Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin said and wrote many famous things, but one of my favorites is, “Waste not, want not.”

Whether it is to reduce one's carbon footprint in order to help global ecology, or simply a wise personal finance decision, not being wasteful is sensible. When dealing with the environment this is called conservation. Conserving what we have by not foolishly pissing it down the drain.

One can engage in endless conversations about the idea of non-existent clean coal, knocking off entire mountain tops to mine for dirty coal, deep water drilling for oil, fracking for natural gas, renewable energy like wind and solar, dirty terrorist bombs, and all the various hazards of nuclear energy. The source of energy chosen is indeed important.

Far more important is the fact that we can easily consume (waste) much less energy yet still keep our refrigerators, flush toilets, and comfortable air conditioning. It just requires one to think a little, and then make decisions which are socially responsible.

Driving down the freeway my air conditioning is working great, so is my CD player, and the cruise control. Yet the fuel consumption of my Toyota is less than half of that morbidly obese Ford F150 pickup truck with its V8 engine, or many of the SUVs you see on the road. I have changed out all the old style light bulbs in my house and replaced them with energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. These are routine day-to-day decisions.

You can be wasteful or you can try to conserve the planet's resources. It is up to each of us.

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