Walking is the New Driving

By guest contributer Stacey Harman

Since greenisthenewpink.org hit the scene over a year ago, I have tried my best to incorporate “green” ways of living into my lifestyle…

I changed out all my BAD light bulbs for Eco-friendly bulbs. I started recycling, or at least reusing everything and anything I could. I unplug my cell phone chargers during the day like a good little girl. I shut down my computer when I’m not using it. I get my books from the library instead of buying new every time. I never had air conditioning to begin with so that was a non-issue. I do laundry at odd hours of the night. I drink tap water (God help me if my unborn children arrive with an extra arm or one lonely ear). And I cut back to four squares of Charmin when wiping. I figured this was the least I could do.

However…if all that sounds too difficult, yet you still want to reduce your carbon footprint (I still have no idea what that means, but it’s fun to say), if you really want to make a difference, there is one more thing you can do. It’s so simple and yet it will make a huge impact. Are you ready…?

WALK!

That’s right. You heard me…start walking. You learned the ancient art of walking when you were just one year old. You’ve been doing it for as long as you can remember, but right around 16 you learned to DRIVE (ooh - bad word, bad word) and if you’re anything like me, driving became the norm.

School was a hop, skip and a jump away but I insisted on driving my little ‘94 Hyundai back and forth everyday. Plus, if I took the long way to school, I could pass by my crush, Brian’s house, pretending I just happened to be in the neighborhood (something stalkers do). I had no idea driving two blocks here and three blocks there was actually releasing harmful toxins into the air.

If only I knew then what I know now…

DRIVING 3 miles produces roughly 1.0 KG of CO2.

Walking still sound like a drag? Maybe saving the Earth isn’t enough incentive to drive less and start walking. Here’s a little bonus incentive…

You’re getting fat. That’s right. I said it…FAT.

WALKING 3 miles burns roughly 300 calories.

• Walking the mile to the nearest Whole Foods can and WILL help you to lose those 20 aggravating pounds you’ve put on since college
  

• Walking to your favorite bar (which is undoubtedly in your own neighborhood anyway) will not only reduce your carbon footprint (heehee – I said it again), but also, stop you from “one-eyeing” it on the way home which is not only dangerous, but illegal.
  

• And here’s another brilliant idea…WALK to the gym, Fatty. I was driving to my gym everyday when finally it dawned on me…My gym is only 1.3 miles from my house. That’s 130 calories each way if I walk. My 30 minutes of cardio combined with walking the 2.6 mile round trip may just be the perfect combination for reducing my thunder thighs and saving the Earth all at once

Do your part…Save the Earth…WALK.

-Stacey is a writer who lives in Los Angeles

Haste Makes Waste

Your parents always taught you not to waste. Wake up early, don’t waste your day. Finish that food on your plate—there are starving children in Africa. Live within your means, don’t spend $200 on a trucker hat just because it says Von Dutch on it.

And we all know in the “green” arena that waste is bad, but what is the worst waste? Surprisingly one of the largest wastes of energy happens in our own homes. It’s called Standby Power—(creepily aliasing as Vampire Power) which is the energy and electricity consumed by an appliance during the lowest possible electricity consuming mode.

Here’s what we never thought about before: Almost every appliance in your home from your TV to your computer to your espresso machine STILL USES ELECTRICITY when it is in standby power mode—that is, plugged in but not in use. The truth of it is, our appliances are not that “smart” so whether it is in use or not, if it is plugged in, it “thinks” it’s being used. So, when your appliance plugged in but are not heating, blending or computing for you, they are still sucking down energy (and sometimes just as much as when it’s on).

In the U.S. alone, residential consumers (i.e., YOU) spend over 4 billion dollars per year on standby power alone. Estimates indicate that standby power in the U.S. can account for 5%-8% of a home’s electricity use. In the 15 countries of the EU in 2000, the total energy lost to standby in households was estimated at 94 billion kWh—the equivalent of 12 large nuclear or coal power plants.

But if you stop leaving your appliances on stand-by, and start unplugging them, you could save up to 1,000 pounds of Carbon Dioxide and a few hundred bucks to boot.

First things first-

* UNPLUG your cell phone charger when not in use! Your charger is consuming energy even when your cell is not attached to it. Recent Environmental Protection Agency estimates indicate that there are 1 billion cell phone chargers in the U.S., and predicts that number will grow. In January, Energy Star began a major campaign to make chargers more efficient. By doing this, the EPA believes it can save more than 1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equal to that spewed by 150,000 cars. Until you get that Energy Star charger, though (and even after), make sure when you’re done charging your phone, you take the charger out of the wall…if you change just one thing this week, THIS should be it.

* Unplug your appliances when not in use. Or at least get in the habit of unplugging them at night. Here are some of the top culprits: Computer, Printer, Internet Terminal, Scanner, Fax Machine, Copy Machine, Telephone, and Shredder. Refrigerator, Oven, Microwave, Toaster, Coffeemaker, Bread Machine, Artisan Stand Mixer, DVD players, Cable Boxes, Stereo Systems, Gaming Consoles. (Yes, everything plugged in and not in use is wasting energy.)

* Use a Power strip. In a room with a variety of appliances and electronics (like your office or media room), plug a bunch of them into a power strip. Then you can cut off all the devices at once. The Power Strip. Use one large power strip for your computer, broadband modem, scanner, printer, monitor, and speakers. Switch it off when equipment is not in use and cut out 200 kWh/y or more of standby losses.

Now we always felt awful when we wasted the ends of our dinners as children and thought of all the starving children in Africa who apparently really liked soggy broccoli and peas. If you also felt this guilt, unplug your cell phone charger, toaster and fax machine you never use and let the pride and satisfaction wash over you.

P.S.-In the coming weeks we will go over all the rooms in your house and show you how to be more energy efficient.