Clean Wind a great fit
When a Portland General Electric representative came to the Wrights’ doorstep to talk to them about renewable power options, they were enthusiastic. “What’s the most we can do?” she asked. They immediately signed up for Clean Wind for 100 percent of their electricity.

Daily habits to save energy
The couple, who own a graphic design and marketing business that outgrew their home, tries to live and work with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind. They use low-flow showerheads, run a space heater in their bedroom at night rather than heating the whole house, and have switched to compact fluorescent bulbs. Now they plan to replace their old water heater with a new, energy-efficient model.

The Wrights also recycle everything they can and look for any way to make a difference, from driving a fuel-efficient car to using cloth shopping bags. They’ve recently started shopping at farmers’ markets to support local agriculture and to reduce the packaging they bring home. They’ve also signed up for paperless billing from PGE and do all their banking and bill paying online to reduce paper waste.

Shireen, who runs the day-to-day operations for their marketing business and also has her own fashion design business on the side, feels good about the many small actions she and her husband take each day. “We’ve got a lot going on, so it’s not like we’re out trying to save the world,” she says. “We’re just doing little things so that they become ingrained in our everyday lives and add up to a more conscious lifestyle.”