Our local paper got a list of people that have installed solar panels since last Earth day. They are working on a story for the Earth Day edition and called me for a quick interview. They said they are not yet sure how the article will be written, it depends on what they find in these short interviews. They will be following up with one household to get pictures and more details.
Here are the questions they asked and my responses.
Q: Why did you get solar panels?
A: I bought an electric truck in Feb 2007. I commute in it daily. Now that electricity is my commuting "fuel", I wanted a clean, renewable source for it.
We chatted about electric vehicles and Who Killed the Electric Car for a minute. She seemed excited about the "EV angle".
Q: What else do you do that is eco-friendly?
A: We recently installed a rain barrel and we are vegetarians.
I must admit that the last question caught me off guard. I've never had to list my green creds. I knew I was giving a far from complete answer. I've made a more complete list here. If we get the call back, here is the better response.
Our Green List
- Home energy audit
- EV driver
- Solar panels
- Vegetarian
- Buy local
- Buy organic
- Energy star appliances
- Low flow toilets
- CFL and LED lighting
- Recycling
- Trees, we have 8 of them on our small property
- Electric lawn mower
- Rechargeable batteries (AA, AAA with C & D adapters)
- Trash-Out hiking & geocaching
- Yard debris composting
- Worm bin food composting
- Organic fertilizer (from the worm bin)
- Earth friendly detergents and household cleansers
- Sharing info in this blog and at public EVents
- Use reuseable shopping bags (4/7 update)
- Rain Barrels (12/12/08 update)
- Tankless Water Heater (3/23/09 update)
I have blogged about many of the above topics. If there is one you are interested in hearing more about, let me know. Also, if you have some other good ideas, leave a comment.
Wow...is there anything else short of stopping your breathing that you can do to relieve your guilt of being human on this earth?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, that's an amazing list, bordering on obsession. It would be great if we all could go those lengths but these things can be costly...we're trying, but even with cash out refinancing, we'll only be able to achieve some of what you have done. I own an electric car and an electric boat---but use of these does not equate to being green, especially when I burn gas to get to my green boat---these still consume energy and add to our problems. But it does feel good to do something.
So bravo to you...now stop feeling so damn guilty! OTOH, if you are a big world traveler, never carpool or ride a bus, never walk to the market (or bar), shame on you!
:-)
Thanks Myles.
ReplyDeleteGuilt is not one of my driving forces (for this or anything generally). If anything, I have a sense of entitlement that I need to keep in check.
What does motivate me is a good question. I am an engineer by training/profession so I like to be efficient. I am a parent. I'd like to leave a habitable planet.
As for travel, I am a staycation kind of person. Maybe I should add that to the list. We went to Disneyland this summer and it was my only out-of-state vacation in 8 years. And I have no guilt about the vacation.