Dieter Results

On the basis of points, Catherine and Jean-Denis led the pack with 490, making their biggest changes in the areas of eating a carbon-light diet and reducing their landfill waste. But while points are a good indicator of progress, they can’t be the sole gauge. As we have noted in previous rounds, some dieters don’t earn as many points because they are already ahead – no gas-guzzling car to maintain or trade in, no yard to xeriscape, no meat-eating to curb. Samanta, for example, was already living a pretty energy-lean lifestyle getting around by motorbike, but she went even further by deciding to walk more often.

Beyond racking up points, all of the dieters made significant strides and found creative ways to cut energy use. Alberto and Michelle, among other things, reevaluated their supermarket habits and installed a timer for their water heater. Gerald made a big dent in his water use, which you can see from the handy chart that he produced to track his progress over eight weeks. Marta spotlighted some interesting facts and research on contact lens waste. Alicia focused on changing her speedy driving habits and visited a local farm to get more in touch with where her food was coming from. Emma, James and Georgina set up composting in their backyard, but unfortunately went MIA toward the end of the diet.

Tidbits from Around the World

One of the best aspects of this round is that the bloggers were challenged to describe energy issues not just in their own homes, but in their countries at large. Every single blogger rose to that challenge and incorporated amazing research into their posts, allowing us to learn, for example, that:

In Costa Rica, more than 80 percent of the power comes from hydroelectric plants; and yet despite its dependence on both water power and tourism, the country only treats a small fraction of its wastewater before dumping it straight into rivers.

About one quarter of New York State’s land is used to produce food. New York ranks third in the United States for milk and dairy production.

Per-capita domestic electricity use has gone up 81 percent since 1994 in Portugal.

The cost of using a standard dishwasher twice a week in Québec, Canada is less than one quarter what it costs in the Netherlands.

About 40 percent of all household waste in the United Kingdom is sent for recycling.

The price of electricity in South Africa has risen 25 to 40 percent each of the last two years.

Your Opinions

Readers of the 360º Energy Diet are a pretty conscious bunch: More than 40 percent of you said in polls that you always bring your own tote to the store, and more than 50 percent said you live in a community that is either very or somewhat aware of conservation issues. People seemed evenly divided on where they could improve most, but “what you buy” had a slight edge. You can see more opinions on the polls page here.

You also shared on Twitter many disturbing (and, frankly, amusing) instances of energy waste, including commercial buildings that leave lights on, overused cars and/or electronics, and (in the amusing category) Twitter itself.

If cutting energy use is among your resolutions for 2012, be sure to check out our comprehensive energy diet tips, calculate where you stand with the Personal Energy Meter, and see how making some lighting changes can make a difference with the Light Bulb Savings Calculator.

Oh wait, we’re talking about energy dieting, aren’t we?

Oh riiiiight. That’s a different story. My bad.

Reflecting back on the last couple of months, I can be honest with myself and say that the changes I made for the diet weren’t all that serious. Shortened my shower time. Turned off the lights. Unplugged some stuff. Stopped driving maniacally (at least for a week or so). But some of the thinking I did and the conversations I had with people in my community really showed me the value of this experience.

I think it’s safe to say that the success of dieting, energy or otherwise, largely depends not upon a change of routine or behavior, but a change of mind. By becoming more conscious of my energy-related decisions, I became aware of the ripple effect my choices have on local and global levels. This new knowledge and awareness of the flow of energy and how I am a part of it really brought to my attention a lot of environmental issues that I am actually helping to perpetuate, though not directly. Being cognitive of my somewhat lackadaisical environmentalism has really helped me get on the path toward changing my mind and, slowly, changing my ways.

No matter the diet you’ve been on, it really is hard to believe that 8 weeks have gone by. If you’ve been following along with us here, and maybe making some strides of your own at home, I’m hoping that you’re seeing a difference. Your energy bills may or may not be reflecting the changes you’ve been making, but if you really think about it, that’s not why we’re doing this in the first place. Thanks for being a part of the change. Thanks for being a part of something bigger.

Thanks for reading.

Unexpectedly, through I have introduced several practical changes in the way I interact with my environment, I have mostly grown on an intellectual level – that is, on the way I think about the way I interact with my environment.

These past 8 weeks have made me start to question the smaller details of my footprint on this planet, and feel the urge to go back to the data, to the published literature, to help me quantify my actions and find the greener alternative to existing habits. Simple questions such as Week 5’s “mattress pad, hot-water bottle or cherry-pit bag?” or Week 6’s “yearly, monthly or daily contact lenses?” have marked a turning point, for me, and have led to several other queries (which I have not blogged about).

