all contributions cumulate to a larger one." He said "Let's see if you still feel that way after six months of working on refinery regulations." I told him it would be really hard to undo a mindset that's been growing since third grade.And I gotta tell you...like I said to Kara the other day, he clearly doesn't know me, not reallyreally. I don't give up nearly that easily.
Also: SCARY FACT. Kids who walk to school? They actually have a higher health risk than children who are driven to school. Before you go pick your child up in your SUV realize that that is exactly why it's a problem--the kids are at risk due to all the idling vehicles and traffic congestion that they pass on the way. The solution isn't to take your kids in your car--it's to get your friends and neighbors to have theirs walk, too.
Did I mention that I grew up directly across the street from my elementary school, with the loiterers? Yeah. sigh.
so anyhoo, I've been thinking a lot about earth day and my party and if it's "greener" to buy or rent a home. I haven't figured out about that last one, BUT...
-I am probably going to buy this shirt and wear it to my green party. I figure that the hostess needs to be outfitted in clothing appropriate for the occasion.
-Earth Day is a week, and I want to make as organic and local of a meal as possible for Matt and me. I'm going to find out where I can buy local meat (apparently the Raleigh farmer's market is hit and miss for that kind of stuff) and local veggies and we're going to have beer from brooklyn beer or sierra nevada or belgium brewery, and eat by candlelight. :)
I also found out about all sorts of "green" stuff today. Some of it actually kind of freaked me out. It's a snowball effect...some of it I knew but didn't know exact numbers, others I had no idea!
-When you first start a car after it's been sitting for more than an hour, it pollutes up to five times more than when the engine's warm.
-A ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water.
-Recycling 1 aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television for 3 hours! (I've told you this one before but I still like it!--and this is based off of the tube-type ones that use more electricity!)
-That recycling symbol we all know and love? It's only about 40 years old! Y'see, a US paper company wanted a symbol to communicate its products’ recycled content to customers. The design competition they held was won by Gary Anderson, a young graphic designer from the University of Southern California. His entry, based on the Mobius strip (a shape with only one side and no end) is now universally recognized as the symbol for recycling.
-I took a quiz about my eco anxiety level and one question was about what you would do if you won the lottery. amongst other things, this is me "pay off your debts and use the rest to install solar panels, backyard windmills, geothermal heating and a graywater system in your existing house." man, would I love that!!!
-these people are counting environmental contributers who buy their shirts, and your shirt is uniquely printed with your number. I think that's kind of cool. also, these guys plant a tree for each shirt purchased. wow!
I'm also really enjoying treehugger. If you want to know about greening your home, your baby, your car, your cleaning, your pretty much anything, it's damn informative. I have also been subscribing to thegreenguide.com's newsletter.
and finally. high five, senator inhofe. he's been named heartless by the green guide, and I figure you all already heard what he did, but if not, check it out. thank you ever-so-muchly for propagating the idea that Oklahoman are oil-loving idiots. I kindly express my gratitude. yeesh.
thanks for reading my long and rambling post. hope you learned something. that was my goal this tax day.
3 comments:
I hate to admit this...but my husband actually bought the Inhofe propaganda until he met me! Scary. Now he's studying up on sustainable building (i.e. how can we make our eventual dream house as "green" as possible?!) - so you are right - every little bit counts. And you never know who might be influenced by you.
Here are a few tips on how to be greener and live a more sustainable life!
1. Live in urban areas and avoid living in new subdivisions or the suburbs to reduce urban sprawl. (Unless it is close to your school or work)
2. Use a human-powered mower, not a gas-powered one, to reduce air pollution and energy use.
3. Use a rain barrel to collect water for your garden, showers, and toilets.
4. Whenever possible, purchase used furniture and household items and fix them up.
5. Try to repair your possessions rather than discarding them and buying new merchandise.
6. Use high levels of insulation for walls, foundation and roof.
7. Seal up house tightly with a continuous vapor barrier and an air barrier. Use super efficient furnaces and A/C equipment.
8. Use natural ventilation to cool the house; supplement with a whole house fan instead of air conditioning.
9. Replace old furnaces with a super efficient new furnace. In an older home, this may pay for itself in five years or less.
10. Use efficient appliances: the refrigerator uses one-third of household electricity; dehumidifiers also use a lot of electricity.
11. Tune-up, service and clean the furnace and air conditioner regularly. This is also good for indoor air quality.
12. Use non-toxic household cleaners from 7th generation or Green Works.
13. Use an electric range. A gas range is better from a global energy standpoint, but it must be direct vented to the outside in order to avoid contaminating the air with combustion by-products.
14. Use recycled plastic lumber for outside projects such as decks instead of wood. This plastic lasts forever, and does not need to be painted or stained.
15. Install a metal roof instead of asphalt shingles.
16. Buy carpet from Flor, and recycle your old carpet with them too. Alternatively, refinish your hardwood floors instead of covering them up with carpet.
17. Use a rag or hand towel instead of napkins or paper towels. Reusing items instead of using disposable items is usually a better thing for the environment. Reduce the need to cut down trees, the power needed to turn them into napkins, and the space in the landfill once you throw them away.
18. Do not print. Read it on the computer instead of on paper.
19. Use CFC light bulbs. If your light bulb burns out, replace it with a Compact Fluorescent. They are more expensive, but if you just replace them one at a time, it does not cost much, and the energy savings is great. And as they last longer, over the long run, you will save money.
20. Talk to your kids/family about the environment. Just a 5-minute conversation every now and then about fuel consumption, greenhouse emissions, wasting food and trash, energy consumption, preserving habitats … this can help educate your children about the issues that will be affecting them tomorrow.
