Our Electricity rate is going way up. We are hitting a

[leftyladyfrommo]

really bad tipping point for people on fixed income.

My gas doubled. My electricity will double. I use 300 gallons of water a month. The average person uses 300 a day.

I keep cutting back and I am still running short and I have no medical expenses. My house payment is $500 which is mostly taxes and insurance. $40 to fill my gas tank at $4 a gallon.

This is really getting serious and a whole lot of people are having a really hard time.

[hlthe2b]

1. I learned how to live without A/C a few years ago, but it is only because I live in a nonhumid

environment. People die in heatwaves, especially in highrises, but throughout areas where humidity counters their body's ability to self-regulate. Yet, how could many elderly in these areas--dependant on SS-- possibly pay those electrical bills?

It is going to be a tragic summer--and not just because of yet another rise in COVID-19.

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. They can't pay it so the sit in front of a fan

and spray water on themselves.

I think the average SSI payment is about $1500, Take average water, gas and electric are running about $300 a month. My phone and WIFI are another $200. $500 Hoyse payment. Payoff all credit card balances each month. Those cover daily expenses.

Not much left.

[Tickle]

2. It's not easy

I have to work today and I’m nervous about not having enough gas to get there. I don’t get paid until Wednesday

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. I get paid every 3rd Wednesday. Sometimes my money

Comes on the 16th. Sometimes it's the 20th. Makes it hard to plan.

[Tickle]

7. Me too!

I also work part time with people with addiction. Trying to give back

[Emile]

6. 72 years of age and I need to cut next winter firewood.

This inflation is hurting a lot of people!

[Tickle]

10. Who would have

thought it would be this difficult

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. Or that it would happen overnight. No one had a

chance to get stuff worked out.

[Chainfire]

44. It will get worse between now an the elections.

It is a perfect way to drive a wedge between the people and the current government. It is a win-win for the big shareholders who are raking in the profits of the higher prices. If you are wealthy, the cost of your utility bill or of gasoline is not an issue.

[Susan Calvin]

51. Bingo. nt

[pwb]

8. Thank Trump and Putin's love affair for it all?

Apply for assistance in your county, Joe Biden has increased all assistance and the cost of living increase was and will be substantial again. It is already 5.5% and counting. Pukes want to cut it all back. Help is there but the squeaky wheel gets the grease, you have to apply for it. Hope you are o k.

[Tickle]

11. I've tried

and then I went to work part time but it’s work I love and it’s under my conditions

[Woodswalker]

12. On the bright side

I saw one of those I need to drive a monster Diesel pickup with wheels bigger than your car jackoffs leave rubber out of a gas station in a fit of rage after paying 6.82 per gallon for fuel. LMFAO!!!!

[leftyladyfrommo]

15. I don't feel sorry for those guys. Driving a big truck

seems to be necessary for a lot of men around here.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

35. We get them going by our residence here, also.

And with the warm weather, the crotch-rot motorcycles are out in force. Holy shit, that whine of their engines can be heard a mile away.

On the bright side, we have a large field and wooded area across the street with a couple of deer herds. Also plenty of hawks and other birds- love watching them when I get home from work.

[rubbersole]

52. "crotch-rot motorcycles"

🤣 LMFAO! I've heard "crotch rocket" motorcycles before but I like this much better...Thanks!

[Tickle]

19. You can laugh

but we’re paying for the diesel going into that truck.

[leftyladyfrommo]

24. I don't laugh at big trucks. This is KCMO and guys

have to have a big truck to showoff their money and their manliness. A lot of those trucks are sitting at home while people drive their smaller cars.

[Tickle]

26. Kcmo

Is that a radio station? I don’t understand your post

[lonely bird]

31. Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) vs Kansas City, Kansas

just trying to be helpful.

[Woodswalker]

33. No

He was paying. My Nissa Rogue only took 46 bucks to fill up.

[paleotn]

45. For semis delivering goods, yes. But that's not what they posted about.

It's not about business vehicles. For big diesel pickups driven as personal vehicles, no, I'm not paying for their fuel. They made the choice to be highly exposed to the volatility of fuel prices by driving vehicles with awful gas mileage. I'm sorry they made that choice, but they should have known better.

