The Turning Point commentary: Conservation = $avings

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Melting polar ice caps, El Nino weather, carbon emissions ... is the sky falling Chicken Little?

It may very well be.

Regardless, what can't be disputed is that like many people around the world, I'm paying careful attention to energy consumption.

Will this help reduce the carbon footprint?

You bet it will.

Guess what else it will do?

It'll help me keep a little extra jingle in my proverbial pocket - and for those team members who've reached The Turning Point in their lives, if it don't save dollars, man ... then it don't make sense!

My bills prompted me to try something new this week by writing a commentary for the Turning Point series. I got my semi-annual water, gas and electric bills yesterday, and I was surprised by what I saw.

At first the numbers seemed large as I'm not used to paying utility bills only twice a year. Then I dug a bit deeper and did the math. What I found out was by my family's careful conservation efforts, we pocketed a nice chunk of change.

What we did was not that drastic - in fact, it's living the way we've lived years.

When we leave a room, we turn off the lights. We cut down the heat and dress in layers. We hand wash dishes when possible. We rarely dry our clothes in the dryer during fair weather and hang them out instead.

Those truly are all simple things but can save a load of money and help reduce our carbon footprint.

Looking around base it's plain to see budget constraints, environmental protection concerns and reducing dependency on foreign oil has prompted the prudent use of resources here.

What about at home?

What do you do at home to conserve?

I know you recycle because it's mandatory in the United Kingdom. But, do you take extra efforts to conserve energy? I truly believe you should as there are personal benefits from prudently using resources at home.

Whether you're a junior-ranking Airman who's living paycheck to paycheck or you're financially sound - saving money benefits us all. What you do with that money is up to you. In fact, you may possibly read a future Turning Point story about that very subject.

Until then, turn off those lights, shorten those showers, and keep those heaters and air conditioners at a reasonable setting - it's the little things that end up saving a lot.

Editor's note: The Turning Point is a recurring series scheduled to continue through May 2010. Look for part 8 of The Turning Point on www.mildenhall.af.mil soon.