A recent trip to Monterey really opened my eyes. I was extremely impressed with how actively green it is. I saw so many things that just “wowed” me. It seemed like the people of Monterey were working together as a team. One of the main things I noticed was that nearly everybody was walking around with reusable water bottles, all sizes, shapes, and colors. This is a fantastic concept.  People actually using refillable water bottles rather than plastic ones! I even saw a number of walking folks carrying ceramic coffee cups. I would have to say that I was most impressed by the shoppers.  It seemed like atleast 60% of the folks were using reusable shopping bags, and not plastic. A lot of the Monterey businesses were proud to show memberships to different green organizations by sporting stickers on their doors and plaques on their walls.  Beyond that, I have never seen so many Priuses in my life. It seemed like every other car was some sort of hybrid.  All in all Monterey just had a green feeling. It made me feel better inside. It gave me some hope that my hometown of Bakersfield can do it too. But then I had to return home and be reminded of just how far behind we are. (Click Read More to Continue)

How far behind are we? In my estimation I would say 5 years.  People always say “you know Bakersfield is 5 years behind the rest of the world” Well, it’s true. WE ARE, especially when it comes to caring for our community and environment. When I go shopping, it’s amazing that every person I see is carrying a plastic bag full of groceries. Reusable grocery bags in Bakersfield must be 2 percent of all bags. How about reusable water bottles? I rarely see them. After a visit to Monterey where everybody was walking around with them, my girlfriend and I went down to Fresh and Green and bought us a pair of Klean Kanteens. We absolutely love them, no more plastic bottles for us. Here is a small green rant: Very few people use the recycle blue cans, people constantly leave their porch lights on all day (see Tims post), the roads are packed with oversized 8 to 10MPG vehicles, a majority of households and businesses I go into are still using incandescent lighting, blah, blah, blah.

As citizens of Bakersfield, we need to pull together. We all need to start doing the little things that do make a difference. Let’s make people take notice of our efforts when they come to our city. Below I have made a small list of things we can do to show we care about our future and about our city:

• Call the county or city and request a blue recycle can. Its only $48.00 per year.
• Convert at least one round-trip commute (to school or work) a week to carpool or transit/bike/walk.
• Replace all incandescent and halogen bulbs with compact fluorescents and turn off unused lights.
• Turn down the thermostat 3 degrees during the heating season.
• Upgrade your showerhead to a water-saving one and keep showers below five minutes.
• Pick up some reusable shopping bags and use them everywhere!
• Use cold water when doing your laundry.
• Get a reusuable water bottle and a reusable coffee cup, no more plastic bottles.
• Plug all your electronics into power strips and turn them off when not in use.
• Keep your auto tires fully inflated.
• Replace your old refrigerator with an ENERGY STAR model

-Kynan Chambers
www.greenerbakersfield.com
www.savebakersfield.com