And yes, I'm no fun. No fun at all, and your not the first person to say that.

[Tickle]

47. lol you seem fun

and I’m sorry I misunderstood the purpose of the truck. Sometimes I focus too much and I don’t see the forest….
Talk about a non fun person

[paleotn]

48. You still make a good point. Friends of mine use their trucks for their businesses...

They have no real choice and they're really getting hammered right now. Another buddy of mine just likes driving around in his big ole truck for personal enjoyment. I'm Mr. Practicality, thus no fun.

[oldsoftie]

53. I think he refers to guys with massive diesel pickups not semi trucks.

We're not paying for macho diesel just delivery diesel.

[Scrivener7]

49. 6.82?? Where is that?

[oldsoftie]

54. Just about anywhere in California.

[Sympthsical]

57. I saw $6.35ish at several places around Berkeley yesterday

And East Bay generally.

I'm a bit more removed from SF in North Bay, and the local Costco is currently running around $5.50.

Gas buddy has Oakland averaging $6.04.

Getting weird in California.

[leftyladyfrommo]

13. The electricity spokesman said they need more money

to upgrade and to put in EV charging stations. So my friend's new Tesla is going to raise my electricity bill.

[lonely bird]

32. This underscores the process of "renewable" energy

Yes, it needs to be done. No, corporations are not going to do this out of the goodness of their hearts. Since they are not human beings they have no hearts. Everything has a cost attached to it. Profit is a claim on future growth and capitalism requires constant, infinite growth. Thus costs will always go up because of the concept of decreasing margins. Remember, inflation is a greed/fear response. There is no price fairy that raises prices as demand increases.

[progressoid]

67. That sounds like BS

Where are utility companies responsible for charging stations?

[BumRushDaShow]

76. But not only that, you have this

President Biden, USDOT and USDOE Announce $5 Billion over Five Years for National EV Charging Network, Made Possible by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Joint Energy and Transportation Office and DriveElectric.gov Available to Assist States with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plans

FHWA 05-22
Contact: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Energy today announced nearly $5 billion that will be made available under the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to build out a national electric vehicle charging network, an important step towards making electric vehicle (EV) charging accessible to all Americans.

The program will provide nearly $5 billion over five years to help states create a network of EV charging stations along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, particularly along the Interstate Highway System. The total amount available to states in Fiscal Year 2022 under the NEVI Formula Program is $615 million. States must submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan before they can access these funds. A second, competitive grant program designed to further increase EV charging access in locations throughout the country, including in rural and underserved communities, will be announced later this year.

(snip)

https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/president-biden-usdot-and-usdoe-announce-5-billion-over-five-years-national-ev-charging

The link has the funding formula for how much each state will get for FY2022, and the total through FY2026 is shown here - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/evs_5year_nevi_funding_by_state.cfm

[progressoid]

83. +1 n/t

[Karma13612]

14. We are at $4.85 per gallon for automobile gas in

Northern New York and our Electric bill this month was at the rate we normally pay in deep winter. That used to be the high point. This was a shoulder month and should have been $20 cheaper. We have one in-window AC unit we will run if the temps get too much to bear. That’s usually not until July-August.

I normally just use fans because I’m cheap. I hate paying such high rates for electric. Like with the price of gas, it is all market manipulation. And we are stuck just dealing with it.

I dread having to get our oil for winter heating later this year. Fortunately it’s only for the shoulder months since we scurry away to NC for the winters. We save a bit of money over the winter because it’s cheaper-we rent and the owners of the house have given us the same rent since we first signed on with them. A miracle!

There are no answers when corporations are calling the shots with zero effective oversight and consequences for their actions.

[Polybius]

16. How do you only use 300 gallons of water a month?

Your daily showers must be sub-5 minutes.

[leftyladyfrommo]

17. I don't have a shower and I can't do baths because

my knees aren't strong enough to get me out so I just wash off everyday. It works. I don't have a washing machine or dishwasher. I just do things the old fashioned way.

[Tickle]

21. Oh my

Are you being serious?

