Are you green?
Environmentally speaking.
I used to be
olive drab, spent a lot of time in the environment, and always used
catholes.
I recycle twice as much as my neighbors, so, I think that I can say that I'm greener than most.
I'm wearing a green shirt today...
I put hippies in recycling machines.
I try constantly to go without, reuse, reduce, & recycle, but the cans/jars bin attracted mice in the garage and I set traps. That probably undoes all the positive effort, but we will be using a big covered waste bin (once we finish using it on another project) to save cans/jars/ and the future mice. So I'm cat-eye green.
Great way to be green is to stop throwing stuff away. Fix it instead. And buy stuff that can be fixed whenever possible.
I just repaired some old stereo speakers by installing new foam surrounds. Saved about 30 pounds from the landfill, saved the pollution associated with manufacturing new speakers in China, and saved a couple hundred bucks.
Am I green? No. But I try.
Great way to be green is to stop throwing stuff away. Fix it instead. And buy stuff that can be fixed whenever possible.
I just repaired some old stereo speakers by installing new foam surrounds. Saved about 30 pounds from the landfill, saved the pollution associated with manufacturing new speakers in China, and saved a couple hundred bucks.
Am I green? No. But I try.
Recently moved from a town that still had a cobbler. We had several pairs of shoes and other leather items repaired or resoled at his shop, and only cost a couple of bucks. He was an old man, though, and is going to die with no apprentice to take over. It's a shame that old skills are going like that. We need
Foxfire books for these times. Author! Author!
I use compact fluorescent bulbs, and I use my pressure washing machine and spin dryer, which uses soooo much less water and electricity. But I throw away too much stuff. Whatever happened to trash compactors?
I recently read a story (sorry, can't remember where) about a guy fighting his garbage bill because he generates -- NO -- garbage. None. I'm thinking, how is this possible?
I bet they could reduce waste drastically by charging by volume. (Or do they--dunno, I live in apartment.)
I recently read a story (sorry, can't remember where) about a guy fighting his garbage bill because he generates -- NO -- garbage. None. I'm thinking, how is this possible?
I put out one bag of trash every three weeks or so, but pay the same as my neighbors that put out five or six barrels every week.
We (HM & I) generate a small carrier bag worth of landfill between us every two weeks - mostly packaging that states it cannot be recylced, and a litter bit of cat litter.
I always take my own bags to go shopping and don't use any extra packaging in store (ie separate bags for fruit & veg, bakery items)
We use energy saving light bulbs and always run a full load if using the dishwasher, turn lights off when leaving rooms and (on my part) keep any heating to an absolute minimum.
I'm not very green, but I do try my best to consider the impact of my actions on the environment on a daily basis. Sometimes it takes someone else to point it out to me (like not running water while I clean my teeth) but I reckon I have the big things nailed.
The Sierra Club has a free
Green Life tip daily email that I think is free for non-members. Knowledge is one commodity that can be reused, recycled, spread over a large area, etc. and it is good. Just don't reduce it!
Perhaps other organizations have a similar service - anyone know?
I used to think two trash pickups a week was a wasteful luxury.
Then we had kids! ;)
We are green in some respects. We recycle most things. My wife is more compulsive about it that I am. (Our town collects clear glass curbside but not brown or green glass, which you have to bring to the township building. I feel it's not worth the effort to drag them over. I willingly recycle newspapers, cardboard boxes, etc., but just don't really bother with toilet paper tubes and such. Mrs. Dallas makes sure it ALL goes in the bag to recycle.)
We've started using cloth bags for groceries--I never liked the little plastic ones much anyway.
I just invested in a Sigg aluminum water bottle. I've tried reusable bottles before, but I never had a plastic one that didn't taste disgusting after some period of time. The Sigg has a great reputation in this respect.
Thanks for all the responses, even the 6 less serious ones. :)
I never really thought about going green, but since the two large windows in my room provide enough light for me during the day, I don't even turn on my overhead light until it's absolutely necessary.
I've started turning off my PC before I go to bed, but I still don't really bother turning off the monitor or my DSL modem (which doesn't even have an off switch). I don't need my printer that much, so it's gonna start stayin' off, and I'm thinkin' about using the speakers that came with my PC. They're totally PC powered via USB...no plug.
As for recycling, I don't even bother. Paper comes from trees, a renewable resource. Water is also a renewable resource. I don't use glass products, for the most part, and my local Wal-mart now has a bin to put used plastic grocery bags in.