21. Reuse printed-paper. If you have non-sensitive documents that have been printed out, but are no longer needed, try marking the printed side, and using the clean side for non-official printing. In fact, if you can get your office to do this, you will save tons of paper a year.
22. Turn down your water heater. Most people have their water heater's thermostat turned up too high, wasting energy. Turn it down to 130 degrees, saving energy but still hot enough to kill bacteria.
23. Hang out your clothes. If it is a nice sunny day, hanging clothes only takes a few minutes, and you are using solar power instead of electricity to do the job. It also makes your clothes last longer.
24. Get a low-flow shower head. Stop at the hardware store on your way home, and get a low-flow shower head. Takes a few minutes to install, and it will save gallons of water a day. .
25. Participate or organize a clean up. Sure, this will take a little more of your time, but if you do not have much to do on the weekends, this can be tremendously fun and fulfilling. Clean up a beach, a street, a park, a lake or a river.
26. Avoid fast food. Instead, eat at home or at a sit-down restaurant. Fast food restaurants are one of the worst polluters of the environment, both in the massive amounts of beef they must raise, in the wasted packaging, and in the energy they use in so many ways. And they are tremendously unhealthy.
27. Use acrylic paint. Oil-based paints are toxic and create a lot of pollution during manufacturing. Instead, if you are going to buy paint, buy acrylic.
28. Wash clothes in cold water. Hot water is unnecessary for most clothes. When needed, use warm water.
29. Fill your toilet tank. Put a plastic bottle or two, filled with water and rocks, in your tank to reduce the amount of water used in each flush.
30. Buy recycled products. As much as possible, get the recycled version of products you buy.
31. Plant shade trees near your house. It will take awhile before they can make a difference, but shade trees greatly reduce the need to cool a home.
32. Use rechargeable batteries. Instead of throwing your batteries away all the time, reuse rechargeable batteries.
33. Walk instead of driving. You don't have to do this all the time, but walking the short trip to a store, or to lunch from work, or some other short trip like that, can reduce the amount of fuel you use over the long term, and you shed some fat at the same time.
34. Unplug appliances. If you don't use an appliance several times a day, it's better to unplug it, as they often use energy even when turned off
35. Unload your car. Remove excess weight from your car (such as stuff that might be in the trunk) to reduce the amount of fuel you use.
36. Install a water filter. If you buy a lot of bottled water, use your tap instead. Some places need a filter to make tap water taste drinkable, but they do not cost much and they can save money, water, and plastic bottles over time.
37. Use cloth shopping bags. Do not cost much, and can save a lot of paper or plastic.
38. Mend your stuff. Try not to throw stuff away and buy new stuff if the old stuff can be fixed. Torn clothing? Takes a few minutes to sew up.
39. Try and use mass and public transit.
40. Buy durable. Look for long-lasting, well-made products instead of cheap, disposable ones. Use less disposable plates, cups, utensils. Use cloth diapers instead of disposable.
41. Use your oven less. The oven not only uses a lot of energy, it heats up your kitchen, requiring more cooling. Instead, use toaster ovens, crackpots, microwaves, and electric grills when you can. And when you do use your oven, open it less — you lose 25% of the heat every time you open the oven door.
42. Buy an EPA "Energy Star"-rated washing machine—it will cut your water use by 7,000 gallons a year at the same time
43. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth.
44. Buy a dual-flush toilet
45. Buy a $35 power strip and eliminating the energy drain (phantom load) that accounts for 5 to 15 percent of your monthly electricity bill
46. Adjust the thermostat three degrees Fahrenheit up in the winter or down in the summer. This will prevent the release of 2,683 pounds of carbon emissions from your home. Regulate Room Temperature- Reduce energy costs by maintaining heating and cooling systems regularly to ensure efficient function and install a programmable thermostat.
47. Incorporate smart landscaping. Strategically planting trees and shrubs to shade your home can lower surrounding air temperatures during warm summer months by up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit and can reduce wall and roof temperatures by 20 to 40 F, reducing energy costs for cooling and home carbon emissions by 3,952 lbs per year.
48. Be a Green Business Traveler –Using today's technology such as video conferencing, you can save the cost of airfare and hotels too.
Ryan Wegner
UW-Madison School of Business
ryanwegner@gmail.com
um, hi ryan.
thank you for your super long comment. how'd you find my blog? I've actually covered a lot of that, so this means you must be new. welcome!
you are totally right that all those things are good to do. but many people I know rent an apartment and do not have the freedom/desire to replace their appliances with energy star ones, especially because that appliance won't go with them...
also, the vast majority of your suggestions cost money. like re-plumbing your home to use rain barrel water for showers? and while I, personally, am of the mindset that paying now for a greener world tomorrow is totally worth it, I know that's not the norm.
so how about some that will cost you at a max ten dollars, and will save you money overall?
like:
-if it's yellow let it mellow.
-use dryer balls (yes, they're made of scary plastic BUT still seem to be better overall)
-buy a six-pack of those CFLs (not CFCs, those are chlorofluorocarbons and BAD and ozone-hole makerS)
-reuse anything you can--baggies, foil, water bottles
-recycle EVERYTHING possible
-COAST in your car.
-don't speed. your engine is set to have its maximum efficiency below 55 mph. yes, really.
-drink keg beer
-collecting the water while your shower warms up and using it to water your plants
-grow your own veggies and herbs (particularly tomatoes or squash as those don't take as much space)
etc.
again, none of your ideas are wrong, but they're not right for the people who read this blog...
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