[enough]

23. Sounds serious to me. NT

[leftyladyfrommo]

27. Yep. I really don't live like other people. I don't use anymore

of anything unless I really need to.

The water company sends people out to check my meter because they think I am somehow stealing water.

[Tickle]

30. Ok, but please

reach out to people if you need assistance. You can even do it here and I’m sure those who can help, will

[leftyladyfrommo]

37. I have friends in high places. But I never ask for anything. nt

[oldsoftie]

55. Ask your city/county if they have a minimum water usage bill.

In my town the minimum bill includes 750 gallons. If you have something like that, you can use those gallons & not pay a higher bill.
What I DONT like about it is that it also includes trash pickup; which I don't need. But you HAVE to get it

[leftyladyfrommo]

71. We used to have a minimum but they changed it.

Now we are billed for what we use.

Most of our bill is not water. It's sewers and run off and other fees.

[Tickle]

62. No shower

she stated that she body washes.

[mucifer]

20. 735 people died in 1995 in one Chicago heatwave. We learned a lot. Now

we have cooling centers in public buildings and libraries and well being checks.

It was elderly Black people mostly who died. Of course no air conditioning. Just looked around the internet and he's an article I found. :

Today, Chicago is a model for other cities facing extreme heat, in part for its preparedness protocols, special training for first responders and outreach to vulnerable populations.

When heat indexes are forecast to exceed 110 degrees on a single day or 105 degrees over consecutive days, the city activates an extreme heat emergency response plan. Among other things, the plan requires the opening of six cooling centers and 50 cooling buses, as well as routine wellness checks for homeless, elderly and disabled residents.

Horton, the Northwestern climate scientist, said: “I can make a qualified guess that people in disadvantaged communities are going to be more impacted by these events than people who are well off. Simply affording an air conditioner or a box fan is a luxury many people don’t have.”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chicago-learned-climate-lessons-from-its-deadly-1995-heat-wave1/

[iluvtennis]

36. Good stuff on part of Chicago - more ceties need to follow the lead. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

79. Most have over the years

The NWS started reporting the "Heat Index" in 1979 and has revised the definitions, criteria (which is also adapted to regional conditions, so the trigger points are variable), and products over the years.

Unfortunately in many cases, the issue boils down to education, outreach, and willingness of the impacted to take advantage of the resources. There is a hardcore group who angrily rejects "air conditioning" and who often use fans incorrectly by cutting off ventilation (windows/drapes closed to "keep the heat out" ), which then turns the home into an oven. You also have a group who insists that "heat doesn't bother them" and they carry on with jogging and other excessive activity in the middle of the day during heatwaves (and this includes coaches who insist on continuing with sports activities, practices, games, etc), which can then exasperate heat stress and even result in heat stroke and death. You also have offices, piece of junk schools like those here in Philly, and warehouses (old and new) that have little or no air-conditioning, and a refusal to mitigate or close, either due to lack of money to address the problem or due to sheer ignorance, greed, and/or spite.

So "excessive heat" and how to deal with it, is a complicated problem. The pandemic over the last couple years where here in Philly, all of the city pools were closed (as were most cooling centers) the first summer, and only a handful were opened last summer due to a lack of staff, brought that issue into stark focus.

[iluvtennis]

81. Thanks for the additional info - much appreciated. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

82. You're welcome

(have a weather hobby )

[AntivaxHunters]

25. We need UBI

and that doesn't mean UBI like Yang wanted which was Libertarian in nature & would make people lose their benefits should they accept it (that's not UBI as I see it) but rather the kind of UBI which MLK spoke of.

We can give Ukraine billions for the war effort but can't take care of our own people?
Tupcac really did say it best in his song "Keep Your Head Up"....
"They got money for war but none for the poor!"
We constantly hear "how are we paying for it" but those same questions are never asked when it comes to the military industrial complex. How many more years are we going to play this game? We're now at the point where a majority of US citizens don't even have $400 in savings for a medical emergency. I am one of those people. How many more years are we going to keep harming poor disabled people with forcing them to live in absolute squander at $800/mo?

