going green

With the UN Climate Summit 2014 going on this coming week, I was inspired to write about all the small things that we do for the good of Planet Earth.  Everyone was complaining about the record heat wave we had last week.  We closed the blinds in my classroom to reduce cooling cost.  We dried our laundry on a clothesline.  We ate our food raw.

We bought our groceries from the Farmer's Market. We brought them home on our bicycles. We conserved water, allowing water-loving plants to die, but the basil and peppers are still trapping carbon dioxide. We have a variety of CAM (high temperature/low water availability) plants in our garden.

We think twice before printing, all my teaching materials are available electronically.  We take the train and our bicycles to work.  We use reusable coffee cups and a large thermos.  When paper cups are purchased, they are saved and repurposed for starting seedlings.  For the first time in 3 years, I am eliminating miles that would have been spent in a car.  I bike instead more miles than I drive.  I even biked to my office hours yesterday.  When I drive, sometimes I carpool with my husband.  When we go out for frozen yogurt, we walk.

I got to ride my road bike this weekend.  Cowabunga!

CicLAvia is in 13 days.  We practiced riding with our malti-poo (dog, Edna Jo) in the basket of my bicycle.  We even took her to the pet store for her haircut on the bike.  We live about 7.5 miles from the Echo Park hub, so we'll ride to the ride, which starts at 9am.  Hope to see you there!

http://mic.com/articles/98972/21-photos-of-women-who-shatter-the-stereotype-of-what-a-real-biker-looks-like

#iBikeBecause