Day Two of Womankind's Combat Global Warming Challenge: Leanne

Ok. Yesterday I committed to not eating meat. I really should have qualified that a little bit further. What I really should have said was that I will commit to eating meat after I have eaten the yummy pork burgers offered to me for dinner on Thursday night. And my commitment will last at least until the end of this five day challenge. So that means I'm meat-free as of NOW (10.50pm on Thursday 2/3/17) until midnight on Sunday. And then I'll reassess. Easy...right?

No. You can't eat bacon if you're vegetarian.

Image credits: www.seriouseats.com 

Don't click on this link if you're trying to be vegetarian. I'm not joking.

After my initial hopelessness yesterday I spoke to Jess and read her posts. And, as usually happens after conversations with Jess, I was energised. I can DO SOMETHING! It's not futile! I am not powerless! Hooray!

The two things I have done today are outlined here.

Ecological footprint calculator: I like this one. it's pretty detailed, and it hits home by plonking graphics of all the things you have as a part of your lifestyle on the screen in front of you. According to this quiz, if everyone lived like me we would need two earths to sustain us. I did the quiz twice, once as a vegetarian and once as an occasional meat eater. It made very little difference, but that doesn't mean I'm giving in. I also did a less detailed quiz and they reckon I only use 0.8 of an earth...If I were the government I might just accept the measure that gave me the answer I want to hear, and the one that will require me to do nothing about the problem...

Electrical Appliance Inventory: Here is a list of the electrical appliances that I have in my home.

Electrical appliances in my home
Appliance	Possible Actions
Always on
Refrigerator	Non-negotiable
Freestanding freezer	Non-negotiable
Cordless phone	When I got my current internet plan I couldn’t access wifi without a landline. With the NBN this may have changed. RESEARCH and get rid of landline if possible.
Clock radio (what decade are we in again?)	Let it go. It’s over. Donate to…who wants a clock radio these days?
Used regularly
Bedside lamp
Lounge room lamp	This requires a fancy kind of globe and I can’t replace it with an energy saving one. Use less.
Washing machine	Fill each load fully. I think sometimes I don’t fill it to capacity. Continue to use short, cold wash.
Laptop	Turn off when not using.
Mobile phone	Unsure what action to take here. Is there a more efficient way of using it?
Gas heater (it has an electrical plug so it must use some electricity)	Turn it off at the wall.
Oil heater (used regularly in winter)	This is in The Toddler’s room. She’s over two now and will be in a big bed this winter. Warm blankets. Warm PJs. Hopefully she will learn how to stay under her blankets. It hasn’t been one of her strong points thus far.
Microwave	Unplug when not in use.
Speakers	Same.
Used occasionally
Bamix	These appliances are all unplugged when not in use, and I don’t use them unless absolutely necessary. No changes required here really. Although… I guess I could ditch the food processor for most things: a knife for fine chopping, a rolling pin for biscuit crushing, a mortar and pestle for pesto. Ok. I’ll be honest. I’m not using a mortar and pestle for pesto. It just takes me far too long. And I'm keeping the electric beaters for sponge making, but for most other things I use a whisk.
Toaster
Dehydrator
Electric beaters
Food processor
Sewing machine
Overlocker
Hair straightener
Hair dryer
Iron
Keyboard (piano)

Right. I'm off to bed. That is, after I unplug my clock radio. This is a big deal. I have relied on a clock radio since ever. This is the end of an era.