My aire conditioner has an energy saver, but it seems useless cuz no matter what the temp is in my room, it always turns back on about 3 minutes after it goes off.
Maybe you could kick off a Green Idea page. Might be interesting to learn what is being done on a world-wide, or at least Cellar-wide, basis. One thing we are all doing is communicating electronically instead of snail-mailing, and in this case I think the benefit of electricity outweighs the pollution from its production. It has to!
Also, sometimes I cut down trees so I can make protest signs.
I'm lazy, and somewhat anti-social, so I don't do very much. This means I consume less and have a lower carbon footprint.
However, to my shame, the entire house is kept at a decent temperature during the day, even though often nobody is there - heating in winter and AC in summer - so that the dog is comfortable.
The dog makes up for it: she shits all over the back yard, so the area is naturally and organically fertilized.
There is a new "eat local" movement and so I am converting to only coffees grown in my hemisphere. I must pass up my favorite New Guinea for something raised in Costa Rica. It will be missing some of the lively acidity of a bean grown in rich volcanic soil. But I'm willing to do my part.
We reuse and recycle and generally only generate about two grocery bags of landfill a week -not too bad for a familly of 5. I hate the light from the fluorescent bulbs so we mostly use regular ones and we keep our house at a comfortable temperature. We grow our own veg in summer -but mostly because it's fun.
Water and paper may be "renewable" , but it takes energy and creates pollution to recycle the water and make the paper. Renewable is not necessary green. Also putting paper into landfill trash instead of recycling increases the amount of land needed for landfill and the time before land used for landfill can be reused. (Obviously not such a big issue if you live in an area where trash is burned or where there is so much ugly countryside that no-one cares if you render it uninhabitable).
I hate taking the children to the bus stop on trash day. I feel like such a garbage nazi because I hate to see people's trash cans filled with compostable garden waste, styrofoam, cardboard boxes etc. because they are too damn lazy or too stupid to care. It's not like we don't have free curbside recyclables pick-up at the same damn time -all they had to do was separate it out...... :mad: (I have yet to go so far as to interfere.....yet....)
Yeah, there are people on our block who never put out any recycling at all.
We have to pay $60 per month for trash pick-up. If we want curbside recycling we have to pay an additional $60/month. When I do recycle, I take it to work.
I've become a plastic bag nazi. I mean fair enough if someone has one or two bags - they've done what I do sometimes, gone in for one thing and remembered other stuff they needed.
But when someone has a trolley full of shopping in 10-15 disposable bags, that is going to the car, then from the car to the house... It just seems such a waste of materials, energy and space in landfill for the sake of a few minutes use. Especially now it is such a hot issue - no-one can plead ignorance, surely? I think supermarkets should issue plastic bags without handles. If the free bags are really inconvenient you'd soon find people were willing to bring their own bags, or pay 10p for a reusable one.
I am not sure if we have recycling service. I dunno. I pay for trash pickup. We try to re-use jars for stuff like paint solvents...I am really good about conserving those because of their high cost. Also, I re-use jars for storing things like change, popcorn, flour, sugar, random crap...you know. I also try and re-use butter/margarine containers for packing lunches. (Until they get melted down by the dishwasher, that is.) Since we make most of the food we eat, the paper bags from flour are usually just tossed...we don't drink pop and we have very little pre-packaged food in our house. I do need to get some of those cloth bags for groceries.
I save the plastic bags to give away vegies from my garden, a-holes won't bring the buckets back. Oh yes I save beer cans, for someone else. Who every great once in awhile helps me in yard.
Aaah..I've worked in the green industry, and my husband is now working in the green industry. Not only do we have to be green..but we have to be green.
I reuse plastic bags for all kinds of things around the house. Usually only once, though.
I give the long skinny plastic bags our newspaper comes in to the neighbors so they can pick up the copious amounts of dog crap in their yard. Oh, and I recycle the papers.
I'm peeing green. Is that bad?
Water and paper may be "renewable" , but it takes energy and creates pollution to recycle the water
Why recycle something nature can renew? Can you even recycle water? I need some explanation here.
Also putting paper into landfill trash instead of recycling increases the amount of land needed for landfill and the time before land used for landfill can be reused.
After reading
[color=blue]this[/color], I would have to agree that recycling paper
is better.
