With all that in mind, below you will find screenshots of the new wordpress templates that I have decided are an option for environmentastic! to change to. At the bottom of this post, you will find a survey asking which of the templates you, my readers, prefer.

Please take a look at each of the options below and then vote for your favorite. You will also notice options for environmentastic! to keep it’s current template, or to take none of the templates. I am debating having a template designed specifically for environmentastic!, but I’m a poor (read cheap) schlub who isn’t making enough money to justify paying a designer just yet… but that will be changing very soon.

Now that that is out of the way – here are the contenders:

OPTION 1 (above – Click to enlarge)

OPTION 2 (above – Click to enlarge)

OPTION 3 (above – Click to enlarge)

OPTION 4 – (above – click to enlarge)

OPTION 5 (above – Click to enlarge)

OPTION 6 (above – Click to enlarge)

Please vote – this is another way for the important people (all of you) to have a little say about what you read and how you read it! Plus – I’m horrible at making decisions…

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

If you vote for “none of the above,” please let me know of any good wordpress designers you know by leaving a comment. If you like more than one – pick the one you like best, but leave a comment telling me which other ones you approve of as well. Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your input!

]]> http://www.environmentastic.com/blog/2008/06/16/readers-choose/feed/ 13 http://www.environmentastic.com/blog/2008/04/25/exciting-announcement/ http://www.environmentastic.com/blog/2008/04/25/exciting-announcement/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:57:32 +0000 A. Caleb Hartley http://www.environmentastic.com/blog/exciting-announcement/2008/04/25/ Environmentastic! has been up and running since September 2007 – about 7 months or so. In that short time we’ve gone from zero (0) visitors to nearly 4000 visitors per month in March 2008. I don’t really know how that stacks up in the grand scheme of internet-ness and other blogs, but I’m pretty proud of that number.

Naturally, certain widgets and things have helped build the traffic, like BlogRush and such, but probably the most helpful tool in building this traffic has been entrecard. The traffic has not always been what internet gurus call “quality” traffic, meaning that my bounce rate is pretty outrageous. But more than that, entrecard has allowed me to meet many other bloggers and be inspired by them to keep at it, day after day, posting interesting and informative articles for anyone interested in environmental news or greening their lifestyle without being “granola.”

I hope that the tips and information that you receive by reading environmentastic! are worth your time here, and I hope that environmentastic! makes you think a little more about your everyday choices – and that you implement a few changes here and there to improve your life today – and the Earth tomorrow.

In that vein, I would like to introduce you all to a good friend of mine from southeastern Michigan – Joe Bauer. Joe is an environmentalist – and strongly anti-granola! He has no qualms about living the good life green (or is it “living the green life good?” I never can tell the difference.).

Joe will be guest posting from time to time, starting with the next post, Going Native. Please make him feel welcome by leaving lots of comments and generally making him enjoy being here! I know I do.

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

Also, I need the catharsis for another reason.  I can’t do everything I know I should to reduce my impact on the environment. 

That’s right – I’m not perfect! I know this is hard to believe, based on what you’ve seen here.  

I can’t afford to use all green products while I restore my 100+ year-old victorian home, or grocery shop, or drive around town and commute to work (which is about 20 miles from my house).

There.  I said it.

I do what I can, how I can.  My wife and I carpool to work 4 of 5 days per week.  When we do that, we drive the 4-cylinder because it gets better gas mileage.  My car (a 6-cylinder) sites most days.  If Columbus, Ohio had better mass transit options, I would use them – but it doesn’t, so I don’t.  I love Whole Foods, but can’t spend my Whole Paycheck there (as much as I am tempted to do so when I shop there).  Lowes hasn’t exactly dived into the green pool yet (eww – maybe a little more chlorine is needed for that green pool), so my remodel/restore is not as eco-conscious as I’d like – and I couldn’t afford to make it as green as some of the high-profile, celebrity remodels you may have seen anyway.  And yes, you may have guessed that my turn-of-the-century victorian home is not exactly small.  3,500 sqare feet, ballpark.  But we have insulated it as much as we can and put in some new windows – AND we keep it pretty cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

So we do what we can.  And the fact of the matter is – no one can do everything that they are told is necessary to “save the Earth.”  And really – here’s the thing:  do what’s easy first – replace your incandescent lights with compact flourescent (this I have done), keep your furnace filters clean (oops – need to do this ASAP), install low-flow faucets and showerheads.  The little things DO add up, no matter what it seems.  Then, move on to the harder things (or the things that occur less often) like replacing your appliances with more energy-efficient ones. No one advocates replacing a perfectly fine, working refrigerator with a new one if you would have to go into debt to do so – we need to be sensible.  However, if you have an appliance that is really old, it actually MAY make sense to replace it before it dies.  Most (if not all) states’ PUCO or EPA or DOE will do a free energy audit of your home so you can see whether this might sense for you.

The point is – it’s up to you!  Do what you think you’re capable of, then stretch a little to try something new.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised, I think, by the outcome!

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley