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Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?

Tell us about your experience with alternative energy:

I want a wind generator but the local power company puts up road block to stop private home owner from being independat. So I turned off everthing I coulod and now have a $40. a month power bill. I even turned off the hot water heater and now take cold showers. It's ok now that it's summer. We don't have ANY public transportation here.

What excites you about this campaign?

Someone important with money who can help the little guy. It's about time

What do you want to do to help?

I'll just turn more things off.

Mary's Blog

Some ways to save energy and money (some might think extream)

I am no longer going to help the fat cats get richer. I have cut my power bill to just $40. a month!
I have turned off my hot water heater and take cold showers, it's not bad now that it's summer.
All lights have energy saving bulbs. But I hardly use them.
I don't use the air conditioner. I use the outside clothes line to dry my clothes and wash in cold water. I make sandwiches instead of using the stove. I turn off the coffeepot and even drink my coffee cold.
I commute to work with others be… Continue

Posted on July 23, 2008 at 11:08am —

Saving water

Here is another I used for saving water.
Recycle your washing machines rinse water to use for the next wash. I know I often have more than one load to do when I wash. I got a large barrel a plastic garbage can would work, and just moved the drain hose to empty into this when the washer drained when on rinse. Then I used a cheap swamp cooler pump to pump the water back into the washer for the next wash. I don’t see why you couldn't do this with bath water as well. The Wash drain water you coul… Continue

Posted on July 23, 2008 at 11:00am —

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At 6:44am on December 18, 2008, Doug Maurstad said…: Hi Mary - i am the new district coordinator for the PickensPlan in South Dakota. i don't see any notes on your blog since august. i would like to add you to my list of friends so that i can give you current updates and actions planned by the Pickens Army. We desperately need to get the word out about the objectives of alternative energy and reducing dependency on foreign oil. if you got Boones email this morning, OPEC is going to raise the prices again. we need to do all we can to stop this.
i really think it is interesting that you would mention recycling rinse water. i have been thinking about that as well. i am also going to put barrels under the outside drainspouts in the spring to use rainwater to water the garden...hope to hear from you mary. thanks in advance..doug

At 9:15pm on August 4, 2008, Daryl Oster said…: Mary,
TRANSPORTATION is the master key to basic survival, and the cornerstone of the economy. We all know that transportation presently depends on oil production, and oil production is peaking. We must focus first on transportation – it is the highest priority. The PickensPlan to transition vehicles to natural gas is a great start toward 100% energy independence, but is a stop-gap measure till we can transition to all electric transportation. Electric energy is strained without adding transportation demands; so we must focus on drastic efficiency improvement.
Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) is a patented technology where travel occurs without air friction or rolling resistance (like “Space Travel on Earth”); ETT can accomplish 50 times more transportation per kWh (or carbon credit) than electric cars or trains. ETT is silent, low cost, safe, faster than jets, and is electric so it can make maximum use of wind or PV power. I invite you to visit my page to learn more about ETT

At 12:30pm on July 27, 2008, Mary said…: Thanks I will. I think I have reduced my carbon emissions more than that. LOL

At 6:30pm on July 24, 2008, Wayne Alderman said…: Mary,

Check out our group, "Live Carbon Free". If we all reduced our carbon emissions by 20% we would not be dependent on OPEC. Also check out www.usgreenhome.info

Wayne Alderman

At 10:58am on July 23, 2008, Mary said…: Here is another I used for saving water.
Recycle your washing machines rinse water to use for the next wash. I know I often have more than one load to do when I wash. I got a large barrel a plastic garbage can would work, and just moved the drain hose to empty into this when the washer drained when on rinse. Then I used a cheap swamp cooler pump to pump the water back into the washer for the next wash. I don’t see why you couldn't do this with bath water as well. The Wash drain water you could use for you garden or lawn. It's what they call "gray water" I didn't want the barrels of rinse water in my laundry room so I set a platform up out side the window. Water is getting expensive and even the local water department made a comment about how little water we were using and I even had a green lawn!

You might want to check if you city allows you to use "gray water'.

Another thing many people might not know is that soapy water is an old fashion cure for some types of bugs on their plants and flowers. I would not recommend water with bleach, but the water with bleach didn't seem to hurt the lawn in anyway. But I sure did have to mow it more often.
I solved that problem of mowing too. Just like the old days I did what they did at the White House. I got some sheep. They don't over graze or pull the lawn up by its roots. The chomp away is an even level and even fertilized it at the same time. LOL

Our small town allowed us to have the sheep. We later added two turkeys and a few chickens. These were penned up of course and had fresh eggs everyday. The extra eggs we sold to a local company that sold them to the stores.

Incase no one has heard, in England they are advising people to cut back on food because of the food shortage. The government there says the high costs for food is because of the food shortage and suggests people go back to practices done during World War 2.