The additional reading I have done to answer each question as it occurs has, in turn, widened my global knowledge of the way our way of life impacts the planet; and that, of course, only fuels more questions and doubts.

And I’m loving it.

What I have achieved…

I made the decision not to update my Progress Bars until this last week, so that I could properly appreciate the changes I have made over the last two months, and hopefully use them as a motivator to continue working towards a greener Me.
Having just completed the update, I have come to the conclusion that my time on the Diet has been a personal success on the practical side as well, having reached the following milestones:
• “Home” – 75%
• “Transportation” – 65%
• “Water use” – 45%
• “Food” – 50%
• “Waste disposal and reduction” – 59%
• “What you buy” – 62%

While the numbers may look somewhat low (and there is certainly still a long way to go), there were some tasks which were not applicable to my case (such as eliminating a “second freezer”, or introducing changes in a garden or yard), while others were simply not feasible at the moment, from a financial point of view – such as replacing the car, buying new electrical appliances or remodeling the toilet.

Excluding these unmeetable goals, my progress hovers at around 75%, which is quite satisfactory. The remaining 25% of tasks will be the ones I’ll be working on, on my own, over the upcoming weeks.

I am looking forward to continuing this growth process I started with National Geographic, and becoming a more responsible citizen of the World.

Post scriptum: Oh, yeah, and I’m writing this post under the new energy-saving light bulbs I installed this week…

It is shameful the way world leaders have acted to stall and block any meaningful progression on a solid, legally binding global plan to cut carbon emissions. It is completely unacceptable that world leaders still lack the political will to acknowledge responsibility for the crisis that we are facing.

But if anything can be taken from the climate talks in Durban it is that, although we may feel powerless, it is our actions that are necessary to avoid a Malthusian catastrophe.

Dig for Victory

“Dig for Victory” is a term I am sure many of you have heard. It was a World War II campaign broadcast across both Allies and Axis territories alike and it is a campaign that I feel is very appropriate for our current predicament.

It promotes self-responsibility and sufficiency. Not only in the sense it was originally intended, but also as the solution to a contemporary problem. As we reach the end of this 360⁰ Energy Diet we must remember that it is our responsibility to support our nation as strong patriots, as citizens of the world.  Some of us might not see the enemy for a number of years, but for others it has already begun.

I have learned a lot over the past eight weeks. About how I live and how I want to be living. About reconnecting with my community and giving something back.

-          I have become more consistent in disconnecting electrics when not in use.

-          Hanging up clothes instead of tumble-drying them.

-          Only using biodegradable, green-certified products.

-          Making sure all the products I use and consume are vegan.

-          Cutting out processed foods and takeaways.

-          Considering raw alternatives to cooked foods.

-          Joining a local, organic veg box scheme.

-          Shopping at local businesses instead of supermarkets.

-          Turning my hand to sprouting.

-          Deciding not to go skiing this December.

-          Asking around about carpooling schemes.

-          Taking the bus instead of riding my motorbike.

-          Walking around town.

-          Recycling all glass, aluminium, plastic, batteries and paper.

-          Changing to paperless biling.

-          Using my cotton ‘bag for life’ instead of plastic ones.

-          Taking those old clothes I never liked anyway to the charity shop.

-          Started volunteering at the local charity shop and getting involved in community work.

-          Turning to ethical cosmetics, using ‘toothy tabs’ instead of toothpaste, natural deodorant and henna hair dye.

I have also been given a lot to think about for the future. I want to do even more, I want to grow my own vegetables and take harvest from the beaches and hedgerows. I want to spend some time away living without electricity and the conveniences of our modern world. I need a holiday unlike any I have ever experienced before.

But as that is unlikely to happen for now, at least until the weather clears, I will continue on with what I have learned here and put what I can into practice.

My deepest thanks to you National Geographic, my readers and my family for helping me along the way.

May your Yule be merry and the New Year see you fare.

EnergyDiet Scorecard

The improvements in each of the six categories on the scorecard are shown in
the before and after graphs (left). Areas for further improvement can be achieved in Waste Disposal and Reduction, as well as Transportation.

• Street lights burning during the day;
• Reported water leaks that are only repaired days later;

• Air-conditioners running with the windows wide open;
• Delivery vehicles idling while goods are offloaded;
• Urns left to boil all day even though a meeting is not scheduled;
• Lights left on in the evening when no-one is at the office.

