Earth Stuff
Apr. 14th, 2008 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenFound this interesting bit: New York's Leaky Water System
***
Earth Day is coming up, April 22. Of course, it's more like Earth Week these days, with all the marches, festivals, concerts, fairs, and the occasional educational event. More and more folks are becoming more aware these days, and that's a good thing. The marketing gets to be a bit much at times though...
***
Got some raspberry and [EDIT:lemon balm Bee Balm] plants from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
harpnfiddle yesterday, and we think some valerian too. Also got pennyroyal and strawberries from Jeni! The strawberries are a funny thing, because I gave her some last year when we had too many of them, then we had to leave most of ours behind when we moved. Now I'm getting some babies back from her :D
***
Might start making up some gift bags this week... the fabric has been sitting staring at me for months, next to the sewing machine... I still have some gift-wrap paper, but I also used to make all sorts of crafty things like decoupage eggs (that can open), Christmas ornaments, etc. So, I have a bunch of fabric still that I wouldn't necessarily want to wear as clothing, but I don't want to just throw away. Hence, the gift bags. My eventual goal is for there to be enough of them at least in the local family circle that people will start using them in addition to or instead of the gift-wrap paper. Some of them got used instead as book bags and stuff, but that's okay -- better than being tossed! And last year my SIL Doris started up saving the larger pieces of wrapping paper for re-use again, as they used to do.
I could probably use some bags to store some stuff in, myself... and a few larger drawstring bags for trash collecting. We picked up quite a bit of stuff on our walk last week, but the plastic trash bags were getting really trashed themselves.
Cloth would mean we'd have to wash them -- mud, dirt or water mostly -- the food content of the trash has been pretty well eaten by critters or washed away by the snowmelt or brooks and rivers. But it was a real bummer only being able to use the trash bags once, for what I thought would be a less rough activity... didn't count on things like L having to climb down the riverbank into the thorn bushes to get the tons of cans that were down there. We don't just fill up the bags and take them to the dump, because some of it can be turned in to pay for the town's official trash bags (helps pay operation overhead), some of it is recyclable, and some is trash. So we have to sort it and stuff, and it would be nice if the bags could survive the sorting process, and then go on to be used at least one more time... so, more cloth bags.
I'm sure I have some durable fabric that would be useful for that... although I suppose if I don't have some I want to use for that, I could re-use some old clothing, like jeans or the outer layer of an old coat or an old bed sheet or something. For the non-sewer, there's always old pillowcases :D I think I'd feel safer picking up broken glass, too, than with a plastic bag...
***
Saw part of a show last night on National Geographic, called the Human Footprint, which did visual presentations of various things the average American consumes, like how many pints of milk in a year, or bread, or potatoes, or fruit. What goes into making disposable diapers, etc. They used actual containers and foodstuffs too, not computerized images, and had some interesting challenges in creating the shots -- like the dump truck that couldn't dump out the 4 tons of potatoes without help from two strong guys and a hand-operated hydraulic jack.
I knew that it takes around 6 bottles of water to create and bottle one bottle of water, and that power plants take a lot of water to run as well (nuclear take more than regular ones), but was still shocked by the amount of water used for one t-shirt. I think it was like 30 gallons! I should go to the Nat'l Geo web site and see if they have something more on that, as I don't remember everything they said about it. Probably the water used for irrigation for growing the cotton, for cleaning and processing the fiber, and cooling at the power plant that provides the energy for the knitting and sewing machines. But, not right now... have things to do today, and besides, their web site is being funky...
I did wonder about their comment that most pants and t-shirts only lasted about three years -- guess it depends on the quality of the clothing and also who's wearing them. Certainly some clothing is so badly made it doesn't make it off the hanger without some wear-and-tear, or through more than a handful of washings. And jeans in general aren't as durable as they used to be -- although they're usually more durable than chinos at least. When we buy t-shirts we usually get Hanes under-tees for L, and for fun tee-tops we only get the heavier ones, which can last for at least a decade.
I was a bit horrified that apparently the average American buys ~48 articles of clothing per year. Now, even taking into account buying fabric for making SCA and some modern clothing, L and I don't buy that much per year. And I know many of my friends don't either... which means some people out there are buying a _lot_ more than 48 items/year. Ick.
***
Yesterday L helped me finish emptying a couple of large boxes from the barn, some of it to be recycled, some to be used in the office or other places in the apartment. The computer books are starting to gather in one spot in the barn so that he can sort through them and see which ones he still needs and which ones will be going to the book trading center at the transfer point. One of the empty boxes got trashed in the move, but the other one we can flatten and save for future use, either by us or friends.