The system is completely broken. And we're beginning to reach the point where it's beyond repair.
We need urgent action fast. In the year 2022 people are still being locked up and their property seized because they had a small bag of weed on them. We build "furniture" for city street use that is anti-homeless. We criminalize being able to sleep in a city park. We criminalize being able to feed poor people (unsheltered) in public places. People are literally losing their drivers licenses because they couldn't pay them. We prostitute the lower classes so we can enrich the upper classes. On and on. And it's been like this for many decades.

End stage Capitalism is violence.

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=FOvPcB1IXUH7rshxgDa_Og

[erronis]

40. Great post!

[Skittles]

65. worthy of its own thread

yes indeed

[mvd]

70. Agreed, I have always been a fan of progressive UBI

I think our society values draining work for rich companies too much. Electricity, running water, food, needed medicine, and affordable, acceptable shelter should never be a problem.

As for the OP, I know she doesn’t want to ask for help, but I mustered up the courage. There are always people at DU willing to try to get you what you need.

[bucolic_frolic]

28. The proposal was floated last year

to make federal poverty level the SS min. Don't know if it will surface again, or jjust get buried.

[DanieRains]

29. Find Someone Who Needs A Babysitter

If you can. One way...

[JT45242]

34. Social security intended as insurance it add on

Social security was meant to add on to a company pension or retirement plan. It was never intended to be sole source of income for seniors.

Unfortunately, the US elected rethugs who deregulated all that. How many people worked for companies that killed pensions because of the junk bond crash of the 80s, the dot com bubble of the 90s, the great recession, or Covid.

Hopefully the resurgence of unions will help, but for a lot of seniors, it will be too little too late.

Ironically, the Reagan democrats who brought this on by foresaking unions and begging for smaller government are the ones who caused the problem and will now suffer the most from it.

Hopefully, they will undo the cap on social security taxes so that money can be added to those who are suffering.

[erronis]

41. We need to stop making "employment" the basis for SS, insurance, etc.

Once again the capitalists convinced the politicians (wasn't hard) to tie medical insurance to employment. Same for Social Security and others.

Awful lot of people out there that haven't had jobs with pensions or health insurance. Think about home workers, housewives, part-time workers.

Social Security should be for everybody and at a livable rate. Not tied to your earnings.

[JT45242]

61. Not disagreeing with what should be...

The current state of social security is not guaranteed minimum viable income.

My wife has primarily been a stay at home mom, so her social security will be very small. So small, that we are ignoring it for retirement planning.

Yes...
Health care should be right and not at the whim of employment, but WW2, brought that on.

Social security was designed for when people were not expecting to be on it for long and also have some sort of working pension.

Both need changes, but it's like financial literacy education, we need to educate people how things are and to plan accordingly while we, meaning democrats, try to fix these systems.

[Kaleva]

73. Back then, the elderly lived with younger family members.

A sizeable percentage of the population still rural back in the 30's when SS was enacted and a great majority of those did not work for companies that provided pensions.

"This report is one of the series on retail trade in the small city and rural area that represent one phase of the work of the first Census of Distribution taken in 1930, covering the year 1929. Small city and rural area comprises places of less that 10,000 population and open country. Approximately 65 million people, or slightly more that 50 percent of the U.S. population, live in such places in 1930."

https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1933/dec/distribution-small-city-rural.html

[Woodwizard]

38. As soon as I could afford it I put solar on our house that was 2014.

The installed price was 14,000 for a 9KW system it paid for itself in 6 1/2 years, our effective rate with all the fees tacked on is .24 a kwh currently back in 2014 it was .19. So solar from an economic point really made sense.

Last year I installed two mini split heat pumps for the house they exceeded my expectations even at 11 below fahrenheit. I just ordered another to install to even out the zones in the house. Half the cost to heat with than propane and 1/3 less than oil even without our solar. payback on them will be 4 years. The cost for me to buy and install two 12,000 btu pumps was less than 2000$

Cant say enough about the heat pumps they are very power efficient and effective even in very cold temperatures, the improvements in just the last 5 years is amazing. They pull 500 watts each when temps outside are in the 20's and up to 900 at below or single digits.

