Maybe I am dating myself here, but one of my fondest memories around conserving energy was Lester the Lightbulb. Do you remember him? It was a Massachusetts’s campaign to help kids uses electricity more responsibly. Not that I needed Lester to tell me that electrical wires were dangerous but he made his point and also made sure I turned the lights off when I left a room!
Then there was my favorite – School House Rock. If you are too young to know what School House Rock is, just go to YouTube and type it in the search and you will see how much fun learning was in my younger years! But in 1978, School House Rocks “Energy Blues” came out. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOxO10XT8c0&list=PL366E88A22FD077A2)
Interesting that when I watch it today is seems we are having the same problems over and over and over. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing something over and over and expecting a different result? Are we all insane? I don’t think so. I just think there are a lot more of us on this planet than there was in 1978.
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So here is my request to you. Please, please, please remember to shut the lights off when you leave the room. In addition, all those cell phone, iPad and other chargers you have plugged into the wall charging nothing? They are drawing power too even though there is nothing plugged into them. Unplug them! Done with the computer for the day? Turn it off. If it needs to stay on for some reason, make sure it goes into sleep mode and shut off your monitor.
These are a little, very simple things you can do to help save energy in your own home. You may even see a difference in your monthly electrical bill!
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Want to get really crazy? Buy a power strip and plug all those things that you need to turn off into the strip so all you have to do is power off one power strip at the end of the day. How easy is that?
If you want some real fun, go out to YouTube and search for Earth Rock for newer (2009)School House Rock episodes that teach some great lessons on more current sustainability issues from energy, to global warming and more! Enjoy!