I'm peeing green. Is that bad?
dunno, but CSI tomorrow supposedly has a bunch of people with green blood. stay tuned.
I reuse plastic bags for all kinds of things around the house. Usually only once, though.
That's a good idea.
I put hippies in recycling machines.
Also, sometimes I cut down trees so I can make protest signs.
I'm peeing green. Is that bad?
dunno, but CSI tomorrow supposedly has a bunch of people with green blood. stay tuned.
Don't feed the troll Cloud.
He's not a troll - he's a comic.
he's genuinely contributing to the cellar community, just not necessarily staying entirely on-topic.
Ha, thanks, I'm no troll. Dealt with those fuckers on other forums, I'm glad there's none here... I just have an aversion to hippies. I eat steaks just for the purpose of spiting them. But here, yay Earth!
don't be bigoted. hippies eat steaks, too.
Ha, thanks, I'm no troll. Dealt with those fuckers on other forums, I'm glad there's none here... I just have an aversion to hippies. I eat steaks just for the purpose of spiting them. But here, yay Earth!
Poser.
You were, no doubt, trying to get laid by a hippie chick. I know all about that, trust me.
Poser.
You were, no doubt, trying to get laid by a hippie chick. I know all about that, trust me.
It's true :( She married my best friend.
Yeesh, bad pic of her... But hey, same pose... Think 'hotter version of Tina Faye'
Ok, I actually stopped caring after 2006...
[COLOR="White"](Actually, I never cared, I'll be dead by the time it affects the planet)[/COLOR]
Why recycle something nature can renew? Can you even recycle water? I need some explanation here.
Yes you can recycle water.
Water reuse is a way to turn septic into either drinkable or groundwater for your yard. This is actually great if you have septic inspections because people with these types of systems usually pass because it insures that no septic water seeps into the groundwater and a proper leech fiield.
It doesn't take that much energy, just microbiotic bugs. I think it's fascinating. Of course my husband does this for a living so naturally
I would.
See Fuji systems, the slud*ehammer etc. Water recycling can be done on larger scales with very little energy consumption. That is the way they are designed and their selling point. They can also be used at your business like rest. etc. to clean your grease traps or home. Governments are going to start using the small scale systems to create larger systems for areas that have trouble even getting water, or water that is not potable. They are going to start selling plants to 3rd world areas at a price point (loan) so they will be able to then, sustain themselves.
Here's a water recycler for septic tanks...It's better than a tank oozing with crap. Cleans up your shit...and Tom Cruise's apparently.
http://www.sludgehammer.net/Press/SunsetMagazine/SunsetMagazine.html
Not everyone has great access to potable water. Not like we do here...it's going to become even more scarce for lots of states even in the US and worse...the people who can't afford to even waste it.
Nature can't renew septic water. lol! Silly schmutz. Some of it is full of human disease.
I like their tag line: Nature called. We answered.
Ah ha, the truth is out. You've been hanging around for a year and a half just waiting for a chance to spam for Sludgehammer.:haha:
Seriously though, that sort of thing is going to become critical, as the Ogallala aquifer gets drawn down faster than it can recover.
lol! Silly schmutz.
What do I have to do with anything? I will not endorse your product.
Schmutz:full of questions and no answers.
I don't have a product. I was answering a dumb question.
:p
And please, do not try and endorse that for anyone!! You may refer to the link but don't talk. And every time you do you owe me 10 dollars.
Yes, Bruce...there are lots of reservoirs even in the united states that experience trouble, and only get worse every year. Water shortages are not uncommon...
Why recycle something nature can renew? Can you even recycle water? I need some explanation here.
You're shitting me? You don't even know the basics? I thought you liked all those educational tv programs.
How does nature "renew" water? What do you think happens to the water that goes down your drain? There is not an infinite amount of water sat up in the sky waiting to fall to earth, or buried underground waiting to be pumped up. Oh, you know what, here:
http://www.kidzone.ws/WATER/ Water is finite. it follows a cycle and is used time and time again. Therefore it is recycled, right? Now, do you put all your waste in the back yard for the liquid to evaporate? No you sent it somewhere else to be cleaned and release back into the cycle. Recycling. Water is not a "renewable" resource in the sense that paper is. You don't just grow more. it is recyclable. It's the best example of recycling around. When nature does it. But modern human water use dirties/contaminates it, requiring cleaning that is not as "green" as not dirtying it in the first place.