[oldsoftie]

56. I've never heard of mini heat pumps. Have you got any info? That price is LOW.

[Woodwizard]

60. I bought pioneer mini splits at Home Depot

Link https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pioneer-Low-Ambient-12-000-BTU-1-Ton-19-SEER-Ductless-Mini-Split-Wall-Mounted-Inverter-Air-Conditioner-with-Heat-Pump-208-230V-WYT012GLFI19RL/314096656


I did have to buy a vacuum pump and hvac manifold to do my own install, the directions are straightforward in the mini split manual. We already had wiring for electric baseboard so I was able to connect to that for the unit.

If you look at YouTube installs be cautious both ones I watched were done incorrectly on evacuating and charging the lines.

We used half the firewood we normally would use and never had to run the propane heat at all.

For the entire months from to Nov to May we used just under 1500 kwh of electricity for the units I put a meter on the mini split circuits just to keep track. Without the wood stove I figure it would be double the electrical consumption still really good for the season as we get older it is nice not to have to rely on the wood stove for primary heat.

[womanofthehills]

68. My boyfriend once worked for a solar company so I've had solar panels on my roof for 20 yrs updating

over the yrs. I’m out in the country and my well has its own solar panel - so no cost for water. I’m in NM and the whole front of my house is almost all south facing windows - so if the sun is out and it’s 20 degrees outside - with no extra heat, my house can be 85 inside just from having a wall of windows. Another way to collect heat is with tubes filled with water in front of south facing windows. At night, when the sun is no longer heating your house, the water warms the room. I have these tubes in my bathroom. Of course, I live in a place where the shines almost every day.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=solar%20tubes%20for%20greenhouses&iax=images&ia=images&iai=

[Woodwizard]

77. Thats great.

A lot more thought should be put into house design for passive solar.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

39. Wealthy owners of the factors and means of production are deliberately

trying to damage the Democratic party in order to have their bought and paid fascist Republican puppets put in power.

We are the victims of deliberate economic terrorism fomented by wealthy fascist capitalists, who are terrorizing us economically in order to end democracy and gain full permanent private control of our federal, state, and local governments whenever and wherever possible.

You will hear this and that blahblahblah, blahblahblah theory of why the costs of everything are skyrocketing, but the only true explanation is that wealthy capitalists are deliberately harming Americans economically in order to end democracy and replace it with a fascist authoritarian state controlled by the wealthy.

They did this during the Carter administration in order to put their wholly owned and operated Reagan puppet in power, and now they are trying to destroy the Biden administration and our Democratic majorities in Congress.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1938....

Message to Congress on Curbing Monopolies.

To the Congress:

Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people.

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.

The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/message-congress-curbing-monopolies

[Scrivener7]

50. This. This is clearly what is happening.

Billionaires in the USA are just sick hoarders. They can't let anyone else have money, they must have more themselves. More by many multiples than they would ever be able to use in a lifetime.

[GoodRaisin]

64. And, no end in sight either.

GREED is winning. Buckle in.

[Meowmee]

75. I think you are right

[uponit7771]

84. +1, Biden intimated this inflation is NOT organic and he's right. Record profit *MARGINS* for corps

[BlueGreenLady]

42. I hear ya

Everything is going up,up, up. No end in sight.

[moondust]

43. It's not just the U.S.

Watching some British TV channels I see the U.K. is going through a bad cost of living crisis.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/cost-of-living-crisis

No doubt in other countries as well.

Don't let anybody try to tell you it's all Biden's fault.

[leftyladyfrommo]

63. I think it's worse in Britain. People were just turning

Off their heat and going without.

[AllaN01Bear]

46. cheep electricity my eye. greed.

[sarcasmo]

58. This has fueled the Nomad boom.

[gulliver]

59. Dems need to reclaim their dominance as the party of the working and middle class

Why would people trust Republicans to care about people suffering under inflation? I get that "the party in power gets blamed for everything," and the dimwit MSM pundits will blabber that and other nonsense. It doesn't mean we have to take it lying down or even accept it.

