Taming Bigfoot is a team challenge that makes it fun to reduce your carbon footprint – a number that measures the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with your activities. And you can win prizes, too! As part of the competition, teams will work together to learn how to reduce your electricity, gas, and water usage, and then measure your results, using a calculator compiled expressly for Jefferson County by the Local 20/20 Climate Outreach group. Reducing your footprint will save you money and help our community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to its goal of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. By taming our own bigfoot, we can do our part to lessen the impacts of climate change in the future.
The competition will last 3 months from January 11 to April 22, Earth Day 2016. Teams of 8 persons each will compete with each other, using their own unique strategies, to reduce their carbon footprints. Many county businesses and organizations have donated fabulous prizes (wine, composters, books, free coffee for a year, bike tune-ups and more) to be awarded to those teams and team members that are most successful in lowering their individual and collective carbon footprints.
Each team of 8 will have a person from a 1-2 person household, from a household with 4 or more persons, someone living within the Port Townsend city limits, and someone outside city limits. Rounding out the team will be someone already living a “green” lifestyle, someone not yet living a green lifestyle, at least one member younger than 30, and a member who is recognized as a prominent county resident.
To learn more, and to apply to be on a team, or to form your own team, see www.l2020.org/climate-action/bigfoot. Applications are being accepted now, and will be accepted until 12/15/15. For more information, contact Bob Bindschadler at bobbindschadler@gmail.com.
I and my husband (both retired) are interested in doing the taming Bigfoot. We recently moved in town from out in the country to simplify our lives. We lived off the grid for 10 years with solar and wind and built our own home. In August bought a small fixer upper in town and remodeled it. We would love to find more ways to conserve in order to do our part.
Welcome to the area, and we would love to have you participate in Taming Bigfoot! We can pair you up with one of the teams forming, and that should help tie you in with local resources and ideas on how to conserve! If you want to fill out an application as an individual, and just mark what roles you could fill, that’d be great. You an find the application here.
Hope you are lowering the imprint according to the latest research for people who consume no meat or dairy – most environmental groups are downplaying or even ignoring the huge impact the meat and dairy industry has on climate change. Do the right thing.
Yes, we measure three different aspects of food – how much red meat is consumed, how much of food bought is local, and how much of produce is organic. Thanks for the comment!