It's a snippet from the Tom Waits song, "Ol' 55," and for the second time inside a year, it comes to mind to as a means to express. Yesterday, I finally did something. For way too long, I thought about acting in defense of the planet, and perhaps would engage people in conversation about it — and even then, "hectoring" them would too often have been a better description — but my actions lagged far behind. Then this winter, Georgie and I greatly improved our energy efficiency at home by replacing our vintage (read: drafty) 1938 windows and our back door. We also bought the Prius, of course. These are important actions, because, obviously, actually cutting carbon output is the only we're going to lower carbon concentration in the atmosphere. But still, I had had to acknowledge that I hadn't contributed my time and physical effort, and that without that, I hadn't done enough. So on a cold and sunny morning yesterday, I went door to door in my immediate neighborhood with a flyer I'd printed up explaining Georgie's and my participation in the New England Wind Fund, which promotes the growth of wind energy production. In some parts of the state served by portions of National Grid, but not here, it's possible to buy green electricity right through the utility (see GreenUp program). Upon inquiry, I was told recently by NStar, my provider (which has already been bought, and is about to subsumed, by National Grid as well), that it had applied for permission from the state but did not yet have approval to do the same thing. So buying renewable energy credits from the wind fund is our only choice. G. and I have decided to spend $10 a month. As I understand it, renewable-energy producers are allowed to, in effect, sell their power twice. The actual power produced goes to a utility for the going rate. But then it is allowed to sell these credits as well, which is what we buy, via the Mass. Energy Consumer Alliance, which aggregates purchases such as ours. The credits not only provide extra revenue to renewable-energy providers, but they help prove, with cold hard cash, that there is demand for renewable energy, encouraging entrepreneurs to enter the field. There are other consumer incentives, too. The purchases are tax deductible, and the amounts are matched twice by the Mass. Technology Collaborative, once to provide clean energy goods and services in our town, and again to help fund clean-energy projects benefiting low-income people. It's hard to imagine a sweeter deal. So I decided to encapsulate what I knew about the program in a brief letter to neighbors, and then went to 31 homes, speaking with homeowners who seemed open to hearing about it, and just leaving the letter where no one answered. I encountered more than a few folks who were very interested, and that was rewarding. It was also quite rewarding in general, to feel that one person could perhaps make a difference, and that in this case, that one person was me. I got a small bit of comic relief, too. I approached one house with cars on the lawn, mocking myself for mocking the cars on the lawn and for slipping into stereotypical thinking that such residents probably weren't interested in progressive thought or action. A grizzled fellow answered, and I was surprised when he started to engage me, asking what I meant by renewable energy. See, I told myself, you can't tell a homeowner by his parking habits. But then he made what seemed like a bizarre leap: "Will it help get rid of Ted Kennedy?" Literally, there was no intervening moment; that was his second line. Uh, I'm not sure how it would, I stammered. "Well, if it will get rid of Ted Kennedy, I'm all for it." I had no response to that, of course, so I thanked him and moved on. Who knows — maybe he'll sign up to bolster his get-Ted effort.