Over the past five years, we have made a big effort at our house to plant all sorts of native plants. We started with common milkweed. Plant it and they will come! Gosh, what a joy it is to see the monarch butterflies floating around our plants and to see the monarch caterpillars munching away. Gradually, we have added all sorts of other perennials, shrubs, and a few new trees. It has amazing to see all the native insects, the birds, and the wildlife who seem to be thriving. Plus we are learning so much ourselves--not just about plants, but now about cool bees and wasps, and also about the soil. We feel so connected to this beautiful world!!

I love the Swap Shop at the Acton Transfer Station! I was there a few months back to drop off a few still very usable items. After my wares were assessed I was looking around and heard a woman enter the shed and say "I have a portable induction cooktop that I am not using". I spun around! As a member of Mothers Out Front Acton we had been planning to purchase an inexpensive cooktop to create an Induction Lending Kit for the Acton Memorial Library. Suddenly my kit was coming together; for free. I then poked around and found the perfect binder in the school supply section to put the User Manual (the induction cooktop came in the original box with all the paperwork) plus other information about induction cooking and Opting Up to 100% Renewable Electricity with Acton Power Choice GREEN.

Now everyone with a library card can borrow this induction kit at the Acton Memorial Library! Give induction a go. You can learn more about Induction Stoves with the ACTION Button on Energize Acton and check out the Swap Shop too! (Not open in the winter).

I added a whole house heat-pump to get off gas and to add air-conditioning and was pleasantly surprised how much quieter it was without the noisy cycling of the gas furnace and blower. I also didn't expect the air to feel different, but I now realize the gas furnace with its high operating temperature was drying out the air. In contrast, the heat-pump has maintained a comfortable hummidity of around 32% throughout the winter. I'm very glad I switched and the $10,000 from MassSave and the interest free loan made the choice even easier. The free consultation that I got from Abode as an Acton resident gave me confiidence in choosing an installer.

Wanting my investments to reflect my values, I was disturbed to realize much of my money was unintentially supporting oil companies. An easy change was to switch my investments that were linked to the Standard and Poors 500 index (SPY) to an index that was Standard and Poors minus fossil fuels (SPYX). I did this 7 years ago and not only did I get to feel better, but the fossil free index has performed better than the regular index over the years.

For me investing is about the future. The future I foresee but also the future I want to encourage.  This  vision  has  led me to invest in electric cars, wind, solar and nuclear power - both ETFs and individual stocks and over the past 7 years these have all done very well. 

I called the 800 number at ActonPowerChoice.com with my electric bill at hand, and it only took a few minutes to get it going. Two electric bills later, I was on Acton Power Choice Green, which I could confirm by seeing that the rate I was paying matched the rate for Green on the website. I've been on it for a few years, so I've also gotten to appreciate that my rate changed only once, while the Eversource rate goes up and down every 6 months. I like knowing that I'm responsible for part of the rise in demand for renewable power in Massachusetts.