Riot for Austerity – Month 21

Riot for Austerity fist with ThermometerThis month there were 4 1/2 of us -  though one was a teenager and in my opinion teenagers count for 1 1/2, but okay. In any case, these here are the calculations for one month of (not very conscious) rioting for two adults, one four-year-old and one teenager (my nephew from Belgium) for the whole month and one adult (Amie’s grandmother from Singapore) for half of that month. Last year’s averages (calculated here) are mentioned as a baseline. I use this calculator. Don’t ask me how it works, all I know is it keeps me honest.

Gasoline. Two round trips to NYC (from Boston area) to pick up and drop off my nephew from and at JFK, and more trips for DH to his office in Cambridge than usual because his shuttle doesn’t operate in summer. I also had to drive the kids to their summer farm camp for a week. This adds up to an unusually high gasoline bill. I’ve been eying the listings for light diesel pickup trucks and instructions for making one’s own biodiesel, not just because of the gasoline, but also because it’s been one thing after another with our cars – the dashboards are lit up like Christmas trees with all the warning lights.

17.84 gallons per person (pp) in cars

43 % of the US National Average

(Last year’s yearly average: 24.8%)

Electricity. Our electricity bills is up a bit. We’ve had fans going (we don’t have AC) on the hottest days and nights. And what can I say, teenagers are not very good at turning off unused light and computers.

489 KWH (all wind).

14 % of the US National Average

(Last year’s early average: 18.2%)

Heating Oil and Warm Water. It’s just our warm water. As there were more of us – more showers – it is up a bit, because this is calculated for the entire household, not per person.

11.05 gallons of oil.

18 % of the US National Average

(Last year’s yearly average: 77%)

Trash. This one I’ve got down really well, and since I’m still the one buying things, I’m still the one controlling the amount of trash, which after recycling and composting usually comes down to mainly food wrappers. 10 lbs pp.

7% of the US National Average

(Last year’s yearly average: 7.3%)

Water. Our rain barrels are have been mostly sufficient. I’ve had to water the garden with tap water once or twice.

723 gallons of water pp.

24 % of the US National Average

(Last year’s yearly average: 16.5%)

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