I received a flier in the mail today from our electricity provider, titled "Choose Green Power." Here's the gist:
"When you enroll in Pure Power, AmerenUE buys 100% renewable energy credits on your behalf. Most households can reduce the same amount of CO2 emissions in a year as they could by not driving one car for 19 months (emphasis in the original. Gee, sometimes it's just a little too obvious that I'm a former lawyer, isn't it?). And they do this for about 50 cents a day."
What are Renewable Energy Credits? According to wiseGEEK:
"While a consumer would ideally... purchase renewable energy for his or her home, this is not always possible. Renewable Energy Credits allow companies and individuals to support alternative power in areas which do not offer it directly...
Along with carbon offsets and other incentive programs, Renewable Energy Credits are part of a growing movement which acknowledges that even small changes make a big difference. By supporting green energy, consumers show that there is a demand for it, and companies can build more plants or accelerate production with the funds raised through the sale of Renewable Energy Credits. Organizations which promote programs like this hope to eventually see everyone's ecological footprint, meaning the amount of resources and space needed to support a particular lifestyle, greatly reduced."
This is exactly the sort of thing I've been looking for. We compost. We (try) to employ compact fluorescent light bulbs, although not without a certain level of drama. We reduce, reuse and recycle, sometimes to the point of rediculousness (why didn't my SpellCheck catch that word?) We I constantly prowl around the house switching off lights and appliances. I make soup or chili out of turkey and chicken carcasses.
But short of planting a wind farm or bringing in my own team of hamsters, so far I've been unable to reduce the impact of our actual energy usage, and it's been bothering me. I can reduce my use of energy by turning down (or is it up?) the air conditioning and boosting its output with fans; driving less; turning off lights and taking the stairs, but I'm still using carbon that I wish I weren't.
The estimated cost of this program for me will probably be about $15 a month; that's about four visits to Starbucks that I'm not making right now anyway. I figure that people like me, who have $15 a month to spare (as long as I can keep it away from my son) must make the first move and set an example for our peers as well as our kids.
Next week we're planting bamboo.
Environment: Do you care? What are you doing about it?
