Adventures in Sustainability

Posted by AJ! Clonts
AJ! Clonts
AJ! Clonts was born in Murphy, North Carolina and moved to Ohio three years ago.
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on August 15, 2012 in Community Voices

My fiancé, Sharon Pearson, introduced me to the world of sustainability. Much of my life I had some knowledge of recycling and energy saving practices: however, I did not realize the full impact I had in making my community a better place, both now and for generations in the future.

Upon arriving to Ohio from North Carolina, my recycling efforts began quite simply, with saving aluminum cans and taking them to a recycling center for money.  With further knowledge and education, I began recycling at home by sorting metals and plastics labeled as recyclable for trash day, using a recycling bag as a separator. This bag was placed next to the trashcan as a reminder to consider recycling over throwing our waste away. After a short period of time, we were filling up the recycling container much faster than the “regular” refuse container.  In fact, we do not place the refuse container out on the curb but every few weeks.

We then began to wonder why there were so many recyclables, and realized that bottled water was a contributing factor. We have since eliminated them from most of our drinking and use filtered tap water instead. We then began replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL‘s as they burnt out or replaced them immediately if they were daily use lights.

We also have installed a Vivint security system with a thermostat that is infinitely programmable based on the conditions we set up for usage. For instance, when the house is left for the day and the security system is armed, the thermostat is automatically adjusted to a preset temperature to save energy. The thermostat can also be adjusted from a pc or a smartphone as needed, providing additional energy savings from a regular thermostat.

As my knowledge of sustainability has increased, I’ve realized that every step we make as individuals can make a difference in the community we live in, and that every step we make toward a sustainable future is a future the next generation can live and thrive in.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my discoveries in applying environmentally friendly solutions in and around the home in the near future…

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AJ! Clonts was born in Murphy, North Carolina and moved to Ohio three years ago. Since coming into contact with residents and people from Oberlin, his education and knowledge on full-spectrum sustainability has increased. He enjoys learning about sustainability, applying it in his life, and sharing it with others. Currently he works in Independence but his goal is to live and work in the Oberlin area.

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Guest January 3, 2017

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