Don't feed the troll Cloud.
:eek:
I don't believe you just said that! For so many reasons i'm not going to bother listing them.
research is your friend. in sooo many situations.
Wow.
Look who's silly now. I was answering Dingle when it was Drax who said that...
Hey guess what?!?Screw today! I am going to have an early Heineken.
:eek:
I don't believe you just said that! For so many reasons i'm not going to bother listing them.
research is your friend. in sooo many situations.
It's ok, it's the first time I've ever been called a troll.
Well see, I'm a bit surprised that here of all places, a thread that I started actually produced some serious conversation, and I just wanna keep it that way. :)
BTW, Dingle, cute pic. ;)
Mmm.
I think I'm probably like the vast majority of Americans... make it fast and easy, and I'm willing to do it. Buy a hybrid car? Sure! Chuck my paper products into recycling at work? Yup. Use energy efficient light bulbs that last 3,000 times as long as regulars? PLEASE! Buy the stupid little self-pump olive oil sprayer from Pampered Chef so as not to use aeresol cans? Yay!
I don't think I do as well as I could, though. I COULD recycle my trash at home, but I live in an apartment complex where there is no recycling.... so I don't. :( I am an environmental sinner. And it's not because I don't care. It's because I'm lazy.
Yeah, I'm all for saving mother earth, but not if it infringes on my chosen lifestyle in any way.
I'll be dead before it has any effect.
And I have no-one I want to pass this world onto.
But I deplore waste, and will continue to do everything I can as my conscience dictates that is the right way to live.
And my regrets to those who follow that the majority of people did not see things the same way I did.
Ok...so..
I think if each person commits to doing something a little differently each day, even if it is just buying a car that doesn't emit so much toxins, we might have a chance. Even if it is just buying energy saving light-bulbs for their house...
People don't do anything differently until they see how it effects them positively, but if they do just that one thing, it effects everyone positively.
I'm not all nazi about being green. If each person commits to something the collective will reap all those bebnefits amassed together.
I was talking to a friend on video that he brought to an event, and he tried to put me in a corner, trying to paint me with a hypocritical brush because I'm not green about everything. I had to do it back, and embarass him on his own tape because it isn't about doing everything in your life, green. (Impossible right now) It's about doing something. Anything at all.
Don't try to say someone else is a hypocrite about being green, when you are in a new pair of Nikes.
:D
Just one thing is not too much to ask. Maybe it's just one choice to save your grocery bags to use them again....anything.
My narrative is different, I think most conservation you have to think actively about isn't going to do all that much.
Some of it may even be a well-intentioned mistake, exchanging one poison for another. You can change out all your light bulbs only to find that their mercury content will poison your fish, or whatever -- while running an inefficient furnace for another 3 years burns through more energy than all those bulbs put together.
A much greater savings could be have if we'd enact a BTU tax or something like that, because that would encourage uniform changes across the economy. More people would do the math and learn that they could buy that furnace earlier and save more money. What would be really innovative would be to exchange our income tax with a BTU tax. What say you to terrible inflation for a while, in return for no IRS? I'd take that deal.
But in the long run, the biggest gains will still be in continued innovation in all forms of energy usage. Make all furnaces, transport, and appliances more efficient, that's the biggest form of conservation of them all.
Some of it may even be a well-intentioned mistake, exchanging one poison for another.
And some of it isn't. Nay sayer. :D
Conservation is easy to grasp, it isn't hard. Don't buy and waste too much food or crap..That's really easy to grasp and doesn't seem to have any negative impact whatsoever.
If something is running and you aren't using it, turn it off. Easy. No negative impact.
As a corporation,
buying your way out in the form of credits sucks. They already do that. Money gets shifted around and it is paid. I fail to see how it changes anything about the actual pollution and waste.
I thought we were talking about how to be green personally anyway. Keeping up with your furnace works environmentally and practically because you can also poison yourself if you don't. That is one change you can choose to make. Definitely.
A much greater savings could be have if we'd enact a BTU tax or something like that
I like this idea a lot.
Ok...Why? I'll pose that question to both Ut and glatt.
Because if taxes were paid on energy instead of on income, you would see energy prices really go through the roof. Also, goods and services that rely on energy consumption would also skyrocket. But to counterbalance that, you would have no income taxes. In other words, you would have more money in your wallet to pay for all the expensive shit.
