Low Carbon Living group in Dorchester
Low Carbon Living: Building community in the face of climate crisis!
Many climate activist groups are using a workbook called the Low Carbon Diet to teach people about the connection between saving money and reducing your carbon footprint. This 4-step program has been designed to lead people from individual action on energy conservation to collective action on climate change.
Any 5 or so households who agree to meet together 4 times can form a Low Carbon Living group and use the workbook to learn about energy conservation and support each other in adopting new behaviors and setting new priorities. You start the “Diet” by weighing in, measuring your carbon footprints by looking at your utility bills and travel expenses. Then you choose from a menu of action options to reduce your emissions. The menu includes concrete, effective steps like driving more efficiently and unplugging energy-draining phone chargers. For every action you take, the workbook tells you how many pounds of carbon emissions you’re avoiding. The goal is for everyone in the group to lose at least 5,000 pounds from their household’s greenhouse gas emissions. The meetings are designed to be fun, social and flexible.
Once you’re figured out how to be a smart energy consumer, your final stage of the Low Carbon Living group is to inspire others to do the same. The book explains how to teach others what you know and puts a carbon value on those actions too. Where a family might lose 5000 pounds by living more energy conscious, when they turn around and lead their extended family or friends in a second Low Carbon Living group, their efforts are multiplied 5-fold. You can bring the Low Carbon Living concept to your community through a Global Warming Cafe, such as the one BostonCAN organized in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston in March, 2008. You can read more about that inspiring event and see photos at The World Cafe website.
Groups all over the country are going on a Low Carbon Diet and the numbers are adding up. In Massachusetts in the winter of 2006-2007, 75 households combined to pledge carbon savings of over 200 tons this year. That’s like taking 100 SUVs and leaving them in the garage for a year!
Join a Low Carbon Living group!
We are currently leading Low Carbon Living groups in Dorchester and Jamaica Plain and are looking forward to partnering with folks from all neighborhoods within the City of Boston. (See our events page for specific dates.) To join a group or invite BostonCAN to lead one in your neighborhood, email bostonclimateaction[at]gmail.com.
Boston City Councilors John Connolly and John Tobin at the Global Warming Cafe in Jamaica Plain
Do-it-yourself energy
Once you’ve done everything you can to stop wasting energy at home and in your transportation needs, you can cut your carbon further –and shrink your energy costs — by making your own power. Here are some links to simple do-it-yourself solar space heaters.
Window-based Solar Room Heater
http://www.jrwhipple.com/sr/solheater.html
Through-the-wall solar air heater
http://urbanoptions.org/SustainEdHandbook/BuildYourOwnSolarAirCollector.htm
The Solar Room Heater that we constructed is now putting out plus-90 degree heat during the middle of the day. Keep checking this space for updates on other low-cost do-it-yourself projects to take advantage of the sun’s rays.
