Thinking about all of those resolutions you’ve committed to in 2015? Energy Planner Michelle Vigen gives us a few ideas for unconventional ways to be energy-smart in the new year!
Hello! It’s your friendly County energy adviser, Michelle, here to help ring in the New Year with a blog post.
Let me start by saying: I promise I’m not going to challenge you to turn off lights or get an energy audit. I’m not even going to offer you tips on making your resolutions SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound). You can read about energy goals, SMART goals, and other behavior-changing tips elsewhere.
Instead, I offer this resolution: Do more healthful and meaningful activities this year.
Photo courtesy of Moyan Breen, via Flickr.
To prove I’m serious, here are some examples of what I mean:
Photo courtesy of Jessica Lucia, via Flickr.
Well, first of all, they are good and healthy fun. They should make you smile, and feel better about yourself, your family, your friends, and your community. These activities make us happy, grateful, and appreciative of what’s around us.
Secondly, they also have a low energy impact. A recent study featured in the Washington Post by Joseph Kantenbacher, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California-Berkeley, showed us “The surprising link between things that make us happy and things that save energy”.
“A number of the least energy intensive activities that I found — sleeping, socializing, hobbies, and so forth — are enriching personally,” says Kantenbacher in the article. “So they make people happy to do them, but they also are relatively low consuming activities.”
Make this year one of good, healthy fun, and maybe you’ll find that your energy bill drops a bit – or maybe a bit more if you turn off the lights or get that audit – but regardless of how much energy you save this year, you’ll be a happier, healthier person.