Crunchy Chicken

One amazing woman has had a huge impact on the carbon footprint of countless people, myself included. This woman is Crunchy Chicken. We are currently thanking her for her continued efforts and selfless initiatives, even in the face of great hardship, through donating to her organization Goods For Girls. When Crunchy made the decision to sign off of her blog for a while she said that she wouldn't be missed since there were so many other blogs like hers. I was shocked to hear that there was anyone else out there anywhere near her level, so I went on a crazed search for an appropriate substitute. I did stumble upon a few great blogs, but none could replace her. No one else offers constant challenges and inspiration that makes you feel like anything would be easy. She had me convinced that I could live without electricity for a month! Granted a lot of things got in the way of me going all the way off the grid (particularly the fact that the chosen month was May which is peak allergy season when I am not feeling up to finding creative ways around things), but I did make another significant dent in my electricity usage because I was motivated and didn't want to get left out. Crunchy is always making us think, then laugh, then feel proud of our accomplishments while knowing that we still have a long way to go. Thank goodness she is continuing to do this after her 24 hour "sign off." Thank you!!

productivity

Yesterday I had a very productive day. During the day I got tons of organizing and grading done since I was proctoring MCAS for three hours (sooo long). On the way home I went grocery shopping. When I arrived at my door there was a package waiting- my compost bin! More accurately, the box contained some of the parts which would be necessary in the creation of my compost bin. I bought two "extra" levels of a worm condominium. They were made from recycled plastic so I don't feel as guilty about buying something to throw my trash in. Since I didn't get the whole set up I needed to make my own lid and base. I bought mesh, a 6 foot piece of wood and a saw. Not gonna lie, I'm really excited that I now own a saw. Using my really impressive carpentry skills I cut the wood into a frame (with a few bits left over to use as feet) and nailed it together. Add a little duct tape to attach the mesh and I have a stable lid to keep the worms happily inside their home. With an extra layer of mesh on the bottom of the lower level, a plastic sheet (unfolded bag) underneath and the feet in place I now have a worm-friendly, but escape free, compost bin with air flow. While doing all of this I also baked 12 pumpkin muffins and 2.5 loaves of pumpkin bread. Delicious breakfast for several weeks!

Today I added shredded paper and some food waste to the bins so the hungry worms due to arrive in the mail any day will have something to dig right in to. I also watered plants. I'm beginning to wonder if the plants are the reason my water usage is so high (34% of the US average according to Riot for Austerity). Cooking my own meals and washing my own dishes every day probably also contributes, but I'm willing to bet that 22 pots of thirsty plants is a significant factor in my inability to get down to the goal of 10%.

technology

In order to get directions today I had to turn on my computer, wait 8 minutes, go to google maps and look them up. I could have gotten them from my friend, but she uses a gps, so she didn't know where she was going until she was already there. People used to get directions from maps, but I only have maps of my local area, not places an hour away.

This experience makes me want to be less dependent on my computer. But, I also really want a new one. It takes 8 minutes for me to do anything, then another minute to open a program, unless its excel, that will take several minutes. Waiting might be good for me, it certainly makes me hesitant to use the computer until I need it. But its also wasting tons of electricity I'm sure. And it doesn't help that I just really want a Mac. Five years doesn't seem like a long time for a piece of equipment to last, but for a laptop, it is. I wonder if I could wipe the computer and download Apple's interface. It wouldn't change the battery life (shorter than the time it takes to turn on) but it might clear out whatever causes it to take so long to turn on... I want the cool new thing and to be eco-friendly, dilemma!

Neon green straps

This makes me depressed:
If you think about people in great need of free medical clinics, the tribes in Guyana may seem reasonable. That is where this man started his charity work. "But now Stan spends most of his time bringing relief to the richest country in the world." (The United States)

On a brighter note, I had a superbly productive weekend. I geared my bike with a basket (from Salvation Army, attached with the velcro that comes on my lettuce, neon green of course) and otherwise prepped for the pedaling season (post-pollen). Vegetables moved outside to the balcony, some other plants got repotted. I started teaching myself to play the guitar (after finally finding a good book at my parent's house). Tons of grading got done (beyond what I had even hoped to accomplish) and I planned out the end of the school year, which is rapidly approaching! I cleaned, organized and sorted, resulting in a large pile of items to give away. Completed the book I was reading, did pilates and still had plenty of time to catch up on sleep. Three day weekends full of sunshine are amazing!

