Not just because I fear Al Gore

I am now an environmentalist.

Not that I was not before, I have always been concerned about the environment and global warming and all that crap; ever since grade 6 when we attended a week long hippie training camp a.k.a. Durham forest. I like David Suzuki, I take public transit and I am even afraid of Al Gore. Although lately it has become a bit mainstream, I’m really still a tree-hugging hippie at heart. Here in England I am a bonofied tree-hugger for one simple, new reason; it is the first time I have ever had to pay for utilities. The estimates provided are through the roof and energy conservation is not as popular and trendy here. They say that we will spend 15-20 pounds per week each. That is 160 pounds per month, over 320 dollars?!?!?! As soon as I realized this I started noticing inefficiencies in our apartment that must change for the good of the planet [wink], thanks Dave the energy guy for your insightful tips on Breakfast Television a few weeks ago; I was taking notes.

Inefficiencies and solutions:

1. Halogen lights are all over the apartment (17 actually). Sure they look nice but they give off a lot of heat, which is nothing but wasted energy. As I am not an electrician I’m not sure what I can do about fixing this problem, aside from sitting in the dark. My computer screen playing the latest Die Hard movie will act as a good light source for now.
2. The showerhead is this huge trickler. It sure it looks nice but for any pressure whatsoever you need to crank it. I think I can figure out how to replace it with an energy-efficient one, but that would take effort. I think I may join the gym across the street and just shower over there.
   
3. I will hang my clothes to dry. Yes we do have a energy/dollar consuming dryer, but fortunately for us it is a useless piece of shit British dryer that does not work (like everything else in this country...more on that later as I explain the sharpness of the culture shock curve in England. The only really shitty thing is that clothes take forever to dry in a climate that does not see sunshine and rains all the friggin time.
   

enjoy the unrelated photos of Peder and I on Greenwich hill (the beginning of time) and of Sarah and I in the giant wheel thing that all British cities seem to have (at least the ones I have been to so far).

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