We have two issues that should be right in our wheelhouse, the economic interests of the working and middle classes and the prospect of abortion prohibition. And we can't get some players who can play those cards? I think we can if we can dump the distractions and stay off of the wedge issue hills the Republicans want us to die on.

[Texaswitchy]

66. We need solar on people homes and apartments.

Should be common by now.

The government should be able to help with the cost.

Tax credits and all that.

When I still had my city house my light bill was very low to zero.

Solar really does work.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

69. It's frightening for so many Americans, and the "pro life"

GOP couldn't care less if it gets so bad that people die.

[smirkymonkey]

72. It is that time of year, in fact it is early, when I have to turn on the AC to be comfortable.

I absolutely cannot stand the heat. I have a fan and I just bought a little nightstand cooling unit to hopefully help me cut down on how much I have to use the AC, but it gets ridiculously expensive in the summer and it just kills me.

I wish I could do without it, but I am so miserable in the heat. The only way I can bear it is to be submerged in cold water for a majority of the day Then, I feel like a normal person again!

[Kaleva]

74. I found that using 500 gallons a month saves next to nothing.

It was a lot of effort to save a few bucks.

I'd save the shower water by plugging the tub drain to use to flush the toilet and I'd take navy showers. Meaning I'd turn on the water long enough to wet down, shut it off, lather up and scrub then turn on the water long enough to rinse off. And I'd take a shower only every few days. I'd save the rinse water from the top loading washing machine to use as wash water later. The wash water was saved in a sperate tote to be used to supplement the water needed to flush the toilet.


"The monthly water bill came in and it stated I used 500 gallons this billing period. Which is half of what I had used in August. For about a week now I've been shutting off the water when taking a shower and just have it on long enough to wet down and then turn it back on again to rinse off. Before, the water I got out of the tub after taking a shower came close to filling a 13 gallon container but now it's half that amount. Not enough now for flushing the toilet so I make up the difference by lugging up from the basement saved wash water from washing clothes. It will be interesting to see if the November water bill shows a further drop in water consumption."

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1128&pid=1753

[LuckyCharms]

78. Small things that I do to mitigate these costs.

This is not directed to you OP, because it sounds like you are taking really good steps to cut your costs. But for information in general:

1) I know this subject may be controversial, and a lot of this depends on your life situation and activity level, but in my case, it is seldom necessary to take a shower every day. In fact, showering everyday may not be the best thing for your skin.

You can keep yourself pretty clean with a small sink full of water, some soap, a washcloth, and some deodorant.

Of course, if you are working in the heat all day, you're going to most likely need a shower every day. But I think we all intuitively know when we need a shower. I can usually skip a day between showers, sometimes 2 days.

2) You don't have to flush the toilet every time you pee. "If it's yellow, let it mellow".

3) The heat is a real problem for a lot of people, and for some people, heat can be a killer. If you have central air conditioning, and have a few bucks to spend, have a few ceiling fans installed and run them counter-clockwise during the summer along with your central air conditioning. The initial cost of the ceiling fans will soon be offset with better efficiency obtained with your central air unit. Once that cost is covered, anything after that is money saved. Relatively speaking, ceiling fans don't use that much juice. Run them in the winter too to make your furnace more efficient, only have the blades turn clockwise.

4) Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible. Don't stand there for 5 minutes with the door open while deciding which flavor of yoghurt you want to have.

5) Dress warmly while inside during the winter to keep your thermostat as low as possible.

6) Your electric company may be able to do a free energy audit for you, and recommend cheap solutions that will help you conserve energy.

7) Replace all incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. They are cheap and last forever. A 10 watt LED is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent.

8) Wash anything that you can in cold water when it is practical to do so.

9) Lights out. Always. Unless you absolutely need to have them on.

10) Use the power saving options on your desktop computer.

11) Easy on that gas pedal. Learn how to drive in a manner that conserves fuel. Coast when you can. Ride the draft behind semi trucks on highways. You don't need to tailgate them to do so. You can maintain a safe distance and still catch the draft.

[leftyladyfrommo]

80. I saw an ad for a wearable down sleeping bag.

I was thinking that might be good for next winter.

Actually it looks like the snowsuits we used to wear when we were two.