RODALE NEWS, KEMPTON, PA—Amidst all the solar panels and windmills at last weekend’s Pennsylvania Renewable Energy Festival were many reminders that one of the oldest sources of energy doesn’t require attaching something to your roof or checking local zoning laws. And if rising obesity rates are any indication, using human power to get things done may be a too-often overlooked option. So here are some ideas, sparked by our visit to the energy fest, that you can try, to save on the cost of gas or electricity and burn off a few calories at the same time.

# 1: Rethink small tasks, starting in the kitchen. "Human power isn't the most powerful kind of energy source," Tamara Dean, author of The Human-Powered Home (New Society Publishers, 2008), told us. "But you could certainly power your laptop or printer with it, and certainly your flashlights and radios." For many of the tasks you do every day, it's easy enough to find a commercially available, hand-powered device: Many manual coffee grinders, juicers, and other kitchen gadgets are sold right alongside the electric versions. Others, such as hand-cranked blenders, radios, and flashlights, and even hand-cranked cellphone chargers, can be bought from retailers of outdoor or camping gear. Doing a number of small tasks by hand instead of plugging in may not translate into a huge savings on your electric bill, but every bit helps. And in some cases, doing it by hand gives you greater control over what you're doing and can be a more rewarding experience. As Dean points out in her book, that’s the reason many famous chefs prefer crushing spices with a mortar and pestle or pureeing tomatoes with a hand-cranked food mill.