Hulkomania

I have always been a little bit of a, how shall I put this gently, "maniacal zealot" concerning the environment.

Just ask anyone who has ever lived with me.

When roommates of old made the mistake of leaving the water running while they were brushing their teeth, something would come over me. I can't explain it, I would try to contain it, but I would inevitably go all Hulk on them and burst into the bathroom uninvited to turn off the faucet for them.

Add to my fanaticism a generous helping of OCD tenancies and you've got a recipe for 5 roommates in 4 years and at least 1 session of formal roommate mediation.

Suffice to say, I was a challenge to live with.

But, by the end of college, something had happened to the my inner eco-freak. Four years of depressingly hopeless environmental studies coursework had taken its toll on the Hulk. The final nail in the coffin occurred when my economics professor shared that she had witnessed the contents of her trash can and recycling bin being poured into the same garbage truck.

It was then that the green of my inner Hulk faded to gray, and I stopped caring. I figured that the Earth was going to wear out anyway, so why be bothered?

I have only recently begun to participate once again in the realm of environmental responsibility. My reconversion resulted from a combination things, including several trips to third world countries, hope-filled solutions presented by guys like Rob Bell and Al Gore, and the assurance that my city's recycling program is now bonafide.

Except this time, instead of going all Hulk on the subject of going green, I have gone a bit more Mr. Rogers.

With minimal effort and minimal moolah, this cardigan-wearing chica is saving the planet, and you can, too.

• Stop Sucking - I unplug anything that has a "black box" charger or plug when not in use. Regardless of whether or not you are using them, when plugged in, those suckers, well, suck.
  
• BYOBagging - I have an assortment of teacher totes that accompany me into (and hopefully out of) the grocery store.
• Trendy Cleaning - I am all about those sexy, biodegradable cleaning products like Method and Seventh Generation.
• Recycling - Um. I recycle.
  
• Passive Composting - I throw my uncooked fruit and veggie scraps under my porch. You would think it would smell like the inside of your belly button, but it doesn't.
  
• Thermostating - I turn my thermostat up/down/off while I'm at work. Takes, like, two seconds.
  
• Faucet aerating - Less water + more air = same effect.
• Breaker boxing - Forget installing a timer on my hot water heater. I just flip that switch off when I leave in the morning, and on again when I come in at night. Booyah!
  
• Compact fluorescing - Our CFFs are saving us watts of big bucks, baby! And the model IKEA sells look like actual light bulbs, as opposed to giant glowing paper clips.
  
• Litter boxing - Two cats. Two words. Feline Pine.
• Low-flow-shower-heading - So easy to install that even a Jessica Varney can do it. My water bill, not my water pressure, has gone down significantly. And, despite Seinfeld's claims, my hair is still plenty big.

Tis easy being green, so just do it, okay? You don't want to make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry...