Community/Environmental Stuff

[helwen]

Beans are coming up, lettuce needs picking again today. Strawberries are coming along, should have a couple to nibble on by the weekend. Got a call from GW yesterday about various stuff, including their garden is doing so well we might be getting some veggies from them later in the summer. We have different types of tomato from him, lady_jade_01 et al, so maybe a little trading might be in the offing.

fitzw found this article on grey water: NY Times Grey Water Article

A (r)evolutionary post from Casaubon's Book: Causabon's Book
It's long and there are some excellent comments (including some clearing up of things she wrote in the post). I haven't read all of it, but overall, thought-provoking.

There are some environmental/energy conservation types online who are doing various challenges, one of them starting tomorrow, going from June 1 - 7:
Crunchy Chicken's Low Impact Week Challenge
(The idea being to try having a lower impact on the environment, even if it's just one thing, for a week)

Sharon Astyk of Casaubon's Book and several others are trying to really lower their energy use, etc. over the next year. They've started a discussion group because a number of people are interested in trying it out. Sharon lives in the country and has been doing this sort of thing for a while, as I think is one of the other people, Miranda. They're shooting for a 90% reduction (from average U.S. consumer figures), by the end of the year's time. But one doesn't have to be trying for 90% to join the group. Even 20% would be good (and very, very easy to attain, with only a little thought -- many of the folks who read my LJ are probably already there).

fitzw and I won't make that 90% goal because of our trips to the farm this year to work on cleaning and improvements, and our SCA travel. But we'll do what we think we can do in other ways. The idea is that if we all cut back on even a few things, everyone will be better off for it, both now and for future generations. I'm going to sign up for the discussion list today.

If you're interested in checking it out, the info is here: Austerity Riot and 90% Reduction Challenge

Warning - these efforts come out of people's discussions and thoughts on peak oil and/or global warming. If you think that it's all a bunch of hooha, then don't bother checking it out.

As I've said before, we can't necessarily prove conclusively that humans cause/contribute global warming, but we can prove that clean air and clean water are healthier than polluted air and water.

Personally, I've gotten a real kick out of being able to water the plants with water from the rain barrel for the past few weeks. Just ran out yesterday, and while I'm hoping for good weather for Boredom War, I'm also hoping a good lot of that rain coming through our area comes down in Holyoke!

Comments

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

I dont think it is hoohaa and I dont know why these red lines are popping up as I type, but I have to plan another way.
We have an 80 mile round trip commute which is not possible to undo, as well as SCA commitments, long distance friendships, no public transit of any form, and so on.

However, we are trying to figure out the balance between getting local foods which require freezing ( must buy bulk ) or factory foods which can be used right away with no storage issues. Bulk grains need to be stored in plastic or frozen.
Bicycles require tubes and tires and oils and products which cannot be locally made, they come from overseas for the most part.
Cars cost more overall to replace with a greener version than to maintain well.

We use dimmers and CF bulbs, but cannot dim the CF and are concerned about the mercury used to make them.

There are all kinds of little things we would love to unplug when not in use, just need to build the habit and re-set what plugs in where to make it happen more.

We do not have the European mindset of purchasing for dinner what will be eaten on any given day, which is both a burden and a blessing. We do not have the local farming infrastructure, in fact, some areas are so "remote" from their foodsources as to be at real risk on any given day.

I'd be happy to fetch my whatever each day, use only that, have no leftover, and need no storage. However, I know that would mean no lunch the next day, no leftover as a side the next night, etc.

Getting one office building to turn off the lights at night would probably do more than 10 of us doing our best to the point of deprivation.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I'm going to hold out as long as possible before putting in the air conditioner, and my new refrigerator will be Energy Star if at all possible. I'm just waiting to see what goes down at work before buying something that expensive....

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely agree on the large buildings turning their lights off at night, etc.

And even with L and I being at home most of the time, the farm is about 70 mi roundtrip, and we have SCA events to attend. Pennsic alone will blow that $1,000 expenses thing in the list.

Believe me, the fridge is staying on (at least it's an Energy Star one)!

And sometimes we still use a light at night for reading -- tired eyes and flickering candles do not make for a good combination.

L has a little maglight in a belt holder though, and sometimes uses it when he just needs to spend a few minutes in another room in the house getting something (like vitamins or tea or whatever from the kitchen) -- uses less energy than turning on the overhead light. CF's major energy use is for ignition, so if you're only going to have the light on for a few minutes, the flashlight or a candle actually do make some sense.

We've definitely made some changes around here, but not to the point of feeling deprived. Then again, we have a different lifestyle from the 'average' American anyway. No big-screen tv, no cable, no Nintendo. Don't care much about the latest in fashion trends. Don't need a new PC every year. Now, I'm not saying everyone should be like us! Not at all.
But if people even just re-thought buying _everything_ they think they want, and bought say 1/3-1/2 less, that would make a difference.

One of my neighbors will sometimes have every light on in their house, including in the basement. The basements on this street each have at least 4 lights in them. When the whole house is lit, they have at least a dozen lights on. That's close to what a whole floor of the office I used to work in at the train station in Hartford. Of course they don't do that every day, but there are people in this country that do.

Many places in our country are definitely not setup for making it easier to tread more lightly, for sure. You don't have public transport in your area, and the public transport in our area is spotty.

I joined the 90% list in part because I want to see what ideas they have that L and I can and are willing to try. I'm also curious as to if they'll succeed, and what their lives will be like as a result of the effort.

Honestly, the only way we could get down to 90% ourselves would be to quit the SCA, and that isn't going to happen.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the work thing!

The Energy Star fridge we got has definitely paid off for us. We got a pretty standard type of fridge - no water or icemaker, and the top and bottom style is less expensive than the side by side style, FWIW. We had no idea just how much energy the old fridge was using until we got the new one... but yeah, we held out until it completely didn't work anymore (food wasn't keeping).

Hey, if you're lucky, they'll put a very slight dent in the side of it while installing it... the Sears guys did and we got a $50 rebate check for the 'damage'.