Practically Green

Criminal

2009-10-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

As Fiona Apple would say "I've been a bad bad girl..."

I guess criminal is a little harsh, but I have been pretty liberal in my elevator usage the past few days. (Sat. Sun. and Mon.) Here is my review;

I've been really tired lately. I don't know if I am getting sick, or just not taking care of my body the way I should be. Really I think it is a combination of both.. I have been trying to stop drinking coffee and replace it with tea. I am wondering if that has anything to do with it... Which may just have to be my next sustainability commitment... Right now I will focus on stairs... (taking my own lesson I suppose)

The two times it is most challenging to motivate myself to use the stairs is when I have to go up 8 flights. The past three days I have caved in and used the elevator to go up. The stair way was being painted in one building so I couldn't use them to go down (I was secretly a little happy) But the rest of the time I have been using the stairs to go down always...

I have two conclusions at this point-

I am beginning to question the sustainability of my idea for a sustainable future- I would not say that I don't think that taking the stairs under 10 flights is unpractical YET but, I would say that I am starting to question comfort.

and if comfort begins to be the deciding factor then I am going to have to question if comfort levels can be changed. How many days/weeks/months/years do I need to go up 10 flights of stairs before I am comfortable doing it? Is it just a matter of building up muscles in the right spots that just get used to the climb? I would think so...*

*Those are the things I have been thinking about in the elevator-

On a slightly personal note..
How ever, in the stairwell this morning I had a thought about sustainability- and really the point of it all. Which I think is a really valid question to ask- Going beyond the thought of "Save the Environment!" "Its the right thing to do" "Preserve the earth for future generations" Etc. **Not to say that I don't agree with them** but, sometimes I have trouble just doing things for that reason...

Excuses if this seems cold, but eventually I have to have a personal reason for wanting to do it. I think to me it comes down to finding just a little piece of mind. Not just in the sense of feeling a little bit better about myself for lowering CO2 emissions... But more in the sense of taking back control of my life. As I take the stairs and move away from things that I did just out of habit I can feel myself waking up in a way. I notice the dynamic of my days are very different when I take the stairs as opposed to the elevator...Not to say that the elevator or stairs are the factor in the way my day goes- but- I notice there is difference... I'm still looking for the reason for that.

So, I'm still trying to hold true to my commitment and find the reason for the difference in my days!

Kelli

Cold. Wet. Tired.

2009-09-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

So not surprisingly, I have already broken the promise...Which in a way is good. This give an opportunity to deepen my relationship with the stairs. By having failed at upholding my promise it forces me to evaluate why I choose to do something. Here is my analysis:

7:00 am, I overslept. I jumped out of bed to walk my dog(Lola) , meaning I went down 3 flights of stairs, to go to the park.Walked back up 3 flights of stairs.

3 pm, I took Lola for another walk. I started to notice that I was feeling really run down and tired. I just felt a little "out of it".

By 3:15pm my total "Flight Count" is 6 flights up and down.

3:30 I left to go to the train. 3 more down, plus the one for the subway. I realized I forgot something that I needed at my apartment. 1 flight up the subway 3 flights up to my apartment 3 flights down

Flight Count- 13 down 10 up

3:35 pm I was starting to feel sick. I know its probably the lack of sleep... But the whole time I was on the train all I could think about was the treacherous 9 flight climb ahead of mean. I started to debate the elevator.

4 pm 3 flights of stairs from train

Flight count- 13 down 13 up.

4:15 I took the elevator to the 9th floor!! I decided today I do not want to take the stairs. I don't feel well. I realized that I only slept about 3 hours last night and had only eaten toast and coffee all day. So tonight I plan to sleep earlier.

4:30 I take the stairs down 9 flights
Flight Count 21 down 13 up

(I went to something for my job so I left the building, but eventually had to come back to the same building and go to the 8th floor. Again I took the elevator up for the same reason)

With out needing to go further into the day- I have so far come to this conclusion:

On the days that I do not eat healthy and get enough sleep I take the elevator.

So now my promise has gone a little deeper. It is not just about saving energy. Taking the stairs has made me evaluate how I take care of my body.

My goal for the rest of today/tomorrow: Go to sleep earlier, eat a healthier breakfast. See how I feel about stairs tomorrow.

Kelli

The "G" Word

2009-09-25T17:52:00.001-07:00

So what is the point of all this? Why bother be green? It just seems like nothing I do is ever right! If you find your self saying this, I understand! It is hard to to be discouraged when trying to decide whether to buy local or organic, recycled or new etc!

It doesn't have to be so hard! The best way to be green isn't to throw away all your working light bulbs and replace them with brand new compact fluorescent lights...It isn't about how MUCH you do but its about how you actually do it!

Its about small realistic steps that you actually can live with! I am going to lead by example, and for this specific reason I have created this blog! I have created a promise to myself to do something, defined the reason for me doing it AND how long I plan on doing it for. After the specified time I'm going to think about how it changed my life and if I think it made a difference.

My little promise- Take the stairs! As long as it is under 10 flights of stairs and I am physically capable of going up the stairs I will NOT use the elevator!

Reason- While it may seem like a trivial amount of energy used just taking the elevator its raising points in my mind:

1) even if it is only a small amount of energy being used, if a lot of people only use a little of something it adds up to a lot!

2) I simply don't have enough time in my day to go to the gym or set aside for aerobics. I don't think my heart is going to take that excuse though...I want to increase my cardio activity! I'm going to keep track of the amount of minutes I'm on stairs daily/weekly along with my heart rate in relation to my final floor then use that information to see how much cardio activity I do weekly.

3) for every minute I'm using the elevator some one who actually needs it (someone who physically doesn't have the option to use the stairs) has to wait. I feel like this is pretty rude to do to some one.

The time frame- October to January.

I plan to keep updating with weekly/biweekly posts documenting all the different stairs I use and my experiences with them!

Kelli