Then, since everything is expensive, you would consider ways to reduce those expenses by cutting your energy use. You would get rid of that SUV and buy a Smart car because it would finally occur to you that driving off the road 3 times a year isn't worth the $10K you are paying to do it. You would get rid of your 50 year old furnace (this is me we're talking about now) and buy an energy efficient modern one.
You would adjust your thermostat when you realized that 1 degree equals $25 a day.
Basically it would be a HUGE incentive to stop wasting energy. It would also be a HUGE incentive for alternative fuels to be developed.
UT is right that there would be insane inflation at first, but hopefully that would come down as everyone slowly retools their lives. Meanwhile, you aren't paying any income tax, so you have more money to pay for the huge price increases.
Only drawback I see is that poor people who don't pay much in income tax in the first place will have a really hard time of it. So there would have to be some way to deal with that.
Plus, once everyone has retoooled, the government would still need a tax base, so they would start income taxes again on top of the energy taxes.
So people like me that can't afford all the expensive stuff can finally fall to their natural level and die.
I can imagine that this would never occur in the way it's been stated. I can imagine however, that I would be forced to pay both sets of taxes.
This logic does not work for me. If they cut income taxes to zero..I would still not be able to afford a smart car. And that is just one neccessity I would have of many.
I already conserve and live on next to nothing. My thermostats are usually off. I'm not the person that needs to be taxed here....
I already conserve and live on next to nothing. My thermostats are usually off. I'm not the person that needs to be taxed here....
Good point. Maybe the tax shouldn't kick in until a certain threshold, so frugal people aren't screwed. Your first million BTUs are tax free.
The devil is in the details.
I'm not sure a BTU tax would work in the USA because it could not be evenly applied to the population, but it is appealing. A carrot/stick approach would be more effective. Bicycles and public transportation could be given preferential treatment instead of private vehicles, and definitely the old Victory Garden idea. Can't get much more local than that.
Good point. Maybe the tax shouldn't kick in until a certain threshold, so frugal people aren't screwed. Your first million BTUs are tax free.
The devil is in the details.
But the question was, since I don't think they are ever intending to do away with income taxes, will we be expected to pay both sets of taxes? Income and BTU? I am following the logic of the United States here.....
:D
I'm just saying, IF they sold the BTU tax on the basis of doing away with the wage tax. Which would be a good way to do it.
Because, to me, taxes on consumption are better than just taxes on wage. We should tax what people consume, not what they produce.
Excellent point! UT!
Of course I am already taxed for what I consume when I go to the grocery store and a variety of other places. Saaaales tax. Can we do away with that too then? That would be Awesome (notice the big A).
Cicero, you need to come live with us in the stronghold that is New Hampshire.... no sales tax... ;)
(It sounds cool until you realize that our property taxes are astronomical because they've got to make up the difference somewhere.)
OR you could come live with us in the stronghold that is Texas--high sales tax (but no sales tax on food and basic necessities), no state income tax.
(It sounds cool because it is cool. I like our system.)
OR you could come live with us in the stronghold that is Texas--high sales tax (but no sales tax on food and basic necessities), no state income tax.
(It sounds cool because it is cool. I like our system.)
Right. Why do you think the Bush families and other pols claim it as home?
I think you have already mentioned that the money has to come from somewhere. So someone will be paying the same - or more - somewhere down the line.
And if those people are the big consumers, they are likely the big spenders, and they won't like it.
The people I know who rant (and rant and rant) about the congestion charge in London are those who have the most money. They talk about "rights" to drive a car in London, and how congestion charging has killed the capital. No word of the fact that thet really just want to drive 6 miles, sitting in traffic, polluting the atmosphere when it would be better for everyone apart from them if they used public transport.
People won't take a long term view, or a community view as long as there is something left to use up. If it's there, people feel entitled to it and sod the consequences. And there is the seductive excuse of, "why should I do x if my neighbour doesn't do y?" Why shouldn't I use disposable carrier bags when other people drive SUVs? Why should I switch the water off when I clean my teeth when footballers drive Ferraris? Because it has to start somewhere.
Sorry, am sad and bitter tonight.
Yea...well I was talking about hope and personal responsibility, when someone came up with a new tax to solve the problems on me. Welcome to my bitter world!! Bwuahahaaaa!
;)
Clodfobble. Texas has sales tax on food. ??? At least, it does when I go to the grocery store.
and I'm not green, I'm pink, dammit! I'm a pinkperson!
