Tip of the Week #2 (TOTW#2): Find at least one way to reduce your energy consumption.
One of the podcasts I referenced in my last post did a great show on Going Green. Now I am not the tree-hugger, over-alarmist, recycle every plastic bottle I ever used type of person, however I am very much in favor of “doing my part”. I do believe that every little thing we do can help add up and if I can find new ways to consume less I am all for it. I was reading an article recently that discussed negative externalities – the behavior of one person has negative impacts on another person (or society as a whole), yet the person causing those impacts doesn’t pay for them. While this idea was not lost on me before, being a relatively new father really gave reinforced awareness to how I will leave the world I am living in.
So some quick things that you can do to go green:
1) Educate yourselves about your situation. There are many carbon footprint calculators out there. You can try this one http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx, or google this. There are a lot of them out there. They normally only take a couple minutes to fill out and can give good perspective to your current situation.
2) Pick out at least one action step you can take to remove your carbon emissions. Mine – I am going to start turning off my home computer when it is not in use. I normally let that sucker run 24/7 and just kick into sleep mode when inactive. Easy action step that should help.
3) Spread the word. Talk to your kids (either your students or your own children). The more we model and discuss this with our youth the greater chance they have of hearing the message and passing it on. I believe Catherine Ryan Hyde coined this “Paying it forward”.
(Kids)