The Electric Company

I've always fancied myself to be a bit of an environmentalist and conservationist. I'm certainly not ready to join Earth First or Greenpeace, but I love the world that God has given us and believe we should protect it.

Recently God has really laid it on my heart to do everything I can as an individual to save the planet in small ways. I've been listening to some really excellent sermons on the subject – namely the "God is Green" series by Rob Bell and his compatriots at Mars Hill Bible Church (if you're going to listen to one, listen to "God is Green IV: Tomatoes and Towers," which you can download here). I've also been doing a little bit of independent research on the Internet, and I have been reading some really interesting books on what it means to be a Christian and love the planet. "Serve God, Save the Planet," by Dr. James Sleeth, is an excellent, page-turning book that has opened my eyes to the excess waste I generate every day. Sleeth, a former New England ER doctor, gives spiritual reasons why we should care about the planet, and then explains how we can take action in practical ways.

Our electricity bill from Duke Energy for August was $75.74. It's one of the higher electric bills we've had to pay, but we finally caved in in August and ran the air conditioning for consistent days. Luckily our apartment stays pretty naturally cool, but the consistent combination of 98 degree days with 90 percent humidity was a bit much.

So here's the current goal: halve the electricity bill. Granted, it will be a little easier since September brings cooler weather and open windows, but it will take a little extra effort to get the bill below $38.00. The lowest we've paid since we moved into the apartment in December is about $60. I'm not sure how the end result will turn out, but here's the plan of action:

• Turn out the lights! Probably the most obvious answer, but still very applicable. Lights need to be turned out when not in use.
  
• Turn off & unplug. This goes for computers, appliances, and other random electric devices. This means turning off the computer entirely, instead of just letting it go to sleep. It means unplugging small electric devices that draw a constant current – for example: the electric shaver I have that doesn't need to stay plugged in when it's already fully charged. Larger devices like the television and stereo draw power even when they're turned off. TVs draw current because they're always "partially on" – waiting for you to click the remote and turn the set on. Most stereos have what's called "phantom power" – power that's provided even when it's turned off. By using a surge protector to shut power to these devices completely off when they're not in use, a lot of electricity can be saved.
  
• Energy-efficient light bulbs. OK, they're still expensive, and I can't afford to buy a lot of them right now. And it's wasteful to replace bulbs that are still perfectly good. However, I did buy four compact fluorescent bulbs to replace the most commonly used bulbs in our house. Compact fluorescent bulbs use about 25% of the electricity traditional incandescent bulbs use to produce the same amount of light (lumens). They also don't generate heat and last a lot longer.
• No dryer. A clothes dryer draws an enormous, enormous amount of electricity. As Sleeth points out, it would take five work horses rigged to a turbine to generate enough electricity to run a clothes dryer. That's a lot of power. I've got a clothesline, and I can use it.
• Our clothes dryer has a light bulb in it that turns on when you open the door. Granted, this takes a miniscule amount of energy, but it's pretty ridiculous. I don't need a light in the dryer. I'm going to disable it.
• Canvas grocery bag. Sure it's a little dorky to carry around, but I really don't need to throw away five plastic grocery bags every time I go shopping.
  
• Bike and walk. I already bike the three miles to work most days, I'll just have to get that extra motivation for those days I really don't feel like pedaling.
  
• Windows open! Obviously this one is going to be pretty easy for the month of September. We'll see how it goes after that.

Again, these are simple, everyday things we can all do to be more conscious about the beautiful world God has given us. The less power we use, the less power plants we need. If fossil fuel power plants go offline, we have the benefit of having less pollution and less dependence on oil.

I'm not advocating that we need to shut down our modern lives and live in a semi-neolithic sate. But there are many, many ways we can be more responsible with the incredible amount of luxury we are afforded by living in a country like the United States.

Will definitely post more on this topic later, including the results of the electric bill test in about a month.