Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!
If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.
This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:
Last week proved that green living is often about making a small change. We fine tuned our computers to make our monitors run more efficiently. I have a laptop which runs on a rechargeable battery. Resetting my power saver settings, by just a little, had grand results. My battery lasted most of the day rather than just a couple of hours. That means that I recharged it far less often and saved electricity. Even if your computer comes with pre-set power saver settings, you can save a lot by adjusting them just a bit.
The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.
Argentum Vulgaris was out watching nature last week. He found a creature which took him some time to identify. It's beautiful! He also shared his technique for saving energy via the computer monitor. You'll find all that, and more, by clicking HERE.
One of our previous challenges discussed needs versus wants. Laurel wrote an interesting post about travel and whether it's necessary or not. Her conclusions might surprise you. That post is entitled "Travel: Is It a Want or a Need?". She also wrote Monitor, What’s a Monitor? You might want to bookmark that post because it could come in handy for this week's challenge.
Lisa joined us and said this: "Thanks for featuring my post! Another great challenge this week. Simple steps make a difference!"
Mrs. Green accepted our challenge and shared this: "I'm so excited about this challenge SF, because it just goes to prove how EASY being green can be. This is the simplest challenge for anyone to take part, for sure! I'm having a little brag about the desktop I have - I bought it earlier this year and am so pleased with some of its eco credentials ;) http://littlegreenblog.com/green-technology/energy-saving/how-being-a-dimwit-can-save-you-money/." Wow, Mrs. Green ... your new computer is awesomely green!
Clare has no problem with her monitor but knows some folks who do: "Done (I'm a bit obsessive about it) but I've forwarded the challenge to my hubby and friends - perhaps someone other than me can change their minds! :-) Thanks Small!" So I'm curious, Clare ... did your husband and friends make a change?
This edition of Shopping Charity included my tweet of a CTWW article. Was it yours?
Marc Zazeela stopped by and kicked this challenge up a notch. He said, "How about reading a book instead of a monitor? Books don't use any power at all. And they don't break if you drop them."
Mary accepted the challenge and said this: "This is a great challenge! It's simple enough to lower your screen's brightness a few notches! Thanks for sharing this!"
Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:
From @GiveTreeGifts
- I adjusted screen tone on my monitor long ago - both to save my eyes and to save power.
From @artysmith2
- Wednesday's #quote "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." Unknown
The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:
My Final Thoughts:
Changing the power settings on our computers took mere minutes to accomplish. While there was a potential for each of us to conserve a little energy, there was a huge potential if a whole bunch of us make the change. There are two lessons here. 1) Small actions make a difference and 2) together we can have a huge positive impact. Pretty good return on a small investment of time.
Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.
This Week's Challenge:
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| Straws = A lot of waste |
So how many more little actions could we take to live greener?
That's the question ... and the challenge. Here you go ...
This week, search your life for a small difference you can make. Need some ideas? Try these:
- Don't use a disposable straw ... either drink directly from a glass or use a reusable straw.
- Use one less square of toilet paper per visit. Some CTWW participants use no more than 6 squares ... can you do better?
- Turn off a light, or appliance, which you normally leave on.
- Add a living plant to your home and improve air quality.
- Go meatless for at least one day this week.
- If you're used to taking baths, take a shower instead. And if you're used to showers, reduce the duration of yours by at least one minute.
Are you ready to search out the small things? I know that you are!
Until next time ...
WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!