Save Energy: Kick the Clocks!

Yesterday afternoon when I finally forced myself out of bed, I sat down with a bowl of cereal, cup of coffee and National Geographic. There was an article about saving energy and how the author and his wife decided to do an experiment. They wanted to see what their "carbon footprint" was and decrease it. Well, there were a lot of interesting things to be said about the amount of carbon and pollution that electricity, cars and lawn mowers put into the environment.

The article, "Saving Energy: It Starts at Home," was written by Peter Miller and published in this months issue of NG. He talks about how much carbon each kilowatt of electricity puts out, as well as how much pollution lawn mowers contribute to the atmosphere, among other things. Did you know that a push mower can pollute the air as much per hour as eleven cars? A riding mower as much as 36 cars. I thought this was crazy. But what interested me concerned the electric bill.

Since I moved into my apartment in July, my electric bill hasn't been higher than $42. So naturally, I try to keep it that low for two reasons: to save money & to do my "part." Well, Miller mentions that "electronics in standby mode (things that are plugged in but not turned on) can add up to 8 percent of a house's electric bill" (NG 71). Eight percent doesn't seem like much, but it adds up, and every penny counts, especially when money's tight.

So after I read the article, I made a decision to unplug all of the things that I don't use on a daily basis. This included the coffee pot and microwave in the kitchen; the TV, radio and lamp in the spare room; and the lap top charger and lamp in the living room. My fiance walked into the kitchen a while later and asked, "why is the coffee pot turned off?"
"Because I only use it on Tuesday and Thursday mornings," I answered.
"Well I use that for the time."
"Good luck, 'cause I unplugged the microwave, too."

At this point, I chuckled to myself a little, and every time I tell the story, I chuckle a little more as my listeners laugh. So, even if he ends up plugging all of these things back in, I got a good laugh out if it in the process (and saved a few minutes worth of energy)!