It's also been picked up by various bloggers who have said, among other things, that I am a:
flake
idiot and
extremist
Well hi how are ya!? Thanks very much for formulating those opinions with very little information.
Since the Times didn't mention my blog, I doubt any of those folks will end up here but in case they do, here are some facts that didn't fit into the article (which by the way I do not blame Steven for - as it was the article was 3 pages on line!).
- We make the ice in pop bottles outside in the winter
- The ice only needs to be changed every two days in the winter and once a day in the summer (we don't have a/c so it gets pretty warm in here)
- We've never had any food go bad due to lack of sufficient cooling in the cooler
- We are not having to shop more than we used to. On average I go to the farmers market once a week and to the grocery store two times a week. Do other people really go a lot less than that? I don't think I've ever gone to a grocery store less than 3 times a week. I always need an extra something to make a certain dish. I'm not so great with the planning.
- This is by no means the only thing we are doing to live lightly. To reduce our electricity consumption we have also stopped using a dryer (line dry in the summer, dry inside in the winter - means we don't need to run a humidifier), and we turned the electric heat (one room in our house is heated this way) down to 13 (or 55). And that's just electricity, feel free to check out the categories in the right nav for more things we are doing.
- The freezer in our basement is brand new, small and v. efficient. The fridge we have is very old, big and very inefficient
- I am not on a crusade to get people to unplug their fridges. Although I've found it to be a fun/interesting experiment and would recommend that people try it to see if it works for them
For those who want to know more about going fridge free, and for anyone wanting to wade into the debate, I would recommend going to Greenpa's blog. This man is the third of my green heroes (Sharon Astyk and Crunchy Chicken being the other two), and he knows a thing or two about living without a fridge. He's been doing it for 30 years.
4 comments:
new to your blog - i'll come back.
as for all the negative remarks 'don't let the bastards get you down!'congrats - way to go!
http://momofboxer.blogspot.com/2009/02/contest.html
Hey, you're not hurting anyone -- in fact just the opposite -- so why is it anybody's business how you conduct your life? Sheesh. People pick some odd battles to fight. With all the real crap going on in the world, they get het up because someone decides to try to live without a fridge? People have the same sort of reactions to me because I choose to live without a car and have no aspirations to own a big house in the suburbs and try to make all my purchases in a very conscientious manner. Unbelievable. I think you're brilliant.
Congrats on the NY Times article! Don't worry about the negative comments. People fear difference. It makes them uncomfortable and the common response to what is different, unknown and unfamiliar is sometimes expressed through a backlash of defensiveness and name calling. It's unfortunate that more people aren't able to take the opportunity to reflect deeply on differnece with openness and imagination. The world would be a much better place for it. Sadly, it's a missed chance for growth and change.
You are one of the most dedicated, passionate, informed and environmentally aware people that I know, not to mention an inspiration. Thank you for you and everything you do!
Thanks you guys! You're the best. :) Feeling much better now.
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