- Joined
- Jun 29, 2011
- Messages
- 1,723
I was so happy to read about Kenny's new composting system (looks neat, I want one!) and I was wondering what other things people do to reduce their carbon footprint.
Agreed. It's so true that buying whole foods (as opposed to Whole Foods) is a good way to escape this. But when it comes to STUFF (and I kind of buy too much stuff...I need to be more Haven-like) the packaging is often insane and unweildy. I think clamshell packing is an industry joke on the rest of us.MissStepcut said:Jennifer - I am definitely inspired! I wish it were easier to buy things with less packaging. That's definitely something I struggle with in the U.S., since things come so heavily packaged!
I do this too. Partly, um, because I'm lazy, but I like the consequences!thing2of2|1316960172|3024990 said:I also wear my pants (especially jeans) and tops several times before washing. Saves water and my clothes from looking old. I swear I don't stink!
Agreed. They drive me batty. I could SO be on board with those Switchlights you posted! 20 year bulbs...wow.ksinger said:As for CFLs, well I LOATHE them, with a passion that wells up from deep inside. They take forever to warm up, and with my aging eyes I feel like I'm going blind when I turn on the murky, pale, wan light. And then when they DO warm up, I hate the color of the light. And then you have to figure out where to dispose of them properly, which probably uses more gas than I save by using them in the first place. Did I mention that I LOATHE them?? I have a few, but for REAL light I use incandescent or halogen. So sue me. And while the halogens in my kitchen can lights may not be efficient, they do last for about 3 years, and that's got to count for something in endless manufacturing impacts.
This amuses me greatly. My office provides mugs and they'll clean them for you, which is great, but people STILL take paper cups with lids. Makes no sense.Haven said:- I donate a couple reusable coffee mugs to my division every month or so, with a note that says "Adopt me! Please stop wasting a cup every day."
GRRRR. That would really irritate me, Barrister SB. Seriously. They'll wash the mugs for you, and people can't just use them? That's insane.sillyberry|1316972238|3025155 said:This amuses me greatly. My office provides mugs and they'll clean them for you, which is great, but people STILL take paper cups with lids. Makes no sense.Haven said:- I donate a couple reusable coffee mugs to my division every month or so, with a note that says "Adopt me! Please stop wasting a cup every day."
I love freecycle, but the one thing that irritates me is that people rarely say "thank you" after they pick up the items. I don't give things away to get a thank you, of course, but it always annoys me that people find the time to send me a gajillion emails to inquire about little details about the items, set up a time for pickup, and they can't just send off a quick "Thank you!" once they get them.Jennifer W|1316973676|3025178 said:Oh yes, cloth diapers. We used these too. I know there are debates about whether they are really better for the environment, but I think on balance, they are (no landfill). I know there are pros and cons though.
I don't tend to have coffee or water out of the house / office so I have no guilt over disposable cups. Our tap water is pure and fine to drink, so I don't buy water. I do realise that comes down to where you live - not condemning anyone who does!
Do you guys have freecycle networks? If not, maybe you could look at setting one up? Ours is just an email group- you post stuff you want to get rid of (anything and everything) and stuff you'd like and if anyone in the group needs it / has it, the email you. I've got rid of 2 sofas, a Landrover engine, surplus tomato plants, clothes and outgrown toys, and gain a Victorian cast iron fireplace (gorgeous) a bench grinder, some silver wire and a really beautiful designer coat. I can highly recommend it! You can list anything at all - the aim is to keep good, useable stuff out of landfill.
I know you probably didn't mean to be flippant about suicide, but this comment offended my sensibilities, Kenny. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad about saying it, or to request that you take it back. I just want you to know how one person perceived something that you wrote. I know if I wrote something that offended people, however innocent my intent, I'd want to know. That's the only reason I'm saying this now. I understand that people vary, and that some won't find it an insensitive comment. I did.kenny|1316973770|3025179 said:I did not have children.
That means my carbon footprint will end when the formaldehyde they pumped into my veins leaches into the groundwater.
Having kids means your carbon footprint probably goes on forever, and may be come MANY footprints.
My partner's grandmother has over 160 offspring now.
Not reproducing is the greenest thing you can do.
Suicide is very green too.
kenny|1316974434|3025185 said:I drive a hybrid and hypermile so I average around 53 MPG, also driving gently means means my last tires lasted around 70,000 miles.
I often walk to the local Trader Joe's.
I bring my own bags to the store.
We recycle everything possible.
I avoid buying food and drinks at restaurants packaged in disposable, even recyclable containers.
We keep our lawn brown and ugly.
Eventually we'll tear it out and go with something that looks nicer and consumes little or no water.
I never buy bottled water since we have a reverse ossmosis water filter.
We used to have water delivered in those 5-gallon bottles on a big stinky diesel-belching truck.
I fill up a metal container at home and carry it with me in the car.
We have no AC or central heating in the house.
On the coldest days of the year we have a small portable heater we put in the bedroom at night and all 3 of our animals sleep there too.
We bought a much smaller house than we could afford, less furniture, less energy consumption.
I've intentionally elected to NOT remodel anything in the house no matter how out of style it looks.
I rebel against that Martha Stewart, Architectural Digest everything has to be perfect mentality since much of that is about run away consumerism.
We still have 1960s era formica countertops which are perfectly functional.
Got a front-loading clothes washer which uses less water.
About 70% of our wash is hung out to dry instead of being put into the dryer.
Our water heater is in the detached garage so it takes 2 or 3 gallons for the hot water to reach the kitchen tap.
I run that water into a bucket and dump it outside into the garden.
I buy pinto beans, brown rice, and popcorn in 25 or 50 pound bags for less packaging and fewer trips to the store.
We just started composting kitchen waste with a vermicompost system, wormies.
Jennifer W|1316977926|3025233 said:ETA I just realised - a US gallon isn't as much as an imperial gallon, which would explain it! Sorry!
kenny|1316978404|3025241 said:Jennifer W|1316977926|3025233 said:ETA I just realised - a US gallon isn't as much as an imperial gallon, which would explain it! Sorry!
OMG, I almost got down on my knees and bowed towards your country.
83 MPG!!!!!