Paperless

by Don Ames

Paperless

How to save energy by going paperless.

Don Ames

To save energy, we need to keep looking for some of the less obvious places where energy savings can occur. I sat at my desk all day today shuffling paperwork. I would much rather be out looking for a cold air draft or an energy wasting furnace than thumbing through piles of paper. unfortunately, every time I take out a blower door or an infrared camera, my paperwork load increases. There has been some talk about a secretary, good idea, but I’m not holding my breath.

Right at the moment, I am sitting in a cold horse arena watching my daughter practice with her High School Equestrian Team. Will admit, the drill team on horseback is fun to watch. I have my laptop plugged into an outlet in a concrete wall, sitting in a lawn chair, this is not my idea of an ideal writing situation. Hope they watered the arena a little so my laptop doesn’t have to withstand a bunch of dust from the arena floor.

Along with all the paperwork I handled today, I got to thinking about the sentence written in small print along the bottom of  many government documents. You know the line, it always seemed funny to me, “This document is part of the government paperwork reduction program.” ( Well, something like that anyway.) With all the government documents that abound everywhere, it’s humorous to think that a paperwork reduction program is in force.

More recently, I have been receiving bids from contractors by email. One small step for energy efficiency. Here’s a few more reasons for going paperless.

  • The document never leaves the computer.
  • The copier and printer get to take a rest.
  • Document gets to destination in a few minutes instead of several days
  • You don’t have to purchase or lick a stamp.
  • Document can be sent to many people at once.
  • Document can be saved and backed-up so you never loose it.

Even though the government has had their paperwork reduction program for years, I do believe we are final beginning to make some real progress.

Some paperless areas we should take advantage of if we’re not already.

  • Use paycheck automatic deposit, ( Anybody old enough to remember the lines at the bank on pay day?)
  • Electronic billing from most monthly utilities and credit accounts. Then turn around and pay them electronically.
  • Read the newspaper on-line. Paper boy won’t like it, but you’ll be saving a tree or two.
  • Work at slowing down the daily mailbox full of free offers and all the notices reminding you this is your last chance to to get 80% off.
  • Choose the no receipt option at the gas pump - they just end up on the floor board anyway.
  • Use hand towels in the kitchen instead of the quicker picker upper. ( paper towels )

My son just got a new job as a cook at a fine restaurant. He was given a visa debit card and was told that every two weeks his pay check will magically appear on the card. For me, that would take a little getting used to.

Thanks for stopping by detect energy, come back soon, but I won’t leave a light on for you…