ACTION REQUEST: Please Join Me in These Small Acts of Everyday Rebellion!

[Dem Agog]

In the aftermath of Katrina, I've taken some small steps that are not necessarily significant to help the people of Katrina (I have done those steps too though) but were inspired by the gas shortages and by seeing what a rogue, racist banana republic we have in the White House.

I have turned into a true "tree hugging hippie freak" as best as I can. (Note: that's a term of admiration coming from me...) I have decided that the best way I can screw this administration for the rest of my life is to consume less, conserve more, and take all the personal responsibility I can to preserve the environment.

Here are the steps my household is taking. Please join us, if you're not doing these things already. Many of you are, I am sure, but it took this wollop upside the head to truly start working on major conservation and self-sufficiency.

1. Make Old Things New Again: We're going through our entire house, top to bottom, cleaning it and making piles to donate to charity. We're also finding many things (toiletries in boxes from moves, etc.) that we are now using up instead of buying these things for awhile.

2. Cut Coupons, Shop for Specials: As DINKS (dual-income no kids) we have plenty of disposable income. I'm not used to using coupons. I never have. But now I'm trying to make it a way of life for us. We scour for coupons now.

3. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle: I never thought about these three words too much until recently. I'm now taking them all to heart.

Reduce and Reuse: We're reducing our litter buy buying in bulk and portioning things into baggies or Tupperware... that we reuse. I have canvas bags that I'm bringing to the grocery store now. Now more plastic or paper. I am saving packing pillows from mail ordered items, for when I want to ship something. I'm saving all the boxes from things I get. They're great organizers, and it keeps me from spending money on a plastic tub or wire box, I just reuse a cardboard box I already have.

Recycling. We were halfhearted about this, but now we're changing. Everything I see gets recycled if possible. Cans, bottles - both plastic and glass. I educated myself on recycling and found that shredded paper can't be recycled, so next to my shredder I have a paper bin for all the non-sensitive documents, rather than just shredding everything willy nilly. Every day when I get the mail I separate out the junk mail into our paper recycling bin. I do the same with cardboard.

4. Carpooling: Hubby & I tried an experiment this past week. We carpooled into work! In the end, the mileage was shorter for us than it was for my usual route to work! I drop him off in the AM in the heart of the city and then head up through the city to my office. (I used to add about 12 miles extra a day on my car by going around the city to avoid traffic, but it's only bad in the afternoons and he takes the wheel when we drive home!

We've discovered a rhythm to this and it's working for us. We never imagined it would, but Katrina and the gas shortage inspired us to try. Now we use less than half our standard mileage. And we have both gotten our employers to let us work from home one day a week, so we only drive 4 days out of the week.

5. Buy a Gas Efficient Hybrid: You might be on a long list for one though. The day after Katrina we called Toyota and were put on a waiting list for a Prius. We're not the first people on the waiting list. My husband is selling his sports car for this! My ex-apolotical husband. Then, when we carpool, we're increasing our efficiency even more!

6. Put your Carpool on Steroids: Hubby works midtown and I work uptown about 7 miles away from him, and I'm thinking of asking our nearby neighbors if any of them wants to carpool with us in our Prius. My goal is to get four people driving in one Prius to work. I figure if I drop them all off in midtown where most of our city's work is, that's fine. But if I find a neighbor who works uptown where I do, that's even better too. This is longer term.

WE NEED MORE IDEAS! So these are our immediate, mid and long range plans for putting the screws to this Administration and big business and big oil. What else can we do? Please add your suggestions and if you're not doing some of these things, please, PLEASE consider picking one or two and just doing it. It's small, it's subtle, but if enough people show their dissatisfaction at the ruling governments and corporations in the world in this manner, it just might make a difference!