One smart thing everyone should do for themselves is to verify that you don’t have leaks in your home. This requires turning off ever water source in the house and looking at your water meter. Note what it is reading and then come back in 15 minutes or a half hour and make sure it is the same…if not, it is leaking so you have to figure out where (toliet flapper valves are among the worst “hidden” offender). Note that getting the heavy concrete lid off of the water meter box in your front yard to read the meter is a real bear. It will require a special tool that is a rod with a hook on the end or a large pry bar such as a tire iron. Make sure you use a set of heavy gloves (and have a good stiff drink handy if you’re a doofus like like me and drop the heavy concrete lid on your fingers the first time you do it).

But, easily the biggest reductions by far that most suburban, single family home-dwelling Californians can make is in the irrigation practices for their landscaping. That is a whole subject in itself with much more good info on the web than I could ever hope to convey here. But in a few words: If you can get rid of your lawm, do it. If you can’t or don’t want to get rid of your lawn, do these three things to cut your lawn water usage by 33% or more; 1)Leave the grass as tall as possible in the summer without it looking too shabby or go to seed…this literally shades it and keeps it degrees cooler, 2) Mulch mow your lawn to leave all the lawn clippings on your lawn to mulch in to hold in water. Using a sharp mulcher blade on your mower chops the clippings so fine mower they are not generally seen except for small amounts that breal down within day, and 3) Consciously adjust your irrigation cycles every 3-4 weeks or more to prevent overwatering. It is really pretty easy to so these simple things and actually saves you time because you’ll probaly be mowing with less frequency. Now for you guys only…woman, please stop reading here right now.
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So, all the women are gone, right?
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OK, so here’s the real skinny for you guys: Yea, Yea …saving water is cool and saving a few bucks always help. But the value to you of proper lawn water control to you is get to tell your wives, “But I really don’t think I should mow the lawn this week, honey. I’m really just trying to help save some water to make the world better for lil’ Bobbie, (or Susie, or whatever). It will work every time as long as you correctly remember your kids names and you don’t try it more than twice a month.

But replacing all your incandescent bulbs with fluoescent bulbs will pay benefits for years without having to do anything else. LEDs are even better but more expensive initially. Putting foam backing behind all you interior outlets on outside walls takes minutes but will make every room in the house a little less drafty for as long as your house stands.

For whatever reasons, it just seems to me that when I make a little investment in time or money that I don’t have to maintain, it makes my other choices in life a little easier. Once I started easy, I just sort of migrated on to doing a lot of other little things differently and discovered other benefits in them all beyond just reducing my energy bill/carbon footprint.

For instance, I found that washing my clothes in cold water and air drying them makes them last a lot longer. And when I use indoor drying racks in the winter it makes the air in my gas furnace-heated home more humid which helped my chronic sinus congestion in winter. Once I started walking for simple trips to the grocery or to local restaurants, I found that my back problems became much less frequent and bothersome.

The more steps I took to sustainability the more I found out that, like Colin in the No Impact Man film, it really does just make you feel better…pretty cool, heh?

Firstly, I never liked bikes and rarely use mine. I know that makes me an anomaly in Davis but they just do not not feel right to this old runner. Plus they make my butt stiff. But there are other ways to get around. I live in close proximity to Nuggett and Safewayas well as a slew of restaurants in South Davis . For light shopping and dining out, I just walk. It’s great exercise and and works off the excess calories so I can splurge on a desert now and then. For my larger shopping trips I broke down and bought a used GEM car. And what a kick it is to drive around. It reminds me of my first car (an old 1960 bug-eyed Sprite) except it only goes 25mph…that’s fast enough for me in Davis! Plus all the electricity for recharging is FREE because my solar PV system produces an excess over and above what I use in my home so this gives me a way to use it instead of sending it back to PG&E for nothing.

For longer trips I use Amtrak whenever I can. I just had a great trip to Yosemite and took public transportation all the way! A bus to Stockton (you can also get the train there) then a train to Merced and a bus to Yosemite. It only took an extra 90 minutes compared to driving and it was the most relaxing trip to the mountains I ever had. The bus drops you off at the Ahwanee or the Yosemite Lodge or right at Camp 4 for the backpackers. And the shuttle bus routes in Yosemite now take you wherever you want to go…and faster than getting in your car to do it. Amtrak is perfect for heading into downtown Sacto and the Bay Area also with great connections to BART and Cal Train on the peninsula.

Ditching the car 80% of the time is easier than you think and you’ll love the stress-free way to get around!

Davis may be the best place in the world to live if you truly believe in locally or regionally sourced food (even meats and dairy products) because of the proximity and variety of foods from which we can choose. And with the Coop cooking classes showing us how to really liven up otherwise bland vegan dishes, it is a vegetarian’s delight.