***
Summer is coming. Have to get the stick blinds up. Shade is good. More space in the barn is also good!
***
Speaking of summer... Must make insulated blinds for the south-facing windows in the bedroom! Aaaaaaa! The projects never end! Sigh.
***
Earth Day is coming up, April 22. Of course, it's more like Earth Week these days, with all the marches, festivals, concerts, fairs, and the occasional educational event. More and more folks are becoming more aware these days, and that's a good thing. The marketing gets to be a bit much at times though...
***
Got some raspberry and [EDIT:
harpnfiddle yesterday, and we think some valerian too. Also got pennyroyal and strawberries from Jeni! The strawberries are a funny thing, because I gave her some last year when we had too many of them, then we had to leave most of ours behind when we moved. Now I'm getting some babies back from her :D***
Might start making up some gift bags this week... the fabric has been sitting staring at me for months, next to the sewing machine... I still have some gift-wrap paper, but I also used to make all sorts of crafty things like decoupage eggs (that can open), Christmas ornaments, etc. So, I have a bunch of fabric still that I wouldn't necessarily want to wear as clothing, but I don't want to just throw away. Hence, the gift bags. My eventual goal is for there to be enough of them at least in the local family circle that people will start using them in addition to or instead of the gift-wrap paper. Some of them got used instead as book bags and stuff, but that's okay -- better than being tossed! And last year my SIL Doris started up saving the larger pieces of wrapping paper for re-use again, as they used to do.
I could probably use some bags to store some stuff in, myself... and a few larger drawstring bags for trash collecting. We picked up quite a bit of stuff on our walk last week, but the plastic trash bags were getting really trashed themselves.
Cloth would mean we'd have to wash them -- mud, dirt or water mostly -- the food content of the trash has been pretty well eaten by critters or washed away by the snowmelt or brooks and rivers. But it was a real bummer only being able to use the trash bags once, for what I thought would be a less rough activity... didn't count on things like L having to climb down the riverbank into the thorn bushes to get the tons of cans that were down there. We don't just fill up the bags and take them to the dump, because some of it can be turned in to pay for the town's official trash bags (helps pay operation overhead), some of it is recyclable, and some is trash. So we have to sort it and stuff, and it would be nice if the bags could survive the sorting process, and then go on to be used at least one more time... so, more cloth bags.
I'm sure I have some durable fabric that would be useful for that... although I suppose if I don't have some I want to use for that, I could re-use some old clothing, like jeans or the outer layer of an old coat or an old bed sheet or something. For the non-sewer, there's always old pillowcases :D I think I'd feel safer picking up broken glass, too, than with a plastic bag...
***
Saw part of a show last night on National Geographic, called the Human Footprint, which did visual presentations of various things the average American consumes, like how many pints of milk in a year, or bread, or potatoes, or fruit. What goes into making disposable diapers, etc. They used actual containers and foodstuffs too, not computerized images, and had some interesting challenges in creating the shots -- like the dump truck that couldn't dump out the 4 tons of potatoes without help from two strong guys and a hand-operated hydraulic jack.
I knew that it takes around 6 bottles of water to create and bottle one bottle of water, and that power plants take a lot of water to run as well (nuclear take more than regular ones), but was still shocked by the amount of water used for one t-shirt. I think it was like 30 gallons! I should go to the Nat'l Geo web site and see if they have something more on that, as I don't remember everything they said about it. Probably the water used for irrigation for growing the cotton, for cleaning and processing the fiber, and cooling at the power plant that provides the energy for the knitting and sewing machines. But, not right now... have things to do today, and besides, their web site is being funky...
I did wonder about their comment that most pants and t-shirts only lasted about three years -- guess it depends on the quality of the clothing and also who's wearing them. Certainly some clothing is so badly made it doesn't make it off the hanger without some wear-and-tear, or through more than a handful of washings. And jeans in general aren't as durable as they used to be -- although they're usually more durable than chinos at least. When we buy t-shirts we usually get Hanes under-tees for L, and for fun tee-tops we only get the heavier ones, which can last for at least a decade.
I was a bit horrified that apparently the average American buys ~48 articles of clothing per year. Now, even taking into account buying fabric for making SCA and some modern clothing, L and I don't buy that much per year. And I know many of my friends don't either... which means some people out there are buying a _lot_ more than 48 items/year. Ick.
