I think this is a version of Food Network Syndrome: I’m reading about cooking this week but not actually doing much of it…

• Does Cutting Meat, Eggs, or Dairy from Your Diet Save Money? – The Simple Dollar. Trent goes vegan and cuts his food budget by 15%.
• How To Bake Bread And Make Your Friends Feel Inadequate – Eat Dessert First. Okay, it works, I feel inadequate. (Thanks, Jen!)
• Cooking for Survival Eaters – Cheap. Healthy. Good. I may not be a survival eater, but I definitely have a hard time cooking without a recipe.
• My favorite wintertime moisturizer… – It’s Not Easy Being Green. Jenn’s moisturizer is as simple as can be.
• Be wary of the booming market for pint-sized, roof-mounted windmills.  – Slate. “For a turbine to generate enough power to be of any use, it needs to be consistently hit with wind at speeds above 5 miles per hour.”
• Batteries for the New Era – The Greenists. Lithium-ion batteries are cool..
• An Introduction To Air Source Heat Pumps – Eco Living Advice. So are air source heat pumps.
• As U.S. Agencies Put More Value on a Life, Businesses Fret – New York Times. How much is a human life worth?

That’s it. As usual, if you find something cool this week, send it my way.

I finally got an application in for a community garden plot. It took me six months to get a clear response from the Cambridge Conservation Commission about how to apply. Unfortunately there’s also a three-year-long waiting list, so there probably won’t be any posts on here about gardening anytime soon. But if anyone else in Cambridge wants to sign up, here’s the application. It’s hard to find on the City of Cambridge website. (I can see why they’d try to discourage people, since  the waiting list is so long.)

Also, my friend Sharon reminded me that if anyone actually will be doing a garden this year (unlike me), now’s the time to order seeds. Her parents get theirs from Rupp and Totally Tomatoes, and my sister always orders hers from Johnny’s. It’s a good way to daydream about spring.

We’ve done a bunch of stuff to try to save energy since we moved into this apartment two years ago, most of it documented right here. But while I had a sense it was working (at least to some extent), I never actually crunched the numbers. And this blog is really supposed to be about concrete numbers, not assumptions. So what do those numbers show?

gas usage (in therms)

We’ve definitely reduced our natural gas usage—by 20–25% in the coldest months of the year. This isn’t due to any sort of deprivation on our part, because I can’t stand being cold. The apartment has actually felt warmer while we cut back on gas. This is really encouraging. If we can save heating fuel that much just with the small improvements we’ve made as renters, anybody can do it.

electricity usage (in kWh)

Our electricity usage has dropped August through January, but actually increased February through July. This may be because we haven’t used our ceiling fans this winter (and we didn’t have them in early 2009). We stopped because they actually seemed to make us feel a little colder. I’ll have to see how that plays out the rest of this winter.

It’s really easy to track your energy use. Nstar prints the past year’s numbers on every bill, and all bills are archived under your account on their website. You should try it!

I haven’t been very good about taking care of my bike since the snow stopped me riding in. But I’m hoping to start up again on Monday.

• Cleaning Your Bike In The Winter (Or A Physical Manifestation Of My Shame) – Boston Biker. I really should do this. The snowbank that my bike was in has finally melted enough to get it out.
• How to Modify a Recipe Part 2: The Six Rules – Casual Kitchen. A recipe to modify a recipe? Yeah, I need that.
• Cast Iron Care – Simple. Green. Frugal. My sister swears by cast iron, and although my one large frying pan is made of it, I’m still not entirely convinced.
• Reuse: Antique Silver is Green (and Beautiful) – Smart Green Tips. Nancy Stuckwisch says to put your silverware in the dishwasher. (I wish I had silverware.)
• How to Compost Indoors…Even If You Live in an Apartment – Greenest Dollar. I love my worm bin.
• A Programmable Thermostat Will Save Energy (But Only if You Use It!) – Energy Circle. We only set out thermostat back 5 degrees, so we don’t get as much value out of it as we could.
• Icicles: Good, Bad, Beautiful – Old House WEB. Another sign of bad insulation.
• Valentine’s Fun with Kids – Green Phone Booth. My one acknowledgement of Valentine’s Day.

That’s all folks. As always, if you find anything interesting this week, email me.

You may remember that back in June I begged for moisturizer recommendations. After six months of trial and error I still haven’t found anything ideal. I may have to revise my expectations. Even the moisturizers advertised as paraben free generally contained oxybenzone, a chemical that’s classified by the Environmental Working Group as worse than parabens. Of course, most sunscreens with parabens also contain oxybenzone, so it’s probably best to steer away from chemical sunscreens entirely. (Although they are better for you than skin cancer.)

Mineral sunscreens containing titanium dioxide or zinc oxide are the way to go, but I generally find them too thick and greasy.

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For what it’s worth, here are the moisturizers I’ve tried, in descending order of preference. None of them are tested on animals, so they’re at least better than Oil of Olay.

• Kiss My Face Everyday SPF 15. Octinoxate. Oxybenzone. Not tested on animals, contains no animal ingredients or parabens. No greasy residue. Smells faintly of honey. 11 ounces, $13.
• Alba Sea Moss Moisturizer SPF 15 – Octinoxate. Oxybenzone. Avabenzone. Similar to Kiss My Face , but more expensive. Smells kind of like green tea. 2 ounces, $15.
• Aveda Botanical Kinetics Hydrating Lotion – No sunscreen, so it doesn’t fit my initial criteria. But it goes on so smooth, almost like water, and smells vaguely citrusy, so I’d be happy to use it at night. (And I love Aveda stores.) 5 ounces, $32.
• Juice Beauty SPF 30 Mineral Light Moisturizer – Titanium Dioxide. Fits all my criteria and smells lightly citrusy, but thicker, harder to rub in, and a little greasy. 2 ounces, $29.
• Aveda Inner Light Mineral Tinted Moisturize SPF 15 – Titanium Dioxide. Similar to the Juice Beauty, but tinted. Kind of like a thick liquid makeup. Smells like makeup, too. 1.7 ounces, $28.
• Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 – Parabens. Oxybenzone. Octinoxate. Octocrylene. A decent moisturizer (a little greasy). Fragrence free. 8.4 ounces, $34.
• Trader Joe’s Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion with SPF 15 – Octinoxate. Zinc Dioxide. Fragrance free, but stings my face and tarnishes my jewelry. 4 ounces, $4.49.

Any more suggestions? It may be a while before I try them. I admit to being more than a little cheap, so I’m going to finish off the bottles I have (even if I hate them) before getting more.