It feels like we've accomplished a lot in the first part of the month, when we take the time to list off all the changes we've made to cut emissions.

We installed all new energy-saver lightbulbs throughout the house, about 50 of them.

We drove less than usual, and when we did drive, we took the Prius almost every time. LOVE that thing!

We bought fancy powerstrips that save electricity.

We unplugged appliances and chargers when not in use.

We used a pushmower on our lawn.

We've been running the heat only seldom.

We cut our garbage can waste to two bags' worth over the whole week by composting better and not using disposable diapers.

We turned off the computer each night.

The thing that feels really good is how little work it took to make these changes. Sure, the lightbulbs took a while to replace, but we did a few every night, and voila!, we have electricity conservation for years to come. Cori learned the bus schedule, and John reworked his driving schedule slightly to make fewer long trips, and together we sliced 100 miles off our weekly driving habits, which will save us serious money. The rest of the stuff just took a couple of days to get used to, and now we've formed good habits. Maybe we can even keep this up after May 31 comes and goes.

Plus, now we're looking FORWARD to getting our next energy bills. Is that a little demented?