Guest blog #7: Adrianna Bojrab Unplugged

"There is one foe we all have in common, utility bills.  The (groan) we-just-paid-the-last-bill time of the month when we are put in check, again, for how much energy and money we waste on utilities - mindless shelling out of money on necessary but over-abused resources.  In the college town of Ann Arbor, MI, we feel the wrath of the cold early in the year, forcing us to raise the temperature on our thermostat. However after two months of growing agitation of our mounting bills, my housemates decided to unplug.  Even when a machine is turned off, but plugged in, energy is being wasted. And so our unplugging movement began.  I began to notice the microwave unplugged when not in use, and so the next time I saw the microwave plugged in but not being used, I nonchalantly pulled the plug.  This caught on quickly between my six roommates and I, yet was never spoken about. ‘Unplugging’ began as someone’s intent to diffuse our high monthly bills but caught on like an obsessive game.  What else could we unplug?  Our game moved from the kitchen to the blow dryers in the bathroom, and spread to the lamps in the living room, even creeping into the television and cell phone charger in my own bedroom. It became second nature.  We continued our little game throughout the month, and were shocked by how much our utility bills decreased.  By trying to reduce our bills each month, we can find an incentive to save energy.  Whether you’re in it for the reduction of your bills or saving energy, you will find that by decreasing your energy use, you are benefiting your world, and even your life." 

~Adrianna

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Waste and trash don't only apply to physical, macro-scale objects. They can also apply to electrons and cotton fiber paper that is green and white. I like the title she chose...unplugged...makes it sound all media-esque.