Addendum to the last post: I forgot to mention that the article directly before Dump Berlusconi was written by a British guy and entitled, "In defense of Berlusconi". (I still don't buy it.) Gotta have that devil's advocate!

When I woke up today, it was still raining. Rain has a discernible effect on my well-being. It produces that sluggish, bluesy feeling we all experience when it's cold and damp out; I also become quite stiff and sore and decidedly self-indulgent. (Admittedly, since I've made certain changes in my diet and begun natural supplements things have improved but that doesn't mean I've kicked the self-coddling.) Needless to say, today was not a day I felt particularly strongly about my little experiment. In fact, at times I resented it and consciously performed actions that were contrary to my aims (example: I am eating spelt cookies from a non-reusable bag right now), just because I COULD. It really threw into relief just how much of a commitment a no-impact, or low-impact, lifestyle is, just like any other lifestyle commitment: a specific diet, quitting smoking, trying not to phone that bastard who stood you up on Friday but totally apologized and after all is really cute (this didn't happen). At times you couldn't care more and willingly devote all of your most positive energy to your cause, feeding off of your own success; other times you just say, "screw it", and reach for the spelt cookies. I can be an indulgent person; I guess my own personal challenge has to do with reducing the amount of times I cave, and furthermore, setting realistic goals.

Today is energy day. Instead of trying to use less energy, since that clearly wasn't going to happen, I decided to do some research on the devices I used and how much energy they really account for.
I wasn't able to find a lot of really concrete figures. But environmental blogs the world wide web over agree that using your microwave oven, especially for short periods of cooking or for small portions really does save a ton of energy once you do the math. My Chinese doctor cousin David would be having a conniption but you know what? Most of us use it anyway, and in exactly that manner; good to know it gets a green thumbs up.
The bulbs we have here are all energy-efficient. If you have not changed your bulbs to CFL's, I suggest you do so. Today, preferably.
Something I may never be able to renounce is a hot shower in the morning. I researched ways to reduce your hot water usage: installing low-flow showerheads and faucets, fixing leaks, and using the energy-efficient cycles on your dishwasher and washing machine topped every list. There is also something called On-Demand hot water, which is basically a tankless system: water is heated as required. The only downside is that you might let it run for a while before it warms up sufficiently, so I'm not sure how much you really conserve with this method. You can also just set your washer to "cold"; the clothes still get clean.
If only I had known! The Green Beanery in Toronto has a novel little gadget that makes espresso without any electricity -- it's lever operated. You still have to boil the water, though.
I could go on and on-- generally, if you are interested in lowering your energy impact through absolutely any small obscure detail of your life, there is a way. It was a useful thing to discover, and anyone can -- I amno Google master but I found a wealth of information.

Needless to say I didn't grape-stomp my clothes...