Use Less Live Well

It was a scorching day in July 2006. The air conditioning had turned on at about 9:00 am, but by 3:00 pm my home office was a sauna. Going outside, I confirmed that my air conditioner was, in fact, running. What is it costing me to run an air conditioner that is not even keeping the house cool, I thought, and for the first time in my life, I took a look at the electric meter next to my garage door and discovered it spinning like a dervish.

Thus began my awakening. At age 45, I became conscious of my electricity consumption. Previously, electricity had represented comfort, convenience and bills that, in the scheme of things, were pretty small. Watching that meter zip along, however, I wondered whether everyone else’s was going as fast, or was I using more than my share? For that matter, was I using more than I needed? My house wasn’t that cool, so how much was I wasting?

Along the journey that has followed, I have learned a great deal, felt discouraged by the actions (or lack thereof) of the federal (U.S.) government, but encouraged by the actions of my state (Pennsylvania) government, and gained a great deal of personal satisfaction from making changes in my life.