Energy Activism and Things to Do This Week 2007

Things you can do this week to make a difference:

~ Turn out all unnecessary lights at home or at work

~ Switch to one or two compact fluorescent bulbs.

~ If in Colorado, encourage your state legislators to support House Bill 1281, which is the cornerstone of the renewable-energy agenda of Governor Bill Ritter. It would increase the renewable-energy standard for investor-owned utilities to 20 percent and set the first renewable-energy standard for rural electric cooperatives. This bill passed in the Senate.

~ Tuesday, March 20 is Climate Crisis Action Day = Cool the Planet, Save the Arctic. See www.AlaskaWild.org/ACTION

~ Have your lawn aerated. It is inexpensive, but allows air, nutrients and water to soak deeper into your lawn, which in turn makes the roots grow deeper. As a result, your lawn is more healthy and requires less frequent watering.

~ Explore www.nextgenerationearth.org, a fantastic website that provides lots of information on global warming, carbon emissions, and also shows you how to show your support for making progressive changes in our energy use. The Global Roundtable on Climate change and others have a consensus statement that could be used by everyone.

~ Sign the petition supporting The Plan for Colorado's New Energy Future at www.EnvironmentColorado.org

~World Water Day is March 22. According to an environmental talk show water expert, 47 million gallons of oil are used just to provide water bottles for Americans for one year. Most of the bottled water is just modified ground water and the water bottle companies are sucking the water tables dry. 1.1 Billion people around the world don't get adequate water. Surely there are ways we can ensure our own clean water supply without depriving others. And think about the additional problem of all those empty plastic bottles, most of which are not recyclable.

~Encourage our local, state and federal legislators to push for and create incentives for using compact fluorescent bulbs or LED bulbs instead of the energy-wasting incandescent bulbs. After all, Australia and Russia are strongly promoting this, and even Wal-Mart has begun promoting this way of saving energy. Let's not get left behind!

~ Encourage our local, state and federal legislators to push for wind-power farms where appropriate. Even 3rd world countries are going this: Cuba opened an experimental wind farm on the Isla de la Juventud, using French technology and they are already working on another one. Let's not get left behind. Source: Denver Post 2/26/07.

~ Ask your mayor to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. 162 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol to address global warming, and the Bush Administration still has it's head in the sand, denying any global warming. Some U.S. Mayors are rising to the occasion and to date, 402 mayors representing some 58.9 million Americans have signed the mayors agreement. Please ask yours to do so as well.

~ Contact your legislators regarding the U.S. Navy's decision to continue using sonar training off the coast of California, including in marine sanctuaries. Source: Denver Post mid-Feb '07.

PRACTICE THE NEW "3 R'S " : ******* REDUCE ****** REUSE ****** RECYCLE ******

The Party's Over, Turn Out the Lights

This blog is for people to exchange ideas on how to conserve energy and decrease our enormous drag on non-renewable resources. The general idea is for us to learn, communicate and implement some simple changes. We will also talk about more sophisticated methods. Whether you believe in global warming or not, most Americans have to admit that we are using a tremendous amount of energy. We have been having a party; gorging ourselves on the earth's resources, and "partying" like there is no tomorrow. But tomorrow is approaching at a faster and faster rate, and we need to help ensure a a decent, livable world that we can leave to people in the future. We need to find ways to reduce our consumption. The time is NOW! We can't wait for our government to mandate alternative energy and to reduce our consumption; we need to start showing them by starting from a grass-roots level. For example, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS !! We can do this at home and at work. If you are not using the lights in a room, turn them out. This is especially important if you are using incandescent bulbs, because they use so much energy. If you haven't started using compact flourescent bulbs, buy and install one or two. You will notice on the label that these bulbs use alot less energy. At work, if you are the last one to leave, turn out the lights! You will be amazed at how empowering these simple acts can be. Thanks