6footsix

build or fix something today

Today is Black Friday when everyone goes to the malls for the sales. 

Here is another idea 

Why don't you spend some time repairing what you have or making something with your own hands. Homemade things make wonderful gifts from the heart and fixing stuff means it isn't going to the dump and you save. 

This is really good if you are a kid. Show 'em how creative you are! Zula and Daisy Mae would do it if they could, but you can't imagine how dangerous they are with power tools.

(image is cc geishaboy500)

burn that bird!

Get out there and exercise before and after Thanksgiving dinner. Play football, run with your dog, bike or even just walk - but remember to be active!

(image cc by xybermatthew)

the cheapest way to save energy

We're all facing living with a bit less these days. Giving up some things may be hard, but others are easy and will save more than money. 

It is easy to give up burning money - let's see how.

It may not seem sexy, but the cheapest way to save energy and lower carbon emissions is conservation.  Some types of conservation are very easy.  Unplug things that use electricity around your home when you aren't using them.  TVs, stereos, PCs, set top boxes, game consoles.  You can plug them into power strips to make it easy and this may save more than a hundred dollars a year for most of you if you are serious - and lots of carbon too!

It is wrong to burn money, but this is exactly what you are doing when you aren't switching your stuff off when it isn't being used.

This is something where you kids can lead the way!  Set the example.  Make sure things are switched off on power strips when they aren't in use.  You can read about what California is doing and write to the people who run your state and the country and ask them why they don't do the same things.  Figure out how much you can save and maybe you can even make a deal with your parents and get some of the savings for making it happen.  You can start now! 

You might even find better things to do with your time when the TV is off.  Zula and Daisy Mae like to run and bark.  You may not bark as well, but running, playing games and riding your bike is a lot more fun than sitting in front of a TV.  

But even if you stay inside, remember to unplug things off when they aren't being used.

White roofs, not lighting the sky up at night, fixing air ducts ... There are thousands of other things that can be done and California is leading the nation on energy efficiency - the US could cut make huge cuts in energy use and carbon emissions if it adopted California's policies.  The power companies have good incentives to promote savings - check out the plans from Southern California Edison.

We all have to use energy and cut our green house emissions, but if we are smart about it we don't have to suffer and can justify the important things.

game consoles use waaaaay too much energy

Hey kids - here is a place where you can make a real difference! 

Big game consoles like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 use a lot of power. The National Resources Defense Council says these games use about as much power as two refrigerators! (here is a paper for those of you who want to learn about it)... about 150 watts.

Let's see how much 150 watts is...

Daisy-Mae says energy is power something uses times how long it is on.  If  you just leave the game on, you use 8760 hours in a year times 150 watts for a total of 1,314,000 watt-hours of energy. The electric company sells energy in kilowatt-hours (1000 watts in a kiloatt), so this is 1314 kilowatt hours. Where Daisy-Mae and Zula live electricity is about 14 cents a kilowatt-hour, so this is over $180 a year! Not only are you wasting money, but a lot of carbon is being emitted.

This is definitely not cool.

These games have idle modes, but they use almost as much power as when you are playing a game.  You can set them for auto-shutdown, but you have to do that as they don't come that way.  Leaving it plugged in and idling is almost as expensive as using it around the clock. 

Better yet just unplug them when you aren't playing!  

Tell all of your friends about this and kids can lead the way and save a lot of energy.  Maybe you can make a deal with your parents that they will pay you something for making sure your game console is unplugged when it isn't being used.   

Here's another suggestion.  Games are nice, but you won't get strong playing computer games.  A Wii might be cool, but try playing something real.  Play fetch with your dog, race your bike with friends, run, play some football, shoot some hoops, or play some volleyball.  Not only is it more fun than a game, you'll get stronger and look better than kids who just sit around indoors.  

stayin' active

Hey kids, this is Zula!

A lot of you are in places that are getting colder this time of the year. It is very easy to be lazy and stay indoors with the  TV and computer games.

Daisy Mae and I are really active.  We love to be outside running around and playing.  Guess what?  You'll love it too if you give it a try.  Maybe even your parents will too, but you may have to encourage them. 

You can get involved in a sport at school or through a club.  Our mom Colleen loves volleyball and it is great for those of you who want to get super quick.  But she loves about every other sport too.

It doesn't mater if you are good or not.  There are sports you can play with others and your gym teacher or someone at a club with help you find people who are as good as you and maybe a little better so you'll get better.  There are sports where it is just you.  Like running and biking and anything you want to make up. It is up to you if they're going to be with other people.  There are some people who love to compete and some who hate it, but if you don''t like to compete you shouldn't let that stop you from having fun.

Have you ever counted the good reasons for playing and getting really active?  Most of all you'll have fu, but you'll feel better and sleep better.  That may even make you do better in school too!  If you eat well too you won't get fat. If you are fat now, you'll lose it and look great. Kids are good at lists and you can probably think of more.

One of the best parts is getting better at something.  If you haven't biked in a long time it may be hard to even go a mile.  But work at it and you'll feel yourself getting better. Maybe not every day, but probably every week.   See how well you can throw a ball with your friends or just go out and shoot hoops.  You need to try a lot of things and find something you love.  Mom loves beach volleyball and Daisy Mae and I are really proud of her.  Dogs  can't play it, but we can run faster and she likes to chase me. I think chases me makes her faster and it makes us smile and laugh.  Daisy Mae is more my speed, but running with mom is most excellent.

If I can get my mom extra active, you can too.    Just think how much better your town would be if the adults spent some of their time walking or biking to get around rather than just driving.  Maybe kids and dogs can team up and get them active too!

Send me mail if you have a plan!