Lots of things at the grocery store don't qualify, like prepped food from the deli, and alcohol, and cosmetics, etc. You will have sales tax on your final bill, but if you do the math it won't add up to the full amount it should be. If your grocery store has computer monitors at the checkout, it should be marked somewhere on the screen whether each item is taxed or not as it gets scanned.
okay, you're right. a little net research says "bread and milk" aren't taxed. How odd--I never noticed. I will be more aware henceforth!
I was thinking about this on a long drive back from LA to Phoenix.
I think the future of both energy and clean water is micro-production. Small production plants in every home, solar or other clean technologies, and rainwater/condensation traps on roofs, cisterns to store freshwater from the rainy seasons.
This acute supply problems in areas like LA, where I live, would be alleviated if 20 million people, 5 million households meant 5 million small power production plants, and 5 million small water collection sites.
We're seeing an epochal transition away from the industrial mindset, where the goal was consolidation of production in every area, to ... I dunno. No good name for it yet.
Also, I'm pretty drunk, so I may come back online tomorrow morning and clarify.
I like the distributed production idea. Look what's happening in Alaska right now, an avalanche took out the high tension lines that connect the city to its hydropower sources. They are screwed. Distributed production makes you less reliant on one power source. It reduces the impact on the population from monopoly, war, natural disaster, and terrorism. It makes people more directly responsible for themselves which is an invaluable psychological good.
My level of green is probably better than most Americans, but not great. We recycle. We use firewood from tree falls on our property for most of our heating needs. This is almost carbon neutral except for a small amount of chainsaw and vehicle gas used to bring it in. Our back-up heat source during serious cold snaps is wood pellets which I have to purchase. I live too far from work and drive an AWD out of necessity, for where I live. I'm finally getting 30mpg now that the engine is broken in. I'd buy a higher gas mileage AWD vehicle next time if available.
A BTU tax seems like a smart way to go as long as income is no longer taxed.
For dense populations,
cogeneration.
Yeppers xo! You can also convert energy produced from your greenhouse, into heating or cooling in your main house. I haven't had my own house to try it yet...But the non-profit I used to work for used to give away this conversion package (greenhouse etc.)
Not only that, you get to eat the awesome food produced in the greenhouse...
I hadn't seen that setup, do you have a link, or a name for the package?
Here is an article or website on it...but this can be used if the greenhouse is not part of the structure and merely attached. It requires solar cells etc.
http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/attached_solar_greenhouse.htm
Here is a diagram but is not exactly what I'm talking about, but includes the basic idea.
[ATTACH]17815[/ATTACH]
Oops..I accidently posted cloud's photo instead of the cheesy diagram the first time around.......lol!
You can attach solar to an attached greenhouse and get the same effect, but I can't find the info. I was looking for on CO2 conversion and it isn't on the non-prof. web-site. Batting zero this morning. I would love to give you the web address for said, non-profit so you can get more info, but I need to mantain at least a little cellar and internet anonymity so pm me if you really want it! They do have docs. on the conversion and love to talk about it so you may contact them (e-mail or call) if you want their specs. and more information about the particulars...These packages are not for sale- it is a non-profit...there is no catchy name for the greenhouse and the conversion that I know of...but e-mail them if you are interested. I can't find the particular conversion on the internet......Earlier I found a decent patent for this conversion and lost it. I didn't know it was so "obscure". I am getting pissed at the googly this morning.
That actually pisses me off that the information about these types of conversions are being mudied with "greenhouse effect" panic on the internet, when you are looking for the legitimate information on greenhouse conversions to help sustain. :headshake
We made a big leap forward on "greening" the house the past week. Radiant barrier, solar water heater, and polarized films on the windows. It was a special deal with a company where they figure out exactly what the energy savings are going to be for your house, and then finance the cost so that you're breaking even until it's paid for itself.
There were some interesting parts of the process. The solar water heater has these two very large black panels that go up on the roof, and are quite visible from the street. I had mentioned that our HOA might have a problem with that, though they've never been dicks about anything in the past, and he said actually, they can't legally have a problem with it. He handed me a copy of a federal statute that says any green energy improvements to a property are automatically exempt from any HOA rules, as long as they are professionally installed and maintained. I didn't know that. Also, because we obviously get more solar usage during the day, it's more efficient for us now if we are able to run the laundry and dishwasher earlier rather than late in the evening. I'm working on adjusting the schedule so that can happen, at least during the cold months.
