Ethics, Technology, and Society

So today is Earth Day. You wouldn’t know it listening to the folks on CBC Radio One, who haven’t mentioned the event yet, so far as I can tell.

Here are a couple of ways to gauge your score on environmental initiatives that you can introduce at home…

Level 1: If you head to the grocery in the next couple of days, I suggest you pick up a couple of low energy bulbs and switch out some of the incandescent bulbs you might still have at home. This should be a no-brainer these days.

All ready done that? OK, on to…

Level 2: Walk. Yes, that’s right. If you haven’t yet experienced it I would suggest you bring a camera with you. You’d be surprised at how many little things you’ll notice while moving through the world on your two feet. Many of them will strike you as curious, beautiful, and even downright inspiring! While living in London one summer I carried my camera with me everywhere. I took over a thousand pictures (that was a lot of film back then), and have many of them hanging on my walls today. It might surprise you that one of those pictures are of famous buildings, or places. It’s not the name of the city that inspired me, it was the details that I noticed in it, many of which could be found in any place.

Level 3: Install a programmable thermostat…and program it! These are very easy to install and can save you a lot of energy in terms of your heating and cooling bills (the primary energy use in the house).

If you have done these things already, suggest some more. They are all worth while.