Going Green in Comfort

(Photo by Jack Moreh / Freerangestock.com ) One day last week, I came across a YouTube video of Native American elder Oren R. Lyons speaking about being responsible to future generations. (You can view the video at the bottom of this post.) “Seventh generation reminds you that you have responsibility to generations that are coming,” he says. After listening to the video a few times, I was struck by the thought of us being responsible seven generations into the future. Since the day my daughter was born, I’ve believed I’m responsible for her and for her children, but I never really thought of beyond that. Since I watched the video, I’ve found myself thinking often about the choices I make. How do they affect future generations? Not just for my daughter. Not just for her children, but even beyond that. And as a result, I’ve made a few choices I might not have otherwise — planning out a trip to run errands ahead of time to minimize drive time and save gas, balancing my checkbo...

( Chance Agrella / FreeRangeStock.com ) Beginning tonight, I am going to turn off the power strip to which my computer and printer are connected. I don't know if it will result in a noticeable energy savings, because some things I see online say the savings would be negligible. Others say unplugging is worth doing. I guess the only way to know for sure is to give it a shot myself. The hardest part, of course, will be remembering to turn it off each night. I'll follow up on this after I've had a chance to see how much, if any, my electricity use reflects the change.