September 15, 2009 Summer Eco Challenge update. The challenge is over for this summer. I accomplished a 50.7% vegetarian diet during the summer. While that may not seem high, my goal was 50% - you must also know that I am/was a carnavore - a day without meat was a day without protein (or so I thoguht). My overall decrease in meat consumption during the summer was very likely greater than 50.7%. What I noticed was that before the challenge, I would often eat meat twice or even three times a day. During the challenge, I would go vegetarian for lunch and often screw up the day with a piece of meat for dinner. The take away point from this is that I can select a vegetarian lunch more often than I had been and significantly decrease my meat intake going forward. The other main take away from the challenge is that my portions were smaller - and I can sustain smaller portions for myself and my family and still get the necessary nutrients and protein from my diet. The real take away for anyone reading this is that if I can do it, so can you. What I suggest is to take a month - 30 days, and track your total meat consumption (by the way, this includes fish). During the month, try to reduce a) the number of meals you eat meat in and b) reduce your portions when you do consume meat. Both of these efforts will have the effect of decreasing greenhouse gasses and reducing your total footprint on the earth.

July 22, 2009 Summer Eco Challenge. I have entered into a friendly “eco-challenge” with a work mate for the summer. We started around the end of April. My work mate has pledged to take public transit or ride her bike to work every day until Sep 15, with a few grace days for inclement weather. She has normally driven her Smart car into work before this challenge. I, on the other hand have child care responsibilities so the transportation change I cannot endure at the present time. So she came up with a “less meat for Al” challenge. I am aiming to go meatless 71 of the 142 days throughout the summer. This is a challenge for me since I would normally consume meat at least once sometimes twice a day. We are both progressing well. We are charting our progress on the wall of her cube, which attracts attention and questions from everyone else in the office. Even though, this is a “competition” of sorts, the ultimate winner is the planet.The less meat thing is something I would not have committed to right now because there are so many other changes I can make and it’s not the first on my mind to change (I love my meat, or at least used to). So this friendly “eco-challenge” has pushed me to another level of sustainability that I wouldn’t attempt right now. I highly recommend a friendly eco-challenge in your workplace, too. I think there is a competitive beast within all of us. We just need to learn how to feed it without jeopardizing egos or crushing our passion for the planet.

April 29, 2009 You Don't Need This Paper Unless You Care About The Environment. A couple of days back, I was in line at the local "Staples", which is an office supply store. The clerk was taling to an elderly gentleman who was buying a pack of paper. The paper this man had brought to the counter was 100% recycled content and a "certified green" product. I could not believe what I heard the clerk say: "You don't need this paper unless you care about the environment".

April 22, 2009 Earth Day With My Family. Today was Earth Day. Every day should be Earth Day, Most environmentalists would agree. But for the new to environmentalism, including my 6 year old daughter and 2 year old son, Earth Day is a perfect introduction to keeping the earth forever. We planted two trees in a public forest close to our home, a pussy willow and a red maple. I have made promises to my daughter to visit the trees on a regular basis to bring them water in times of low rain and to watch them grow over time. Visiting these trees every April 22 will become a family tradition we are all looking forward to. What I learned this year is that Earth Day begins at home. I hope everyone had a special day, doing something meaningful for our planet.

April 6, 2009 A little muscle, a lot of yuck and no environmental damage. Just spent about an hour unclogging the bathroom sink. I refused to use chemicals to clear the drain this time. I purchased a new tool made of flexible plastic with serrated edges to catch whatever may be clogging the drain. I began by jamming the new tool down the drain's throat and not pulling too much stuff out. I figured the plug was further down. I removed the trap and began jamming the tool down the drain pipe. I began to get some yuck. I reassembled the trap and ran some water. Looked good. I thought I had it. I then filled the sink with water and then pulled the plug. Nothing. It was plugged worse than before. At this point and after about 45 minutes, I was thinking I may have to give in and use the dreaded chemical. And then I remembered my plunger. I took the plunger and pushed with a lot of force down on the drain. Major yuck was sucked out of the drain. I bailed the sink, refilled, re-plunged and still nothing. I began putting things away, thinking I would re-attempt in the morning. Then, all of a sudden, the sink drained with such force, I heard the slurping sound, only known to sinks and Slurpies(c). It just goes to prove that with a little muscle, a strong stomach and perseverance, clearing drains without environmentally damaging chemicals is not necessary.

