let people know that even cave geeks care. You can tailor them for speed or for efficiency and get what you need out of them. If you are considering rebuilding the engine on your car, you should take a look at a conversion kit. Range is still a problem on these, but someday someone will build more powerful and economical batteries.
- Encourage your city and/or HOA to keep the environment in mind when they set up their covenants/ordinances. For example, my HOA has a ban on solar panels. How dumb is that? Granted, they aren't beautiful, but seriously how gorgeous are your shingles?
- Roll your own. Generate some electricity. Hook it to something. If you look, there are a lot of places that will sell solar panels (sam's, harbor freight, etc.). Get one. Learn how to make electricity. Even if all you charge the first time is an RC car or a cell phone, it's a start. Who knows, you might get excited and want to do the whole-house system.
- Easy on the household cleaners. Seriously, I find that most of what needs to be cleaned in my house can be done with water, vinegar and/or baking soda. In fact, the more I use these cleaners, the more I realize how lame the cleaners you buy really are. I'm not saying you can't keep a jug of AcidBlast 3,000 around for emergency purposes, but try the vinegar and soda(Og also loves the fact that they are really cheap). If you like it, throw out the expensive ones (oops, just clogged the landfills again)--or just don't buy them anymore and let them gradually dry into a nasty crud that you can use for your kids' science experiments. There has to be some way to make a volcano out of that stuff.....
- Tread Lightly.
- Learn. The more we all know on the topic, the better off we all are. Here are a couple more articles that are related:
--Og
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