Carbon Busters Journal Entry, June 26th, 2007

Dear Concerned Environmentalists Everywhere:

So today I bought a 10 cubic ft refrigerator at Lowes for $398 less 20% equals about $320.

It’s a Whirlpool with a stainless steel “look” and it’s pretty small. I was hoping to get one as small as my friend Susan’s, but I think this is the same size as the one I currently have. Plus for $75, they deliver it, carry it up my stairs and take the old one away.

I also got 12 Sylvania daylight spectrum CF bulbs for $24. They are 13 watt bulbs with the illumination equivalence to 60W incandescent bulbs. Wal-Mart be damned!

I’m very excited about this. 13 WATTS! 13 WATTS! And it doesn’t feel like fluorescent light at all.

Estimated energy savings is $444/year from the light bulbs alone, and the refrigerator claims to cost only $37/year to operate.

And no payments or interest for 6 months — at which time I will have already saved 1/3 of the cost. Or more at Con Ed rates. Plus the bulbs don’t put out much heat, so I won’t pay as much for my A-C. Ditto on the fridge. They have a nice nursery, too.

I also bought this great wall-mount circuit breaker (fits right over the socket) at radio shack last year that (I just realized) allows me to turn off my whole cable/DVR box, modem, router and television system with one flip of the switch. No power vampires here. When I turn it back on, the wireless network comes on as quickly as it takes my computer to boot or wake up from hibernation. I may miss some tapings of “The View,” but fuck Barbara Walters anyway for firing Rosie O’Donnell.

If this is not enough to freak you out, I realized last night that my South-facing windows are perfect for making sun tea, so I no longer have to boil water. (I blew out all the lights in my apartment last night just using my microwave trying to do just that without turning on the stove. Fortunately, I had just been down in the basement earlier with my steam cleaner friend Greg, so I knew the fuse boxes are right next to the backyard water hose faucet.

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