Everr E. Mann finally found the nerve to ask Valerie for a date.  And she said Yes!  He spent the whole week planning out the perfect evening.  Everr prided himself on being a careful spender and considered it one of his finest qualities.  He figured he’d play to his strengths to impress her.

        The weather was perfect, so with gas at less than $2.50 / gal., they went driving around aimlessly and chatted, all for just a few bucks.  For dinner, Ev knew just the place.  The neighborhood burger chain was advertising a “Super Value Meal” – a double beef patty covered in bacon and cheese, extra fries and a super-sized soda all for just a few dollars each.  They were stuffed!
 
        To walk off all that food Ev took Val to the Dime-a-Dozen Dollar store.  Strolling up and down the aisles they laughed and joked about the cutesy, plastic knick-knacky stuff.  Everything was so cheap they ended up buying two bagsful of I-might-use-this-someday stuff.  After dropping Val off, Ev congratulated himself on spending his money wisely.

        Meanwhile, perched cross-legged on her bed, Valerie began to write, “Dear Diary, My first date with Everr!  He’s cute and sweet but…Sigh… like so many of us he’s bought into being CHEAP.  Will I ever meet a guy who’s not Creating Health, Emissions, and Attitude Problems, in other words – CHEAP?
 
        “For example, dinner was tasty enough, but HEALTHY?  Not so much.  Not for us or for the environment.  And all that aimless driving seems inexpensive, but it’s not when you count the ‘social cost of carbon.’  If you add up the dollar value of the economic harms and other socialized costs of carbon dioxide EMISSIONS, gas is expensive!  That’s why in Europe gas costs $5 - $7/gal. to help cover those ‘hidden’ costs.

        “And with an endless stream of every imaginable mass-manufactured material product practically begging to be bought (Thank you advertising – Not!) all of us could think twice about our ATTITUDE concerning accumulating and then discarding mounds of stuff just because it takes so few dollars to do so.

        “So Dear Diary, Everr’s such a sweet guy that I’m going to talk to him about the difference between being frugal and being CHEAP.  Then who knows?  Maybe Everr and I, Val Uwe, will find a long-lasting future together on our only home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”

       The two friends read the survey results; most Americans, about 60%, understand that the warming climate is mostly human-caused.  And 2/3 are at least somewhat concerned, some much more so.  They also learned that the typical American family of 4 adds to the problem by pouring the equivalent of 45 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.  “I want to do my part, but 45 tons!  How we ever going to put a dent in that?” Nell Naysayer moped. 

        “It’s pretty overwhelming,” Dottie Do-Right agreed. “But catch this; my cousin Dudley’s family replaced a couple dozen incandescent light bulbs with LEDs.  That reduced their CO2 use by almost a ton.  Their new Energy Star frig saves another 500 lbs.”

        Dottie asked Nell to help her carry out the recyclables. “You know by taking the time to recycle plastic, glass, magazines, newspapers, and aluminum and steel cans a household can save another ton every year.” 

        Walking back from the curb they saw Mr. Peabody carrying in his groceries and offered to help.  They pulled him into their “carbon footprint” conversation.  “Food choices have a big impact too,” Peabody said.  “In our house we plan a couple meatless meals each week reducing our CO2 impact by about a ton.  The kind of meat you eat matters too.  Unless you’re eating local grass-fed cattle, beef’s impact is almost 4 times that of pork and 5 times that of poultry,” Mr. Peabody added.  

        Sherman came in from the back yard.  “Did you show them our smart thermostat?” he chimed in.  “We program it to reduce either our heating or cooling when we’re not at home and in the evenings saving us money and about 1,500 lbs. of emissions a year.  And from our utility provider we chose 10% green power, saving an additional ton each year,” Sherman beamed.

        As they stepped off the porch their buddy Boris peddled up.  Chatting with him, they learned that Americans typically drive about 250 mi. a week.  With a little planning to reduce that distance by 40 miles a week, families would save another ton of emissions annually.  Just driving the speed limit and reducing idling can save up to 15% more.

        “Golly!” Nell practically cheered, “without much effort each family really can lower its carbon emissions and help protect our only home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”

*With acknowledgements to Rocky, Bullwinkle and their Friends!