Want to see the guy I wrote about in this morning's column, Jim Crater, in action? Want to see another, albeit closely related, side to his recycling work?

On Thursday, from 7 to 9 p.m. in northern Chester County, Crater will lead an energy-saving workshop, “How To Do What You Do, But Better!”

Crater, who finds creative re-uses for things like fishing line and wine corks and every kind of plastic imaginable, also is an expert on on heating, cooling, electric and automotive issues pertaining to the environment.

Crater says he’s hoping to use the forum as a community-building tool. “Many may now be asking themselves, ‘Will I eat this winter and buy fuel?’ If we act together and share ideas while jointly buying products, we can not only do both but eat and heat better.”

For instance, if ten neighbors, say, got together to ask a company to do energy audits of their homes, all on the same day, it would be cheaper. How come we aren’t already doing things like that?

“I think the biggest thing we have to get across to people,” he told me, is that “I don’t believe there are any big fixes” when it comes to the environment. But there are a multitude of small efforts that add up.

And there are ways to do things more creatively. “There is no shortage of energy,” he said. “There is a shortage of understanding energy.”

The event will be held at the Norco Fire Company, 144 West Schuylkill Road — just east of Route 100 — in North Coventry Township. It is being sponsored by Crater’s nonprofit,  Recycling Services, Inc., plus the Chester County Sierra Club, and the North Coventry environmental action committee.

And the BYOM? Bring Your Own Mug. No disposable drink containers will be available.

For more information, please Recycling Services’ website.