I took the train into the Chicago today for Worldwide Knit In Public Day (no I’m not kidding). There were seven us from all over the Chicagoland area, so we really cut down our emissions by joining other Chicagoans riding the train for a variety of fun city events.
I do have to report that in our efforts not to go hungry, we accumulated a bunch of trash from picking up some lunch at Corner Bakery and not having any recycling bins in Millennium Park. I tossed three very full plastic (gasp!) bags into the trash bin because we were all so weighted down already, that we didn’t know what else to do. Carrying all that back home just didn’t seem like a great idea. So my one green thing for the day sort of neutralizes the not so great thing. I did remember to bring and use my bamboo cutlery and not use the plasticwear the restuarant provided.
I went on a field trip to an LYS (local yarn store) and bought some yarn. I count this as pretty eco-friendly since I’m supporting a local vendor. That’s pretty good. They took home a lot too in my contribution to Mama Earth. 
My group also carpooled. Yay, reducing the carbon footprint. (I know, already counted the carpool thing, but this is a daily effort blog so it’s a good thing.)
I had a bridal shower to go to today that was a good 30 minutes southeast of me. I thought, what can I do to help Mamma Earth today since I have to go so far on tollways and all? Carpool with my co-worker. Genius! I probably would’ve done this no matter what, but it helped knowing I was striving toward reduced carbon emissions and other pollution as well. It was a one-timer, but a good effort.
It’s Earth Day and what a beautiful day it is! The weather really showed up today as it is by far the nicest spring day this season. Today Home Depot was handing out a free compact fluorescent light bulb in honor of the glorious occasion. I, of course, ran over to get one while I was out taking care of some errands. (That makes two free bulbs in one weekend including yesterday’s!) I also took an inventory of all the bulbs in the house and what the most used wattage was so I could start replacing them. There are 28 60-Watt bulbs in this house alone! Not including the various other wattage light bulbs, as well as all of the decorative chandeliers and halogen varieties. Wow! I bought three packages of four to start. So today I replaced a total of 14 incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and carbon-dioxide reducing CFLs. I replaced bulbs in high-traffic, most-frequently used areas to start (ie. the kitchen, bathroom and automated-timer lamps).
To learn more about the differences between incandescents and CFLs, check out some info from Home Depot. With a quick click of a button, I found out that I’ll save $47 per year, that it’ll only take 10 months for the energy savings to pay for the CFLs, that over the lifetime of the bulb I’ll save$634 which could buy me 229 days of electricity. Most importantly, I’ve reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by 1,300 pounds over the lifetime of the bulb.
You can also estimate your household carbon footprint using BP’s Carbon Footprint Calculator.
I went to the here in Chicago today. I partly went as a function of work (I’m an editor for two concrete trade publications), as well as personal interest. Unfortunately, the show didn’t have much that fit my industry but was so much fun to walk around as a citizen and consumer. All kinds of industries were represented—food, skin care, clothing, home building, activism, energy-savings and much more.
I was seduced by the To-Go Ware—a utensil set made of sustainable bamboo in a handwoven carrying case. The purchase goes to a great cause. The cases are made by the Karen refugees on the Thai-Burma border. It also reduces the number of plastic cutlery thrown away. I’ve taken to sporting my set everywhere I go.
I also discovered some wonderful organic tea from a local vendor, Light of Day Organics. Let me tell you, this stuff was seductive. Of course, almost all of the flavors I wanted to try they weren’t able to bring with them but I did snag some Hummingbird Nectar that I brewed and iced and tasted delicious. I also snagged two organic cotton t-shirts, which have now become my most comfy shirts.
The show featured an all-vegan menu with recyclable cutlery and folk singers to serenade you during lunch. Mayer Daley was there talking about his various citywide initiatives to make us greener. At the end of the show, you received a free compact fluorescent light bulb to help reduce our carbon footprint. I look forward to next year’s show, which I’m hoping will be a little larger and include more home building aspects.