***
Yesterday L helped me finish emptying a couple of large boxes from the barn, some of it to be recycled, some to be used in the office or other places in the apartment. The computer books are starting to gather in one spot in the barn so that he can sort through them and see which ones he still needs and which ones will be going to the book trading center at the transfer point. One of the empty boxes got trashed in the move, but the other one we can flatten and save for future use, either by us or friends.
***
Summer is coming. Have to get the stick blinds up. Shade is good. More space in the barn is also good!
***
Speaking of summer... Must make insulated blinds for the south-facing windows in the bedroom! Aaaaaaa! The projects never end! Sigh.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 03:00 pm (UTC)Those are the people who make up for *you*, and to a much lesser extent, me.
Cripes, people, WHY do you need that many washing machines? And stop drinking soda!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 08:12 pm (UTC)?? I think I missed the washing machine part. Do some people have more than one?
I agree on the soda mostly (there's a local-ish ginger beer that comes in glass bottles I have on occasion). The plastic bottles and the plastic-lined aluminium cans aren't just water-wasters, they're health hazards. Not that I can get L to stop... has to be his choice. But at least he's cut down a whole lot!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 09:13 pm (UTC)Hm, let's see... I used my mom's from childhood through part of college. Then the laundromat for a while... then back to the house (rental -- folks had moved). Then we bought the house in Holyoke but the old machine there still worked so we didn't replace it. Now we are in the farm apartment, which has a newer washer because in-laws Warren and Susan bought it a few years back but left it here because their new home had the same model in it. Wow... I feel so.... co-dependent or something...
no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 03:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 08:07 pm (UTC)Hm, need to find an event we'll both be at, so I can pick up some Costmary/Alecost from you as well, if it's doing well that is. Rest of April is out for us, but I'll check my May/June schedule...
no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 08:04 pm (UTC)I do find that how many social functions one has to attend has an effect as well -- I had to buy new shoes for a wedding last year. Fortunately, since I don't go to many fancy functions, I'll be able to wear the same pair to the next couple of weddings :D
The _true_ ugly overshoppers are people like Trump or Spears. Appearances or not, folks like them go over the top. And of the two of them, I suspect Spears or folks like her are worse, because Trump tends to buy top quality business clothing of a more classic cut, not trendy stuff that'll be out of style in a few weeks.
Plantage
Date: 2008-04-14 08:49 pm (UTC)When I get the rest of the leaves off the garden, would you like some plants??huh?huh? (Please take some!)
Re: t-shirt and 30 gals of water:
Actually, that sounds about right. Maybe even not quite enough. When I starting dyeing scarves, I was shocked at how much water was required to get the excess dye out. It was one of the factors that encouraged me to give up that particular endeavor...too much water! And a silk scarf doesn't weigh anywhere NEAR a t-shirt!
Re: Plantage
Date: 2008-04-14 09:23 pm (UTC)I'm not sure yet what all has survived the winter up here, and we'll be expanding the garden too. Plus I'm re-doing one of the old beds (sun/shade) for Marian this year. L took out a bunch of dead stuff last year and then we have to do something about the thorny stuff, but then I can put in a bunch of new stuff. The only request she's made is for Lily-of-the-Valley, which I'll be getting some from
Are you coming up Sunday to the 'town meeting' thing?
Re: Plantage
Date: 2008-04-15 02:18 am (UTC)Re: Plantage
Date: 2008-04-15 10:02 am (UTC)Sunday: Very possibly. (I keep thinking I have something I have to do on Sunday, but maybe not.) Would you like me to bring up some plants for you?
My lemon balm is bright green.
I will probably be out in the garden on Saturday, cleaning it off. I'll know then exactly what I have and can email you a list. Or I can just dig stuff up and appear! :)
Re: Plantage
Date: 2008-04-15 06:04 pm (UTC)And yes, I think you could just show up with plants :D You might even have some other takers on Sunday.
Re: Plantage
Date: 2008-04-15 02:20 am (UTC)I tried growing it here and it did well but then I put it into a pot thinking I'd be moving at some point and it didn't survive the winter. *sniff*
Re: Plantage
Date: 2008-04-15 10:06 am (UTC)Clothes
Date: 2008-04-15 02:17 am (UTC)One way to reduce your impact is to buy second-hand clothes. I shop at Salvation Army or Savers to name 2 stores in my area. There are other options. I get a lot of my jeans, sweaters, blouses, etc from them. Especially wool and silk items. Second-hand they are affordable (and findable). I even found a London Fog coat, not that I've worn it yet. Now I'm on the look-out for a wool peacoat.
Re: Clothes
Date: 2008-04-15 06:10 pm (UTC)