One other thing, I went grocery shopping. Normally this is not a momentous event. But, since I have a friend living with me for the week, I could buy all the produce I wanted without worrying it would spoil before I ate it! Okay, no, I couldn't buy everything, but I did get grapes, raspberries, red and orange peppers, portabello mushrooms, an avocado, an onion, tomatoes, a couple varieties of lettuce and fresh mozzarella. Usually I buy 1-2 peppers and lettuce for the degus. Sometimes I'll replace a pepper with another veggie, that I have to scramble to finish. Shopping for two is so much cooler than trying to find variety in eating asparagus 4 nights in a row. Plus, I had someone who wanted to go get gelato at 9 pm this evening when I mentioned craving ice cream. Living alone has some perks, but I'm seeing a lot of benefits to sharing space. Now if I could only find someone who could live with me without requiring the sleeper sofa to be unfolded all the time...

affluence

I found the new side bar icon on Arduous' website along with this link which informed me that I'm in the top 4.62% of the world. Plus I get a decent raise next year for sticking around, plus I have savings that don't get factored into that at all. I thought I was aware of the conditions other countries were in, but its really hard to wrap my mind around the prevalence of poverty when we stack people up based purely on income. And we think public school teachers have it rough...

Doing what for the grasshoppers?

Between reading the archives of a new (to me) blog and posting yesterday that I am doing it for the grasshoppers, I've been trying to think of what exactly it is that I'm doing. I'm stealing Arduous' list and editing it to fit my own habits.

I...
participated in buy nothing (except food and gas) month and didn't notice any differences from a normal month
bring my own bags on the rare occasion I do buy something (usually groceries)
take public transportation if its convenient, try to drive like a hyper-miler when its not
hardly used any heat. (thermostat set at Degu survival temp, 65* and taking advantage of neighbors and sun heat)
have the AC set at 80* (slightly higher than Degu survival temp but the thermostat is in a different room and I won't open the shade in their space)
use cloth instead of toilet paper, paper towels, sponges and tissues
let it mellow.
love my diva cup
take navy showers (surprisingly easy, especially with Dr. Bonner's tingly and warm peppermint soap, which as a bonus is totally natural)
save bread bags to use as lunch bags, re-use Ziploc bags, save plastic containers as Tupperware.
use every possible side/corner of paper for printing, list making, writing hall passes...
buy 100% recycled paper for the limited printing and photocopying needs at school.
do not clean excessively and with very limited chemicals (microfiber cloth, pants get worn until they are noticeably stained, my laundry soap is basically baking soda in a pretty green bottle)
only use my dryer as a shelf for my drying rack, which sits under my indoor clothes line.
have a maximum of one light on in the apartment at any one time
use power strips for all appliances whose plug I can reach
buy organic/local food whenever possible, my kitchen is a vegetarian space
will have really local herbs and vegetables, a la personal balcony garden.
do all sorts of crazy little things I couldn't possible mention like using a hair dryer diffuser to spread the water over my plants, concoct a clip for my mp3 player from a rubber band and old cell phone clip, etc.

I've always:
Not drank single serving bottled drinks
Rarely eaten out/gotten take out, not eaten frozen or one-serving convenience meals.
(Otherwise known as eating homemade meals daily)
Shut down the computer when its not in use
recycled everything possible (which reminds me, I need to complain again that we can't recycle cans. As in metal! The most recyclable of all materials!)

I want to:
compost
bike places rather than driving (like the grocery store, farm store and train station since I have to commute to Boston this summer)

So, if you're still reading I'm impressed, this has turned into an exercise for myself, not that this blog has ever been anything else. I'm also not ashamed to admit that when I get my bills I plug in my water, gas and electric here to see how I'm doing. Always makes me feel cool.

Save the grasshoppers!

In case you don't believe that species diversity really exists and that the everglades are worth protecting (and not mis-managing, stupid fires), check out this totally awesome photo:


Yup, that is my hand, and that thing is real, it was hanging around just a couple weeks ago. When I saw it I couldn't decide if it was a prehistoric being magically joining us today, or just a toy that I had seen in the science museum. It was quite friendly. I put my hand down on the railing for perspective and it climbed right up! Even hung on for the ride to visit the rest of my friends down the path. A little tickly with those weird sticky feet, but generally totally awesome.
I hope it made it through the blaze.

Polar bears may be cute and cuddly, but I'm doing it for the grasshopper.