• Garden irrigation running while it’s raining (a rain sensor is a minimal cost in relation to the whole setup cost);
• TV’s left on when people are in another room;
• Over-filling the kettle and then bring it to the boil several times;
• Leaking water taps – I measured one leak, 27 drops per minute @ 0,5ml per drop equals 19.44 litres per day, or 591.3 litres per month. Using a dropper to collect the water, 20 drops gave 10ml.

• People that travel 30-40Km (19-25mi) to buy a product that are on-sale. The fuel bill alone is more than the difference in price, not to mention the running cost of the vehicle;
• Using courier companies to move items around the country because of poor planning, or because society wants the items immediately. Will it really make a difference it you get it one day later on a consolidated delivery?;
• Flights operating a few times per day with only a few passengers on-board (not sure how they can resolve this).

At the beginning of the 360° Energy Diet we considered two main objectives:

1. Succeed in distribution to our family and friends, by example, good practices to reduce carbon footprint in our homes

2. Of all the actions we took during the challenge, managed to preserve in our daily lives as much as possible

Now that we got to our eighth week of participation, we believe that it is desirable to make a stop on the road to see if we actually achieve our goals and to reflect a little on what this experience has left us.

Regarding the first objective, we feel that many people near our participation was enthusiastic and they are clear we were not doing anything super spectacular, we were simply changing little things to make a difference. This has prompted others to take some of these practices home. Therefore, Objective 1: check!

The second objective, we have come a long way 8 weeks getting used to things we did not used to do before, so make sure that most of these actions will not be forgotten. As the effort to take the first step is the hardest and already is a more complicated path back. So, Goal 2: check!

Finally we are very pleased to be part of this. Even before we had good intentions, diet nudged us toward the correct path and in some ways put pressure to have to do some things that maybe otherwise would have missed. The most important thing we have after this experience is the consciousness that we have developed about the impact we cause to our environment, and this awareness makes us to take right decisions about our purchases, our activities at home and our behavior in society.

We know that getting people to acquire all this thinking is not an easy job. For that reason, our commitment from now on is to continue doing things right, giving the example and trying to spread good practice so that more people will join efforts to conserve our planet.

We give our thanks to Nat Geo for letting us be part of this and hope you continue doing this great job!

I met last week with the owner of a small business, a sawmill. It’s been a tough time during the past years for the wood industry in Québec province. One of those times when environmental responsibility could easily be put aside for economic survival, in that old paradigm opposing environment and economic performance.

It always surprise me how strong entrepreneurs can be. The best of them are resilient and innovative. The owner of the sawmill had faced the economic crisis by investing in innovation. He ended up with higher profits, a result of smaller sales assorted to big cuts in expenses, all this with better products. He had found a way to do better, even after he always did better during the past decades. That is the real paradigm of the modern business: innovation leads to success.

I have worked with many businesses; met with dozens of entrepreneurs every year and I can tell you that for a lot of them, environmental responsibility is more an opportunity than a threat. Many times I saw the benefits of innovation toward the reduction of a business footprints. What this has to do with our 360º Energy Diet: We make choices, either political or economical, that send messages.

As leaders of my country choose living without socioeconomic innovation, I wish you wiser choices, with more nuances, that will more certainly lead you to a stronger economy in the long run.

This week on Twitter, National Geographic asked: What is the worst example of energy waste you’ve seen? Tweet us your answer #energydiet

And boy, did you answer, confirming that there is just as much, if not more, energy waste out there than we might guess. Here’s a selection of responses.

Multiple Votes For…

Getting Specific

“A stretch hummer limo taking bigwigs to a nighttime monster-truck show at a 100,000 seat stadium that had ~2000 attendance” –Mullis_for_Tift

“Every year, thousands of people in Alaska idle their cars in the parking lot for 45+ minutes while grocery shopping.” –kenrpapp

“Dentist with plasma TV running all day facing the window showing gum disease. no pedestrian traffic that this would target.” –Hokies23

“[People] hosing down streets in h2o scarce MidEast countries to ‘keep dust down.’ That & way the they wash cars.” — faresghneim

“Two single rich people living half a yr in a huge palatial home that uses more energy than a family of 5 in a small home.” — Roxibis

“A high school where I occasionally sub teach..they have large TVs which play all day ‘in case’ there is an announcement.” –DuL0r4x

