Coldest day in a decade

We celebrated the first really cold week of winter by signing a contract for a brand new HVAC system. That was something we promised ourselves, and the environment, during Earth Hour on March 29, 2008. We discussed the single best thing we could do for the environment and agreed that replacing the 30+ year-old heat pump was surely it. I'm glad we accomplished it before this year's Earth Hour, March 28 at 8:30 pm.

Vote for a veggie garden at the White House

Ideas for Change in America is a competition for choosing top ideas for change that the Obama administration could work on. From their website:

The top 10 rated ideas from the final round will be presented to the Obama
administration on January 16th at an event at the National Press Club in
Washington, DC, co-hosted by the Case Foundation. At the event we will also
announce the launch of a national advocacy campaign behind each idea in
collaboration with our nonprofit partners to turn each idea into actual
policy.

This blog officially endorsed (and I officially voted for) the idea Victory Gardens 2.0 -- to grow vegetables on the White House lawn. You have to register to vote and you get 10 votes! Please use one for Victory Gardens 2.0 and then have fun exploring the rest of the ideas and making your choices. There are some good ones out there. And each idea comes with resources about how to learn more (a feature that makes this librarian's heart go pitter-pat!).