New Cube and Effie Yeaw

Such a cool biking family!

Today was the big unveiling of the CUBE downtown. After weeks of speculation about what it could mean, we found out that this giant structure represents 1 metric cube of carbon dioxide gas. To put things into perspective, a family of four makes 40 of these per year. Ouch. Since Sacramento is part of the Cool California Challenge, 350 Sacramento, Greenwise, and other organizations in the city are encouraging it's citizens to try to reduce their impact on the environment, especially when they can log in their actions--energy bill and odometer readings--and get points for Sacramento (any Davis readers out there, totally ignore this...). We have been logging our numbers and so far have 2883 points (without our car mileage points). It makes reducing your energy and driving into a game. It is pretty amazing how the little changes can really add up. We signed up for an energy program and they sent us a little display that tells us how much energy we are using at any moment and the cost. It's pretty shocking to see the display go from $.003/hour to $.500 as soon as the dryer comes on. I'm glad we don't have an air conditioner, that would probably keep me from ever using it. Even the little things, plugging in our phones, when the refrigerator coming on, the bathroom fan, microwave, etc. We see every change in usage and cost and it keeps us aware and responsible of our actions. I do think twice about starting the dryer for a load I could hang outside. I make the conscious decision to use this energy, knowing the cost, not taking it for granted or assuming it is there for my disposal. 

Biking with the kids is one of our obvious changes to working towards an eco-friendlier lifestyle. As 350 Sacramento says, find one thing you can do to make a difference and do it. Maybe you can bike to work a little more often, take your own shopping bags to the store, carry a reusable bottle instead of buying plastic. You don't have to swear off warm showers but maybe you can buy your veggies at the local farmer's market. You don't have to sell your car (that's crazy talk) but maybe you can find an alternative mode of transportation for most trips under 2 miles. 

Giant cube and little Mundo.

Little changes add up! Some of the things we do have not only benefitted the environment, but also helpfully, our wallet. We decided to do cloth diapers when Big Brother was born and continue to use them for Little Brother. We still occasionally use disposables but in all, we will have spent less than $500 (a high estimate) for diapering both boys, a big saving from the average $5000 many parents will spend on two babies. We also shop at farmer's markets and get veggies from our local CSA (community supported agriculture). Our produce is healthier and more nutritious, not having sat out on the shelves for days/weeks and we are directly supporting our local pesticide-free/organic family farmers. We choose not to eat meat on a regular basis, we get our eggs from our backyard, we bring shopping bags to stores, I nursed both boys so we wouldn't have to buy formula (besides the constant fear of regular recalls of toxic/tainted formulas), we also removed the front lawn and planted native flowers. Nothing we do has been incredibly difficult. I understand that they might not work out for everyone and I understand that there are other things we could be doing as well. My parents line dry about 99% of their laundry whereas I'm lucky if I even get the laundry folded within a 3 weeks. I plan on continuing to make the changes we are able to and as we are able to, I look forward to making greater changes. 

Effie Yeaw!

It always baffles me to see locks without bikes. How did this happen?

Of course, our favorite change has been our biking. Yesterday, we biked to Effie Yeaw nature preserve. It was a great ride, about 12 miles each direction, at least half was along the American River Parkway. The last 3 miles was new to us, having never ridden to Effie Yeaw or even Carmichael. It was simple to navigate, Fair Oaks Blvd. was the biggest road we were on. It had a nice bike lane and low traffic but there was a section of construction that blocked the bike lane and a driving lane, putting us in the single lane that was left. We just waited until it was clear and rode the couple of blocks in the middle of the lane then zipped back in as soon as we could. 

"Road destruction!" says Big Brother

There were some good hills towards the end but having had such mellow biking days during the weekend, it felt good to get my heart pumping. Effie Yeaw was fantastic as always and we met up with some other mamas and kids to play with. We saw turkeys, rabbits, dear, golfers. The ride home was into a headwind, Little Brother was fast asleep, and Big Brother and I were stopping regularly to eat chocolate. A good mix of delicious and difficult. 

Buddies practicing jumping over the "river."

Exploring the muck.

Nature walk.

Snack stop on the way home.

I love finding out new places I can get to by bike and I especially love finding ways to get to my favorite places by bike. Mostly, I just really like going places by bike. 

These are my reasons for doing the things I do to make a difference. 

Dem boys.