So did we participate in Earth Hour last night, where we were supposed to sit in the dark and commune with the environment?
No. Frankly, not using lights or electronic devices between 8 and 9 in the evening would mean that I can’t serve dinner (the adult version), or can’t get my kids to bed properly, or can’t work , or can’t catch up on the housework I’ve been pushing off all day.
So, no, we didn’t do it.
Instead, I thought about all the ways we’ve improved our treatment of the Earth in the past year. Greened up, as it were.
- Most of the lights in our new house are CFLs or LEDs. The few remaining halogens we hardly use; if we decided that we wanted to use them more we’d buy LED bulbs. In addition to using less energy (yay!), there’s been a positive impact on our electric bill.
- We installed ceiling fans. This didn’t happen until the summer was over last year, but I expect it is going to cut way down on our A/C use. We all sleep really hot, but the fans make everything comfortable.
- We separate our trash into wet and dry, the “wet” part going to compost, or…not sure. This is at the behest of the city, but over time this should have a cumulative effect. We don’t see the impact directly, but we’re happy to do it.
- We bought real dairy dishes for Passover. Still used disposable for meat meals, but on the whole we eat more dairy–but we had far less trash than previous years.
- We started using an eco-dishwasher, which means that every load is washed with only 6.5 liters of water. We try really hard to only run it full. Full-ish.
- I bought these adorable re-usable sandwich and snack bags. Which have yet to be lost, poo-poo-poo. So much less plastic and tin foil in the trash.
Overall, I think we’re coming out ahead of switching off the lights for an hour every year, yes?
I love the bags. Might have to get some, if I can ever come up with any ideas for Pumpkin’s lunches in the fall. Honestly, the lunch thing may be what scares me most about starting kindergarten. She’s such a picky eater. At day care, we can just assume snack would fill in if she doesn’t like lunch. I think for school, we need to pack. I refuse to let her eating habits be more important than setting her up to learn- i.e., having her not be hungry all afternoon.
I think you are right- the steps you’ve taken matter more than the symbolic one.