I'm changed my mind

I have a kill-a-watt at home and decided to double check on my vampire phone charger. In 21 hours it used 0.01 kWh. Which seems like a very tiny amount. But, if you multiply that by 7 days per week that's 0.07 kWh, which is 70 Wh, which is like having a 70 watt lightbulb on for an hour. Which is actually significant. So, back to unplugging the darn vampires.

Habits

As Dallase would say, "Bah!" (with hands outspread in front of her, fingers spread). I don't eat in the dining halls and therefore can't join the students who are choosing to take less food or skip using trays! Drat, I do like to join a movement. Mmmm... a tray, sometimes I wish I had one so I could take everything I need with me outside.

Thinking up a non-eco-habit to break is hard. It has to be accomplishable and worthwhile and something that I'm not already doing. I could go back to taking the train to work, but my schedule is all wonky nowadays and I wouldn't be able to get home much before 9 PM. I'm not really concerned about the vampire energy from my phone charger. Really, I'm not. Well, okay, sometimes I feel guilty, but that's not really worth making a big deal about.

One habit I'd like to break, however, has nothing to do with environmental sustainability. It has to do with personality. I'd like to be able to get through an entire Ultimate Frisbee game without being negative. About the other team or my teammates. Yeah. That'll be a challenge. I'm interested to see what tools Dallase introduces for us to use.

My Eco-Self

I don't think I can actually separate my Eco-Self from my actual self since my life now revolves around being green. People know me as a sustainability coordinator or the co-chair of the Maynard Climate Action Network in Maynard or a past employee of Earthwatch Institute, so they immediately think of me as being 'green.'  I suppose the people I play ultimate frisbee with don't know about this aspect of me, but we have limited interaction. Perhaps I need to make some more friends so I can have someone to introduce myself too...

Shades of Green

Celadon is a color that is a pale tint of spring green. Korean celadon pottery has been described by ancient Chinese artisans as having a quiet elegance whose color is "beyond description," in that it must be experienced to be understood, and its simplicity of form and style has been compared to the spirit of Zen Buddhism.

Myrtle is an immoderately dark shade of green, slightly more so than the color of spinach.

There are many shades of green in our world, and each one has something special to offer. So too are there many different ways to "be green" and each can be appreciated for its uniqueness. While 'greenwashing' - the appearance of being green - can obscure truly unsustainable practices, so can small, seemingly insignificant actions result in profound changes.

Photo blatantly borrowed from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/losangeles/220170624/