Well, today I put our personal challenge out there to friends and family. Thanks to the folks who sent notes of encouragement. I even heard from one friend who thinks we should start a local challenge working with the local newspaper. He has a connection there, so maybe it will happen. The Seattle Times is doing a good job (from what I can tell anyway, living in the Midwest & not actually reading the Seattle paper every day).

If you sign up for their Challenge, you get an email every day in May with news and tips to help you with the challenge. Today there was a quiz to test my knowledge about every day things that contribute - a lot or a little - to global warming. I scored 5 out of 10, which I was told was "not bad" by the autoresponder.

Here is a summary of the questions and answers:

1. On average, produce travels how far from farm to plate? 1500 miles (I guessed 2500)
2. Livestock are responsible for what percentage of greenhouse-gas emissions? 18% (I got this one right!)
3. True or false: greenhouse gas emissions from livestock exceed those caused by transportation? True (I got that one right too - I think I heard it on the Diane Sawyer 20/20 special)

Now take a moment and think about that one. If I gave up eating meat, drinking milk & eating cheese, would that make more of a difference than buying a hybrid car?

4. How much pollution is released by a single idling car dropping off and picking up kids at school? 3 pounds
5. How much trash does the average person throw away each day? more than 4 pounds (I got this one right too - it was the highest number to choose, so I figured it must be right)
6. How much of their waste do King County residents recycle? 40% (I guessed 25%)
7. Properly inflated tires will save you how much in gas money each year on average? $850

Buy a tire gauge, check the air pressure, and make sure they are properly inflated! What a great investment!!

8. How much does a typical heating bill drop for every degree the thermostat is lowered? 2% (I guessed 1%)
9. A flourescent bulb, left on eight hours a day costs about $3 a year to use. How much on average does an incandescent bulb cost each year? $13.84

Again, the numbers speak for themselves! You pay more for the lightbulb (I got a four pack at WalMart for like $7), but you save $10 per year per bulb! Who isn't in favor of paying less money to the power company?

10. What is "greenorexia nervosa"? A description of someone obsessed with environmentalism.

Okay, what does that last one have to do with the Challenge? If we are trying to sway more people to support this effort, we will have to come up with a better name for ourselves! A friend of mine has proposed a "Green is Sexy" campaign - that's much better than having "greenorexia nervosa!"