In this entry we are to come-up with ways to reduce our reliance on energy. Well, in Florida, we don’t need the heat so often as we rarely get cold enough for it. However, this winter has been colder than the past several years. Many people cranked up that heat and quite a few were left without power. I’m a native and I haven’t felt the need to use the heat once this winter. Really, if you're cold put on another sweater, snuggle under a blanket. It’s not feezing!

Of course cooler weather means that the air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard. Most of the time, it’s not needed. Open the windows and let the breeze flow through. It’s good to air the house out once in a while. I read an article a few years back about how old houses were better for your health than new houses because they weren’t as airtight. Air could regularly flow through and refresh. We are so concerned about keeping stuff out sometimes that we forget we are trapping stuff in. We are natural creatures after all --we need fresh air. This article made me feel immensely better at the time. I was living in my first place –a 1940's cottage in downtown Naples –where I could see daylight through my floorboards.

And speaking of old Florida houses, there’s something to be said for regional architecture. In the times before central air, Florida houses were built to make the most of breezes to maximize cooling. Instead of building houses identical to ones in Minnesota, Ohio, or Maine, one should build them to compliment Florida’s unique weather patterns. This includes hurricanes. Older Florida homes have rooves carefully designed to withstand the beating. Newer homes not so much. What’s the carbon footprint on rebuilding after a hurricane?

Another great way to keep things cool and to use less energy is the Florida preference for fans. They use less energy than air-conditioning and will often keep you from having to crank the air up so much.

Now here’s another tough one. Television. I know I love my shows, and I’ve got to have my British television. Netflix is my lifeline to that. Of course, Netflix is good in that it shares its DVDs with many others across the country. Instead of people buying all of their DVD’s they share them with one another. Fewer need to be produced, saving energy. Sure there is the energy usage from mailing the DVDs all over the country, but DVD manufacturers would have to do that anyway, getting their DVDs to the store. A crush to the DVD/film industry, but they’ll have to learn to live with it. Better they sell fewer now than none later.

Go to the movies more often too. I’m sure the energy expended by a packed theater is less than all those individuals running the air and television and DVD player and popcorn machines at home. Plus, watching a film in the theater is more communal. Some movies are even better when you’re sharing in the laughter and tears of those around you.

But one could also turn the television off. Remember books. And no, I don’t mean the Kindle or Nook. I’m talking the old school kind with paper and no batteries. You can carry one anywhere and even read it when there is no power! I love my books! I love the way they feel, the way they smell, and I love the magic of the fictive dream. In fact, I probably should be treated for addiction, but I am rather happy in my dysfunction. There are lots of communal things to do with books too. Books clubs, libraries (Just in case any of us have forgotten –those are like Netflix –only free and with books too) browsing through used bookstores and new bookstores. Ever thought of reading Jane Austen by candlelight? Ah, candlelight. Soft, romantic, and no electricity. Try it.

Try eating at least one meal a week that doesn’t require cooking. We can’t eat raw all the time; our bodies can’t take it, but once or twice a week is doable. There are many cookbooks out there to help you find recipes too.

Now, do you really need to drive the two blocks to the grocery store to get milk and bread? Probably not. Walk. Bike. Although, I admit that I am afraid to bike those two blocks myself. As I said before, I’ve been run off the road. Perhaps we need more biker friendly lanes. Right now, bikers only get a narrow strip on the edge of the road and that strip cuts across turn lanes. Whose stupid idea was that? How many drivers do you know who suddenly cut across that lane to make a turn? A biker could get crushed. Also, the law states that bicyclists must go with the flow of traffic, whereas pedestrians walk against it so they can see oncoming traffic. What, bikers aren’t vulnerable too? Another stupid idea. When I was in elementary school, cyclists went against the traffic too. If I hadn’t done that when the SUV ran me off the road, I could have been seriously injured. We need bigger bike lanes and laws to prevent cars from using them as passing lanes. Better yet, I like how they do it on Sanibel: the bike lanes are separated by a median. Also, we should make it easier for people to bicycle. In France, they have communal bike racks. You can get a bike pass and use that to take a bicycle and ride it from one part of the city to another. Super cool. And the system could be run on solar power. Yes, let’s use that solar power!