I use a stainless steel water bottle, but mainly because there is a water cooler in my office and it doesn't spill like the plastic 7-11 Domokun cup that I usually use.
I buy gasoline with ethanol in it because there is only one gas station between my house and work and that's what they sell.
I recycle paper, plastic, and metals because it's in my lease that I have to.
I use canvas bags for shopping because they hold more, don't break, and I have to carry my groceries a very long distance from the parking lot. Fewer bags = fewer trips.
So, yeah. I'm green.
I was sort of surprised a few years ago when our pick-up service changed the sorting
of paper, cans, plastic, etc of the re-cycling system over to an "all-one bin", except for glass.
I can see that our household is now recycling more than half of our trash,
whereas before it was barely a quarter.
This without having to give any thought to it - except to put the styrofoam into the trash.
Styrofoam is frustrating because of it's bulk in the trash,
and the only recycling place for it will only take large blocks...
peanuts and other bits and pieces are rejected.
Oregon gas contains ethanol during the winter, so we have little to no choice.
Aluminum cans and plastic "water" bottles have deposits so they go back to the store,
and the "midnight stalkers" manage to pick or dismantle anything made of metal that can be carried away, :eyebrow:
I've developed a green conscience, which I find annoying.
I don't have o.c.d, but I imagine it's what o.c.d. feels like when trying to determine what is recyclable,or if I feel too lazy to rise out the container, but I HAVE to.
I imagine that most people find pleasure, and self satisfaction in recycling. I do not. I don't feel this is normal. I think I should feel self congratulatory on my way to the recycle bin.I don't. I wonder if there is anything in my garbage that should have been there. Like those little plastic tops off the water bottles.The inside packages of cereal boxes, handi wrap, and the list goes on and on.
Fortunately, I have a short attention span. :)
green, green, my yew is green
greenest damn yew, that you've ever seen
red, red, its berries are red
squish 'em, don't eat 'em
or you will get dead
When it's wet, how the bark looks brown
When it's dried, now the bark still looks brown
green, green, my yew is green
greenest damn yew, that you've ever seen
red, red, its berries are red
squish 'em, don't eat 'em
or you will get dead
When it's wet, how the bark looks brown
When it's dried, now the bark still looks brown
I doubt most people will get this.... :lol2:
Well maybe Lamp will... ;)
I have a green ball...
I doubt most people will get this.... :lol2:
Well maybe Lamp will... ;)
The old fogies...
The old fogies...
This is a new page...Errrr, what were we talking about, again ????
I didn't get it.
1967 radio hit
I went on a bit of a rant the other day at work. I had an "Organic Fair Trade" coffee beverage from the hippie aisle at my grocery store. It was in one of those tetrapak cartons. I was complaining that anything I buy in the hippie aisle should be in recyclable packaging. I eventually turned the thing over and it assured me that it was recyclable, and that I should visit a website to learn more.
Ooh! Recyclable! Cool!
http://www.recyclecartons.com/
I have to go to either Erie or Haverford.
Yeah. Sure.
Straight in the trash.
Via your link, the recycling in Oregon directly superimposes on the Democratic voting districts :rolleyes:
I went on a bit of a rant the other day at work. I had an "Organic Fair Trade" coffee beverage from the hippie aisle at my grocery store. It was in one of those tetrapak cartons. I was complaining that anything I buy in the hippie aisle should be in recyclable packaging. I eventually turned the thing over and it assured me that it was recyclable, and that I should visit a website to learn more.
Ooh! Recyclable! Cool!
http://www.recyclecartons.com/
I have to go to either Erie or Haverford.
Yeah. Sure.
Straight in the trash.
Greenwashing.
I didn't get it.
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Greenwashing.
Not really. They're just getting started. Packaging like that would have to be handled differently from the other recyclables, so the various entities that handle recycling for individual municipalities will have to support it. It's too bad that PA only has two, but looking up a few other states (MA, CT) finds much more support.
DC does, so that's cool. I never would have suspected that that type of container could be recycled. Unfortunately, my condo's recycling is not handled by the city, so I'm not 100% certain that I can do it, without saving them up to drop in my parents' recycling.
I'm sure I've mentioned this before. Drax (the Destroyer) is green:
Although I'm a froggie, I won't be green until the day I die. From there and through some decomposition stages, maybe...