My approach to going green
Just in case it’s not clear, let me restate: I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t have a master plan for what I need to do in order to have a smaller footprint. I don’t really know what will and won’t make a difference.
When I started this blog, I had to look up terms like “watt” and “composting”. I’m still extremely naïve about what does and doesn’t matter in becoming sustainable. And that’s part of the beauty of it.
So to plow through, I’ve formulated a three step plan that will get me close enough to the details of my actions that I will be able to learn as I go, in a hands-on, iterative way.
Audits will be deep evaluations of my personal impact on the following:
1. Energy Consumption
2. Water Consumption
3. Waste Output
4. Carbon Output
At the output of each of these audits, I’ve got some analysis to do. How do I stack up to the average Joe when it comes to my sustainability? What look to be the low fruit ways to get better? What can I do myself vs. where am I going to need help?
From this, I’ll figure out which projects I can implement that will help improve my stats in each of these areas. Some of the projects may have to do with conservation, some with creation.
I expect some of the things that I implement to be total busts. Perhaps a lifestyle change will be too great, or the monetary cost of the proposed change too high. But hopefully something will stick.
Once I’ve completed my audits, I’m open to project suggestions. Please post any ideas you have in the comments!
Interested in how it's all turning out? Read up on my audits, projects, and results.
Love this article, your 4 reasons would really hit home with the average homeowner (or someone who used to be a cynic) :)
Everyman environmentalism. Great phrase.
Posted by: Sara | February 13, 2008 at 06:17 PM