March, 2009 No-Brainer: Use Reusable Bags

Plastic bags are dumb. They use up oil, they fill up our streets, landfills, and lakes, and they aren't even necessary because we have other options. And paper bags are even worse. So what's this month's challenge? Don't use em. Oil is Dumb is doing our biggest drawing yet, of three prizes: $100, $50, and $25. In addition, Oil is Dumb will give out $5 right away to every participant just for saying you'll do it. As an added bonus, Oil is Dumb will give the first 50 participants, free of charge, a high quality 1 Bag at a Time reusable grocery bag to start you off right. Contest ends Tuesday, March 31, 2009. The contest is here.

The thing I'm most excited about in this month's No-Brainer is that we have our very first sponsors. One of the things I like about the way Oil is Dumb is structured is that getting genuine, good for the environment, solid businesses to sponsor our contests is very important. We don't just sell ad space on our website. We actually have an interest in connecting people with green businesses that we want to support. So we research our sponsors carefully to make sure they actually do good things for the environment, and do it well. So I'm proud to introduce our first two sponsors.



1 Bag at a Time is committed to supplying the highest quality reusable bags available and to promoting awareness about the full impact of disposable bags. We believe in the power of consumer and corporate responsibility as a positive force in the world.

Energy Action is dedicated to increasing conservation awareness one house at a time. If you want to save energy by improving your house, or if you are selling your house and need an energy audit, we are here to help you.

I recommend both these companies. If you are taking part in this month's No-Brainer then getting 1 Bag at a Time bags will get you extra entries into our drawing, so if you were thinking of making the switch to reusable bags, you might as well do it now, and 1 Bag at a Time is a great place to get them. I also recommend Energy Action, which is right here in Austin. Have you ever considered doing an energy audit on your home, to find out how to green up your life? Now is a perfect time, and Energy Action is the company to call.

We Saved Water

Congrats to all the participants in the February, 2009 No-Brainer. We did great. There were 36 participants, and we received 26 photos of signs people made to remind them to use the 5-second rule on their faucets.

And a special congratulations to Farah E., who was the winner of our $50 bonus drawing! And last but not least, the Oil is Dumb Team wanted to give out some additional $10 awards to our favorite photos:

Squeaky Cleanest Faucet: Mary H., Littleton, CO
Most Creative Sign: Geoff O., Austin, TX
Most Artistic Sign: Nicole S., Austin, TX

Together, here is what we saved:

Oil
Electricity: ................. 514 kWh
Natural Gas
Water: ........................ 2,016 gallons
Paper
Carbon: ...................... 0.35 metric tons
Landfill Waste
Sulfur Dioxide: .......... 1.6 lbs
Nitrous Oxides: ......... 0.59 lbs
Mercury: .................... 0.015 lbs
Cost: .......................... $360


Here are the assumptions we are making for these numbers. First, that by using the 5-second rule, and therefore having to turn off the faucet when doing things like brushing your teeth and shaving, we save roughly 4 gallons of water per day. Second, we assume that if people say they're doing it (and if they went to the trouble of making a sign), then they are doing it, at least for two weeks. We also assume that the electricity it takes to pump, process, and treat water at a waste treatment plant is 0.13 kWh per gallon (this makes 262 kWh total). Plus, we assume 13% of total home energy use goes to water heating, 15% of our water use is through the faucet, and 73% of that water is hot. That means we saved an additional 7 kWh per person, or another 252 kWh. So that brings us to a total (conservative) estimate of a savings of 514 kWh.

The big surprise here is how much electricity was saved. We weren't even trying to save electricity. We were just turning off the faucet. But since it takes energy to treat and pump that water, plus the fact that it takes energy to heat the water, we ended up saving a whopping 514 kWh. That is about half of what a household uses in a month.

Here are some photos from the contest (the full photo post is on Facebook, and it'll be on our new website soon):