November/December 2008 Issue

Green on a Dime

How to go Prius green on a Chevy Nova budget.

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What the eco-elite recommend:

The cheap alternative:

An efficient convection oven

Baking with heat-retaining glass or ceramic dishes rather than metal ones means you can set your oven 25 degrees lower.

A green dry-cleaning service

Hand wash silk, rayon, wool, and cashmere.

A hybrid car such as a Prius

Ride a bike. You’ll save a bundle in gas, maintenance, and insurance.

Energy Star washers and dryers

Always fully load your washing machine and wash with cold water. String up a clothesline for drying.
 

Reverse osmosis to purify drinking water

Drink tap water where practical. Clean water is one reason you pay taxes, right?

Brand-name, ecofriendly cleaning products

Ever heard of distilled vinegar, club soda, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda?

A low-flow toilet

 Make your own by submerging two full plastic bottles in the tank.

A new, energy-efficient refrigerator

Let your leftovers cool before putting them away.

A tankless water heater

Turn down the old one to 120 degrees from the standard 140.

Whole Foods

Produce from a local market may not be certified organic, but it’s possibly fresher.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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