The big questions in life

If one has to drive 20 minutes to get to a green dry cleaners, is one really making an environmentally conscious choice? Opinions are seriously desired here....

Clean Power

We just switched to clean power through our electric company. If you live in MA, NY, CT, MD, NJ, or RI, you can choose to do the same through this company, Sterling Planet. There are other options out there, this just happens to be the one we chose. The cost is slightly higher, they claim about $10 a month, but in my opinion well worth it. Your electricity delivery will remain exactaly the same, but you will be doing your part to reduce our dependence on oil and reduce CO2 emissions. Check with your electric company and see what your clean power options are.

No Car Days

This summer, the kids and I are instituting a "No Car Day" policy a few days a week. Because I zoomed around town today clocking exactly how far it was from our house to the library (.75 miles), to the nearest park (.90 miles), to Trader Joe's (1.5 miles), to the Y (1.6 miles) and to the diner downtown (1.6 miles). It was actually rather embarrassing that we don't walk more places. Especially since we own a rather nice double stroller. Of course it means that I have to push 65+ pounds of kids around, making for a rather strenuous workout, but exercise is good for the body, or so they tell me.

We started the trend on Tuesday, walking to the library and back. The kids played red light/green light most of the way and fun was had by all. Today we walked to the Y for C's swim lesson, which was a slightly more ambitious venture. My legs are already protesting. And unlike Wednesday, no one had any interest in getting out of the stroller. But just think! I've already logged and additional 4.5 miles of walking this week without ever having to step on a treadmill. And tomorrow we are walking to the park in the afternoon for a playdate, so that's another 2 miles (well, if you round up...)!

The biggest upside? I get to peer into everyone's backyards and inspect their gardens, giving me lots of ideas on how to redo our weed infested beds.