The Fridge-cident

As I have continued to attempt to reduce my carbon footprint by lowering my electricity use, I have realized that there are numerous complications that contribute to making this practice that much more difficult. By living with three other grown men, it is quite a task to keep the room tidy, let alone introduce and implement new tasks to keep our electricity use at a minimum. I endure the daily struggles of waking up to the television with no one watching, music raging at unruly decibels for that early in the morning, and all of the bathroom lights on. So in turn, I pop up, switch off the lights, turn off the television, and close the laptop only to hop back into my warm, quilted-sheet covered Tempur-Pedic mattress heated by nothing more than my bodies emission of the natural homeostatic temperature of 98.6 degrees. So as previously said, I have been holding up my end but the task of keeping my roommates unplugged is a gargantuan one. Another thing that we struggle with on the third floor of Watson Hall are the commonplace sub-freezing temperatures that our refrigerators emit. So last week one of my roommates and I  went food shopping (while we were out all electronics were disabled!). Personally I am a big breakfast guy so cereal and milk was an essential to say the least. We purchased Cap’n Crunch, Cherios, and Kaji, a personal favorite, along with 2 gallons of milk. Thinking this would be sufficient, we departed the store, unpacked the car (we didn’t use plastic bags, we brought our own) and proceeded to unpack the cereal into the fridge in my roommates room. Anticipating the coming morning, filled with calcium and fiber, I awakened at 10am for my 11am class. I ran into the closet, grabbed the Kaji, a bowl, and a spoon and made my way to the futon. Pouring the delectable looking breakfast into the bowl from waterfall distances, I snagged the milk, unwound the cap and turned it on its head….nothing. Both of the gallons were full yet I could not fathom why the milk refused to exit the jug. Shaking and smashing the plastic, eventually a clump of milk which reminded me of Badger Milk from Rob Schneider’s film, The Animal, made its way into my bowl. Nauseated, I tossed the food into the garbage and began to inspect the fridge. All of the goods we had purchased the day before were now frozen. $40 of groceries now down the drain, I noticed the fridge dial was on 6/6. Livid, I turned down the dial and switched the fridge to “Energy Saver Mode.” We eventually deduced it was our fault as a unit, not individuals. I did a little research and found out that if we raised the temperature to 37 degrees and the freezer to 3 degrees, not only would there be a non-permafrost version of the milk in the fridge, we could significantly lower our C02 emissions. 20% of household electricity comes from a refrigerator, and in our downsized case with many less appliances, I would assume it is responsible for at least double that. So now, the unplugging has moved past leisurely items to necessities that are sometimes overused and the technology it offers underutilized. Personally I am just more aware now so that will benefit me not only from an environmental standpoint but in other walks of life as well.

http://www.powerscorecard.org/reduce_energy.cfm