Alicia & Jon
In 2008 we participated in a year-long contest called the Energy Smackdown, which was designed to teach people how to reduce their carbon output. I was skeptical, but after the first few months we had reduced our monthly electrical and gas usage by over 30 percent without making any radical lifestyle changes or spending a lot of money. I was hooked. I began trying to find more ways to lower our bills even further, and I was hired to create Home Energy Seminars that would be presented around Massachusetts. Currently I work for our city coordinating municipal energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
We have three young children, so you can rest assured that suggestions we make are feasible for people with children – if not, we’ll say so! In fact, many things we have researched and learned are because our children also feel very strongly about doing what’s best for the planet. One example is that my son kept bringing his juice boxes home from kindergarten, insisting that they shouldn’t be thrown away. I was sure they were not recyclable, but I finally wrote to the recycling coordinator for the Department of Public Works in our town, and she told me that they could be put in with the commingles (now single stream recycling)!
Alicia (EcoMom), Jon (EcoDad) and youngest son
Between us we have three degrees from MIT, so we are very critical in our approach to change, always looking for sources and studies that support the “green” and “environmental” claims that products and people make (or perhaps that’s the cynical New Yorker in me?). We have been featured on Going Green Boston on WCVB (Channel 5) as well as on Making Cent$ on Boston’s WHDH (Channel 7) for our savings. We have also been profiled by Energy Star as an example of what people can do in New England to save energy without spending a lot of money.
In 2011 I was asked to write a local “green” blog on a local news site, the Medford Patch and Jonathan was asked to run the Green Committee at our church. Around the same time, Jonathan created Solar Panel Jewelry and makes beautiful jewelry out of actual solar cells.
Alicia and Jon at a baseball game
Our goal is to save energy and the environment, therefore we make our advice available for free through our blog, twitter and facebook. We guest post on other blogs and websites periodically and occasionally receive products to review on our site. We enjoy giving presentations and teaching classes on all of the topics that we write about on our blog. We are happy to customize them to your specific needs. Contact us for more information or if you have questions about living green.
Remember that to make a lasting impact we need to make changes that we can live with and have fun doing it.
Happy Greening!
Alicia & Jon
Hi Alicia and Jon,
First off I want to say I really like your website and feel it is a very comprehensive resource on green living and gardening. There is so much there, and I am definitely going to come back and read more.
But a question I have for you is have you heard about the dams Brazil is building in the rainforest? The dams were on the cover of National Geographic a few months ago. There are big dams under construction in the Amazon, and they have big potential impact on the climate. Are you interested in posting something on these dams on you website? I have info on the dams on my website.
The dam is called Belo Monte, and it is a big turning point for development in the Amazon. If we can get the word out and get activism moving on the dams, then we have a chance to preserve the Amazon and turn the tide.
Please let me know what you think. Maybe you could post an short article on Belo Monte and a link to my website? Not sure how involved you are with international issues and activism, but this is really important!
Best,
Willie O’Laughlin