Asking the Office

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes

I’ve been asking around at the office about who everyone uses for their electricity at home. I have lived in Texas for over 6 years and I had NO idea that it was a deregulated state! I didn’t even know what that was! It turns out I get to pick my energy company and all this time I’ve just been using the same one I used in my rental when I first moved here – I just had the service transferred to the house when I bought it. I went to electriccompaniesindallas.com at the suggestion of a colleague and I’ve been writing down all kinds of information on the prices and services in my area. I am really conscious of giving back to the environment so I want to make sure I choose a company that’s responsible and has all kinds of initiatives with solar power and things like that. I don’t want to live on a farm with a windmill or anything but I do want to make sure my carbon footprint is as small as it can be. The people here in Texas don’t seem all that concerned about global warming, what with their aerosol hairspray and their massive Hummer SUVs. It’s a shame more people aren’t educated about the dangers of the ecosystem and the things they could be doing to give back, but I can’t save everyone at once. I made sure when I bought my house it had a lot of sustainable stuff built into it and as things need to be replaced I’m going to do that with good materials like bamboo and glass and other things that can be reused. I wish more people felt the way I did about giving back to the environment but you know, it’s my job to take care of myself and my house and not worry too much about everyone else. At least the people at work know my feelings about all of it – maybe I’ll inspire some of them to change!