Families compete to be greenest: Reality show will air on BTV10 next spring
By Cat Sieh, The Bellingham Herald (Washington)
May 5, 2008
May 5--BELLINGHAM -- For the average family, the cat door generally isn't an issue of contention.
But Carrie Blackwood paused at the little flap leading to her backyard Sunday, weighing whether it would save energy to plug the hole and open the door to let pets out.
It's the least of her concerns since her family began participating last week in "The Greenest House," a locally produced reality show that pits two Bellingham families against one another in their efforts to live more lightly on the Earth.
The program will chronicle changes to the families' homes and lifestyles over the next three months, providing energy audits, water meters, coaches and home improvements. The family that lowers its carbon footprint the most in that time will win a Miles electric car.
Blackwood and her family don't exactly tread heavily on the Earth to begin with -- they already recycle yard and household waste dutifully, buy organic groceries locally and use energy saving appliances in their kitchen.
But, admits Blackwood's husband Todd Edison, there is the occasional, unnecessary three-block drive from the couple's Fairhaven home to drop their 4-year-old daughter off at school.
One of the multiple computers in the office is bound to be on, and on second glance, so is the baby monitor for the couple's 2-year-old son.
With a young family and fulltime jobs that keep them busy, "Most of the time we just wonder if we remembered to brush our teeth, so adding one more thing to our life is a little chaotic," Blackwood said of participating in the show.
"But it was just the opportunity to learn more about things we can do in our home to be more environmentally conscious," she said, "and also educate other people through our experience."
Across town, on Blueberry Lane, the Falcone family is also gearing up for the competition. Their modern home poses different problems from the Edison's 1890 house, including the standard appliances that came with the house when they bought it a year ago.
"I want to do more, but I'm totally overwhelmed and I still want to live in the city and drive my car," said Jaelyn Falcone, who shares the home with her husband, father, 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. "I want to learn what can we do besides moving out to the county and living in a yurt."
The Falcones said they try to do basics like recycling and buying nonchlorinated toilet paper, but fall short when it comes to planning errands and leaving lights on.
Both families cited the cost of green upgrades as a major factor in their attempts so far. Still, Jaelyn was optimistic.
"We're motivated to make changes in our lives and we're motivated to have lower energy bills and a better world for our kids," she said.
The program, filmed by local production company Blackdog Productions, is scheduled to air in the spring on BTV10 (available only in Bellingham on Comcast Channel 10).
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