herbs according to Chinese medicine," says
Michael Caputo about his family, who lives
in an ordinary-looking home on Letchworth
Road. Looks can be deceiving. What's on
the inside is far from ordinary. The Caputos
he, wife Kareen and sons Kevin, 23, Julian,
20 and Roman, 15 have fully embraced a
lifestyle that is "environmentally conscious,"
as he describes it. And its practice fans out in
every direction. They have taken the concept
of sustainability and manifested it in as many
ways as possible.
and rallied family members to join him.
about oil, energy and metals and how
resources are consumed quickly," he
explains. He also became exposed to ideas
belonging to Chris Martenson, an econom-
ic researcher, writer and trend forecaster.
Where Caputo says he found traction was
with the connections between energy, the
economy and the environment.
message from leaders is not to save, it's
to grow the economy. When is enough,
enough?" He says he's disturbed by how
"we've been turned into consuming
machines. We need to return to being a
society that produces more."
is to be more self-reliant. Caputo says it
can take the form of learning more about
health and how to take care of ourselves.
One of his mantras associated with this
quest is to replace "more" consumption
with "better" consumption. He gives life to
this notion starting in his own backyard
where his prodigious and bountiful garden
grows. He harvests tomatoes, eggplant,
zucchini, cucumbers, peppers and fruit.
trition, flavor and freshness," he explains.
similarly thinking people. In many ways, he's
heading down the path set forth by many
in Europe where they are "more conscious
and conditioned to recognize how their
behavior affects the environment and the
costs of it." Kareen, in fact, is originally from
France where she spent several years on
her grandparents' farm. She was raised in a
family where, for several generations, they
consumed food from their own gardens.
often tend to ignore problems until there's
a crisis. What he's learned over the past few
years is that there are easy ways to become
more eco-friendly.
home, starting with better insulation and
replacing old windows with triple-paned.
Bulbs should be replaced with LEDs and
thermostats should be regulated to avoid
heating and cooling when it's not needed.
sustainable measure, requiring a hole dug
down 100 feet deep, it does allow him to
tap water efficiently. He also has a geother-
mal hole that's 175 feet deep, which he
taps in the summer for cool air, and then
stores warm air for use in the winter.
of the electrical usage for his home, where
he also runs his business. He captures rain
in barrels to provide extra water for the
ing, he says he has reduced his garbage
by 80%. They also use electric cars, which
reduced his gasoline consumption by 80-
90% and they use bikes for trips up to two
miles. They'll also walk to destinations that
are close to home.
dead viburnum as cover plants, which will
produce nuts within three to four years.
lifestyle, he invites contact at oroflex@
adelphia.net.
says with sincerity.
Julian and Kevin Caputo.