Energy Smackdown

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Marin

Our progress

Baseline carbon (pp): 9,206 lbs
12-month carbon (pp on 11/16/08): 6,138 lbs
Percent change: -33%

How we are doing it

Reducing our emissions has been a five year-long project of love. It started our first winter in our new home when we discovered large holes allowing cold air to billow in.

Before the Smackdown we had already:

Installed a tankless (instantaneous) water heater.
Added insulation (recycled denim/blue jeans).
Wrapped all our hot water pipes.
Purchased hybrid vehicles (one Prius, one Civic hybrid).
Insulated the basement ceiling
Been attempting to seal the 'envelope' of our home.
Eat only vegetarian.
Compost all food scraps as well as paper napkins and towels (non-chlorine bleached).
Grow a small amount of our own food.
Replaced most bulbs with CFLs.
Dry our laundry outside in the summer months.

Since the Smackdown we have:

Set up power strips for our electronics so we can shut them off completely when not in use.
Become more vigilant about turning off lights when not needed.
Continued sealing the envelope of our home (we recently had a blower door test that showed our leakage to be 1890 cfm, the lowest they'd ever seen on non-new construction).

Electricity

With the birth of a new son and Jeremy working from home electricity usage should have gone up but we've managed to stay pretty much on par with previous use by replacing all bulbs with CFLs, turning off lights, etc.

Heating Fuel

In 2006 we replaced our 40 gallon water heater with a tankless/instantaneous water heater. A friend recently helped me calculate that from the tankless water heater alone we're saving approximately one ton of CO2 emissions annually, not to mention the money we're saving in fuel not used.

Sealing the envelope of the home, reducing the amount of cold air that could enter the house, has also had a marked effect on gas usage.

Travel

Jeremy now works at home, but before would always use transit. Rachel has no viable transit opportunities (90 minutes and three buses vs. 20 minutes by hybrid car.)

Waste

As vegetarians that like to cook we compost, a lot. Each winter we fill our composter well before the first thaw. This year I finally purchased a second composter that we can fill, and put it closer to the house so I don't get too snowy on the way.

Meat

We're vegetarian. I've also used cooking as a way to reduce emissions. We eat lots of bean dishes. Rather than purchasing cans that are heavy (and require lots of fuel to transport) I buy beans dry in bulk and soak/boil as we want them. Soup stock is another item that is heavy and uses lots of fuel so we make our own. Reducing food transportation emissions in this fashion is, one could argue, as important as purchasing locally.

We're trying to grow more of our own produce, fruit, herbs and berries as possible. We're slowly learning gardening techniques and trying to get a garden going.

Hot tips

Reducing consumption reduces waste.

Seal the basement. This is where you'll see some of your most immediate savings and comfort improvements.

Composting is easy, especially if you aren't in a rush. Just drop and go; it's that easy.

It's all about sustainability-that means any lifestyle changes you make have to be sustainable too.

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