“I live in Doha. I see tens of skyscrapers, every floor lit day & night. those buildings aren’t even rented out yet!” –Sunshine_Pangli

“Energy waste? How about decorated houses with hundreds and hundreds of Christmas lights, left on all night long?” –JacalynKruse

“Ski Dubai will give you winter all year long in the middle of the desert” –lukastimulak

“Using my gas oven to toast a single piece of bread” –seanmpiper

Most Amusing

“Electric/battery powered tooth brushes…how lazy are we becoming. Seriously.” –AshleyGoode

“A movie we saw in my #sustainability class showed a woman with an electric hand lotion warmer. ” –nat_attack2010

Worst energy waste: breakfast burnt at the gym after a day squatting in the office. A lot of resources went into that meal… –intoAngmar

“This!!! http://pic.twitter.com/IbNhtUw5” — baid0

“Friend leaving her TV on for her dog during a 12-hour shift every day!!” –meltiesel

“giving birth!! *” –ArtVolumeOne

“What about printing a picture from an e-mail and ask me to scan it later to have on the computer??!!!!” –parbamenactica

“twitter” –thejaredhilton

You can see more of your answers below. Please comment with other responses below or on Twitter using #energydiet.

The truth is, this time of year, more than any other time, it’s easy to put our best “green” intentions on the back burner while we race around the countryside, making our lists and checking them twice. In fact, a 2010 Yale University survey of 1,001 American adults showed that large percentages of Americans believe that green practices are important, but much smaller percentages actually do them. Interestingly, the gap between the “believers” and the “doers” was small regarding tasks that require minimal effort (like switching off the lights when you leave a room), but was larger relating to tasks that are not as practical or interrupt the efficiency with which people live their lives (like using public transportation or carpooling, for example). And to many of us, the holiday season requires maximum efficiency.

So the bottom line is, at what point do we make the switch between being environmentalists when it’s convenient and environmentalists all of the time? And does it have to be an all or nothing deal? What do you think?

Many products are manufactured in South Africa, for local use as well as for export to other countries, so it isn’t necessary to shop around for imported products. However, cost is a big factor, and many imported items are often cheaper than the local equivalents, and sometimes the quality is far superior. I’m a firm believer in buying quality products, as they do tend to last a lot longer than the cheaper knockoffs in the long run.

The last item on my scorecard is entitled “what you buy”, and is another area that I would have to plead guilty to. As easy as it may seem, I was only able to tick off three of the nine items when I started the diet.

Stats showing the cost of electricity used per month prior to starting the energy diet

The item that got me started on trying to reduce my carbon footprint was the cost of electricity, or the amount I was spending each month of pre-paid credits. Since that day, I have been monitoring my electricity usage, and I can happily report that I’ve cut it down by 30% without actually installing any energy-saving devices. All I did was make a conscious effort to switch off appliances and monitor the electrical usage daily. I am now spending about R550 ($68) per month compared to R800 ($100), and there will be further savings with CFLs to be installed in the lounge and kitchen (rooms with the most use at night). However, I wasn’t monitoring my water usage, so I couldn’t claim a tick on the first item, but that has changed and I have started building up a history to better manage my water usage. Daily reading soon turned to weekly readings because of irregular meter reading times, but at least I am now recording my usage.

Being employed at a company that buys and sells cleaning solutions, it is easy to keep ahead in eco-friendly cleaning methods. Feather dusters, which only shift the dust from one place to another and require a vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust, are an old method used to clean those hard-to-reach places. Microfibre cloths and wands attract the dust like a magnet to steel and it doesn’t require water until it’s time to wash the cloth. They’re also super absorbent in sucking up spills, so no more paper toweling, only color-coded cloths to ensure the cloth used on the floor isn’t used on a food preparation surface.

I’ve never been one for wrapping gifts, or buying a card to accompany the gift. However, some people just insist on tearing open the wrapping, so a few layers of newspaper works just as well as some fancy looking paper wrapping. Thankfully for me, we receive a weekly community newspaper so the conversion to tablet based newspapers won’t affect my cheap gift wrappers.

With the advent of smartphones, I have all the information, emails, news and more at my fingertips, so printing out a document is extremely rare for me. I’m not sure what impact the information highway is having on our lives in terms on energy consumption, but I’m sure I’ll find out that answer with a few Google searches.

Next week I get to report back on the past 7 weeks worth of energy-dieting and update my scorecard. It will show an improvement in my effort to reduce my impact on mother earth, and I hope that it might help anyone reading this to do your bit for this planet.