Further attempts at greening the world... We are currently attempting to do even more to save the planet. The latest:

- Air drying laundry. The laundry room has a clothes line, and I got a drying rack with a Bed,Bath and Beyond gift card. Last night we washed three loads of laundry and only dried two. That's, um, progress, anyway. We'd have more motivation if we actually paid for laundry, but we're trying.

- I posted a sign in the women's room in my building at work asking everyone to please turn off the light when they leave. It's a staff-only restroom, and no one is here this summer, so it's really been a lot of wasted electricity when the light's been on all the time. There's been mixed results so far, but it's definitely an improvement, and the sign reminds me to shut off the light as well.

- Also at work, I've been shutting off my power strip and unplugging my printer every night when I leave. I don't know how much power is drained by electronics that are off but plugged-in, but no power drain has to be better than small power drain. :)

- At home, I'm keeping chargers unplugged unless actively charging. I'm also attempting to use a solar-powered charger for my phone, palm pilot, etc. That hasn't yet been a complete success, but that's mostly because we don't have any windows that get sun all day, which means that the charger doesn't really have a chance to collect enough sunlight to charge the devices. I'm still working out a solution to that one.

- My next purchase will be a Sony Reader, which will allow me to buy and read books electronically, all with a very low power drain! Beyond the obvious environmental savings of the paper used to make paper books, I'm also saving the packaging and shipping costs (i.e., fuel), since I tend to order all of my books online. For books I cant find electronically, I plan to switch to ordering from Better World, a fantastically cool company that sells used books, ships them with carbon-neutral shipping, and uses the proceeds to fund literacy programs! And they do this all while still offering great prices!!

- And, of course, we're continuing to recycle, replace old incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescents, take our own bags to the grocery store, etc.

- Oh, and we're working on fixing a leaky faucet.

- Finally, I'm considering approaching my condo board about installing solar panels on our roof. And/or developing a Green Roof.

That's all. For now. :)