Lisa Zahn

Today I want to write just a snippet on each of the 7 areas where we're reducing our consumption. See the Riot for Austerity page to learn more. 1. Electricity. No major sacrifices. We're still watching TV a little and I'm online way too much trying to keep up with this group (my latest obsession), but we're now turning both off at the power strip when they're not in use, instead of just at night when we go to bed. Also, many more appliances are getting unplugged when not in use. 2. Heating and Cooking Energy. We are using the a/c today due to temps in the 90s and very high humidity. That is my general rule for a/c use and always has been-it has to be over 90 degrees F. and humid. Tonight when the predicted cold front passes through we'll turn it off for at least the next week of predicted 80s. 3. Gasoline. I'm biking the 2.5 miles to work every time I work, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. George is biking the 3 miles to the health club for his aerobic w...

Okay, it's time to start working on this blog again. I am going to keep track of my family's progress on the Riot for Austerity's 90% Reduction Challenge here, partly to be accountable to others and partly to have fun with it. You can read all about the challenge at their website, http://simplereduce.wordpress.com/riot-for-austerity90-rules/ . When I first read about this I thought, these people are crazy! There's no way it can be done! But over a few days I couldn't get their project out of my mind and I was thinking constantly about ways we even as a fairly conscientious family waste resources and contribute, by virtue of living our easy American lifestyle, not only to environmental degredation but also to the poverty of others around the world. For some reason, I was born with a compassion gene. I often wonder about this, because others have had similar experiences to me but have reacted to them much differently. For example, when I was a small child (maybe 7 or ...