March 30, 2009 Earth Hour results. We accomplished our goal of using 0.1 kWh during Earth Hour. The only things still plugged in were two alarm clocks, one radio with an LED display, a carbon monoxide detector, two timers and the stove clock. I guess I left more plugged in than I thought. I took the fuse out for the fridge, turned the furnace off completely (even the annoying fan that runs 24 hours a day), unplugged all the computers, the TV's (yes we have two right now). All in all, I think it was an "illuminating" experience, pardon the pun. I will be purchasing some power interrupters for the computers and the TV's. Send me an e-mail and tell me how you did. The only issue is that I think our power supplier did not apply daylight savings time to our meters.

March 27, 2009. Earth Hour @ Al's House Tomorrow. So Earth Hour is tomorrow. My daughter is looking forward to it because we get to light candles and read stories by them with flash lights. Because our children are young, we're starting our Earth Hour observation at 8:00 pm. We will keep our lights off until the official end of Earth Hour - 9:30pm. I'm looking forward to it - because our local hydro company has installed a "Smart Meter" on our house. I can obtain hourly hydro usage information from Horizon Utilities the next day. Here's an example:

My goal is to through less than 0.1 of a Kilowatt Hour between 8pm and 9pm (in case the fridge turns on). Our average use in this time is 0.97 kWh. Return on Monday to see how we did.

February 22, 2009. To Scare or Not To Scare. Some people say that environmentalists over use scare tactics. While I don't like any form of extremism at all, I think some people will blissfully consume the planets' resources without giving it another thought until they are "scared" into thinking about the environment. The problem with scare tactics, though, is that many people are alienated and or numbed when the scare gets used as often as it does in terms of environmentalism. And then there are those people who are only worried about the next 40 to 50 years that they have left on this planet -- and to hell with those we may leave behind. Scare tactics will only lead these people to self-indulge even more. I consider myself to be a progressive conservationist. Someone who will progressively lead a more sustainable lifestyle every month, every year. I encourage you to become one too, and together we may start a "Sustainable Earth" movement that will preserve this planets resources forever.

November 7, 2008. Party Poopers. I've seen two articles this week that complain about being asked to do more to help the environment. I will not source them here because they do not deserve to be publicized. Perhaps it is perspective, but I'm not so selfish to think that I've done enough, so when someone mentions something that I could be doing better, I respectfully consider the possibility. Both of these articles try to make it look ok to not do anything about the crisis that is facing our planet, to turn away from people who are suggesting ways to improve. I certainly don't discourage debate on the best methods to make the most impact environmentally, but I can see how environmentalists can become "green meanies" when there are so many people who outrightly refuse to see the sustainability issues facing our society. We must plough on, however. We must continue to communicate the message that our planet is sick. We must find ways to politely convince people who think they've done enough to help the earth to dig a little deeper, to stretch a little farther, to help keep the earth forever.

October 26, 2008. It's Complicated. Have you ever heard how "complicated" sustainable living can be? I have heard many people complain that providing and implementing sustainable living ideas is too complicated, too difficult, or impossible, that it's like a fish swimming upstream. The problem with this defeatist attitude is that nothing gets done. This may just be a justification for not changing to help this planet of ours. Other people say that asking people to live sustainability is asking too much of them, that people don't want to change. If people don't think there is a problem with using all of the earth's finite resources insatiably in two or three generations and leaving nothing for future generations, then perhaps there's not much they can offer. I believe that people's personalities change slowly over time. That is why I think everyone should baseline their current sustainable living levels and work towards an ever increasing level of sustainable living. The goal of this web site is to take the complexities out of sustainable living, to make implementing a new sustainable idea so easy, that it can be done in a matter of minutes. Let's take some baby steps together to help keep the earth forever.

September 21, 2008. Bullfrog Power. Today our family got "Bullfrog Powered". Bullfrog Power provides 100% renewable, sustainable energy at a slightly increased cost than traditional power. It was really easy - much simpler than buying and installing a wind turbine. Probably friendlier to our neighbors, too. We figure it will cost us $275 more a year for electricity. We may make up this in reduced consumption, as we implement many of the ideas available in this site.

August 7, 2008. Introduction. I bought the domain rights for SustainableEarthIdeas today. This is the beginning of the site that will help people live sustainably. I have many ideas that I'd like to share with the people of this world. I have much to learn -- about ideas to sustain the earth forever -- about creating a web site. I am ready for it. I also look forward to hearing from anyone who has any comments on this site. Please refer to the "contact us" link.