I have fallen in love with my Flume! Here are three, slightly embarrassing personal stories that help show its value. 

The first day we had our Flume, we studied the dashboard (see the photo above) excitedly! All looked good. The next morning, we woke up and saw that we were using 0.2 gallons per hour all night long. Ah-hah! we thought, there must be a leak somewhere. We spent a lot of time brainstorming how we would track down the leak. Then, we found a hose, with a sprayer attached, that had not been shut down. The hose was leaking where the sprayer was attached. We turned it off, and the flow stopped. This thing is sensitive, and is helpful to identify things that are out of the norm. 

The second story is that we have now been watching as we run any single fixture. So, for instance, we have figured out how little water our dishwasher uses, even as it gets the dishes much more clean than when we do it by hand. This particular insight shows us that we are opting more and more for using the dishwasher, instead of hand washing dishes and saving water for greywater use. 

On this particular point, we have started watching our toilet flushing. We were already not flushing except twice per day per person, and using greywater, where we can. However, as we have watched our Flume, we have discovered that our toilets were using 2.6 gallons per flush. So, we have decided to replace them with 1.6 gallons per flush toilets. This will reduce our consumption by about 4 gallons per day, saving us a bit of money, and capturing the MWD Rebate. 

Finally, we have been watching our showers, experimenting with ways to reduce shower water usage. This maybe TMI, but I am now trying to take cold showers at first, to try to avoid the minute of waiting for the water to get hot. Then, I lather with the water off, and finally, rinse in warm water. It takes courage, but I am now taking showers with less water. 

The point is, Flume can help you see the impacts of what you are doing, and to make wise decisions. 

We all need to get to less than 50 gallons per person per day. Together, we can. 

Last week, the Town of Menlo Park passed ITS newest Climate Action Plan.

Similar to the plan recently passed by Fairfax, Menlo Park is aiming at: 

• Convert 95% of existing buildings to all-electric energy sources.
• Set city-wide goals for increased use of electric vehicles (EVs) 100% of all new purchases by 2025) and decrease gasoline sales 10% per year after 2018.
• Expand EV-charging access to multifamily and commercial properties.
• Reduce vehicle miles traveled by 25% or an amount the Complete Streets Commission recommends.
• Eliminate use of fossil fuels in city operations.

More and more jurisdictions are looking to take bold action in response to our climate Code Red. We can all learn from each other, try different things, leverage each other's successes. This is how it happens. Thank you, Menlo Park; thank you, Fairfax. Together, we can. 

Our biggest Carbon Challenge is the emissions from our collective transportation choices. 

Between now and 2030, we need to replace every car and SUV in Fairfax with transportation that does not burn fossil fuels to run. 

This month, there are two opportunities to learn about the exciting new models becoming more and more available, the economic benefits of moving away from fossil fuels, and the incentives to do so. 

First, you see above, the show coming up in Corte Madera in a couple of weeks. This one looks very interesting. 

More exciting, maybe, the CAC is organizing our own Fairfax Zero Emissions Vehicle show 9/26, 10 - 12. 

Both of these should be fun, accessible, and important. 

Join us at the shows, join us on the CAC, join us in the movement to save our common climate. Together, we can do this. 

What a beautiful sunrise this morning! Every morning, I get up and ride my bike to the dam and back for my daily exercise. This gives me the opportunity to view many beautiful sunrises. This one, though is a little bit different - it is the sun seen through the smoke from the wildfires.

The other thing to note about this image is the set of lights to the left. This is the Meadow Club Golf Course.

Now, I have been writing lately about the water crisis and the Flume I just bought. I have been researching a lot about how much water each household uses and how much we should target. I am working very hard to get my personal water consumption down to less than 25 gallons per day. The urgency of this I really felt when I was reading the Water District website.

Yesterday, I came across THIS SITE. If you study it even just a bit, you will see that we are at 38% of reservoir capacity in Marin. 38%; let THAT sink in (pardon the pun).

We live in a dry place, in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history.

And we are down to 38% reservoir capacity.

I was talking to a friend the other day, who told me about her neighbor who continues to water her lawn every day. My friend confronted her neighbor, and the neighbor told her that it was ok, she could afford it.

38% reservoir capacity; what can we, collectively, afford?

Another friend of mine who serves on the Water District board talked about the issue of watering grass, and told me that the Water District favored watering the grass for common areas, where lots of people are able to enjoy the space, and not for private lawns. It does make me wonder how much water a Golf Course uses, and whether that is the best use for what we have left.

All of us need to think about the choices we are making. Maybe we can PERSONALLY afford to pay for the water we consume. But can WE, collectively, afford to use the water in the way we are using it?

We live in a dry place, in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history. We must come together as a community and we must make wise decisions not only for ourselves, but for our community as a whole.

I have decided to drive my consumption down to below 25 gallons per day because it is the right thing to do. Marin Water District will help you to drive your consumption down. The Fairfax Climate Action Committee is presenting a proposal to the Town Council at their next meeting to use some of our ARPA funding to help the people of our town to reduce theirs.

Join me. Join US. Together, we can do what must be done.

A couple of weeks ago, I published a blog suggesting that people go to the Marin Water District website and order a Flume. I STILL suggest that you do that. 

I installed mine over the weekend. 

I have a question for you. I did it with my 87-year old father (he celebrated his birthday here with us) and my 23-year old son. We had it recorded with video, as I had the idea that I would post the video for all to see, how it was done. 

What I realize, as I watched this video, is that it was a bit more like a comedy act than a "how-to" video. There are good how-to videos on Youtube already for installing these things. I was thinking that MY video would show the reality of trying to figure this thing out and install it. As I say, it is more of a comedy routine, than a how-to video. We actually went so far as to create a You Tube channel for the Climate Action Committee, to better share with the community. 

At this point, I do want to report that I was able to get the Flume installed (and I didn't even really need the 23-year old brain to get it done). It is helping in many ways, which I will try to write about in future. 

For now, I want to simply say,

1. go to the Marin Water District and order a Flume;
2. watch some Youtube video on how to install;
3. work to get your consumption to below 50 gallons per day per person;
4. let me know if you want to watch my failings as I tried to install mine; 
5. encourage others to do the same;
6. JOIN US!

Together, we can do what must be done. 

Thank you, Fairfax. 

I can tell you for sure that reducing your climate footprint is not an easy nor a fast journey. I have been working on mine for decades, and I am not there. I get the difficulties. 

The County of Marin has prepared a series of sessions to help folks with practical ways to help you reduce yours. 

Go HERE for more information. 

Electrify! Together, we can.