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Old 03-25-2008, 03:41 PM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,966,706 times
Reputation: 9586

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Marlow wrote ( in black ):

1. Recycle everything possible. We do this too.
2. Compost vegetable and yard waste. We do this too.
3. Have a vegetable garden and go to the local Farmer's Market. We shop at local farmers market, but we have no garden.
4. Switching to CF bulbs (although I'm worried about the mercury....). We have swithched a few bulbs
5. Buy certified organic products when possible/feasible. We do this consistently
6. Eat very little meat. We eat no meat, fish, fowl, or eggs for health reasons
7. Ditched the minivan for a Hyundai Elantra--better gas mileage and emissions. My car only gets 20mpg, but I only drive 80 miles a week. We do everything else with my wifes VW Golf
8. My husband makes things out of found materials--wooden pallets, bamboo. I'm too lazy to do this!
9. Take cloth bags to grocery store--trying to get in the habit of keeping some in the car. We do this consistently
10. Planting trees at my daughter's school. I planted trees as my livelihood 35 years ago, but none recently

11. During the winter, we keep the thermostat set @ 68 in the main rooms and 60 in the bedrooms, and wear sweatshirts or vests
12. We have solar panels on our roof which supplies about 30% of our hot water
13. We have a solarium which supplies alot of FREE heat in the winter ( on sunny days )
14. For trips to blockbuster, grocery store, haircut, etc I walk most of the time unless I'm buying alot of groceries ( 1.5 miles round trip )
15. We use a swamp cooler instead of an air conditioner ( indoor temp is usually around 75 or less, but does go up to 80 on the really hot days )
16. We do just enough irrigating to keep the HOA off our backs
17. I'm thinking about buying an old fashion push-it-yourself rotary mower this summer

Last edited by CosmicWizard; 03-25-2008 at 03:58 PM..
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Old 03-25-2008, 04:33 PM
 
16,175 posts, read 32,416,669 times
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Love all of the ideas; thank you for posting! I love the recycled dog post!!! We got our dog 3 weeks ago; she is a 7 year old miniature dachsund. We are her third family and she is a doll!

I thought of some more things that we are doing:

Bought and installed programmable thermostats; we keep the heat on low while we are sleeping and away at work in the cooler months, and vice versa for A/C in the summer

Bought and installed low flow toilets

Bought and installed low flow shower heads that make it seem like there is more water pressure

Even though we use cloth bags at the grocery store; when we do get plastic bags from a store we re-use/recycle these by using them for trash bags or take them to the recycle drop off at the store

Installed ceiling fans in all rooms to help the air flow and to use less heat and a/c

We drive fuel efficient cars

We donate to our local Habitat store and we also shop there

It is interesting to me how some of the things that make one green are also thrifty.
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Old 03-26-2008, 03:34 PM
 
Location: CA
2,464 posts, read 6,459,269 times
Reputation: 2641
I know this may sound silly... but I stopped eating beef and I've drastically reduced my meat intake (for me and my family). I think cows, pigs, etc. eat up a massive amount of resources and they put out more pollutants (manure, fertilizer, methane gas, etc) than it's worth. So, to me, being green means eating more plants (that consume CO2 and put out O) and less meat.
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Old 03-26-2008, 03:47 PM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,966,706 times
Reputation: 9586
Default Green food in = green actions out!

mommabear2

What you're doing doesnt seem silly to me. In fact, I just gave your reputation a boost for being so practical! A pound of vegetables or grains requires far less resources to produce than a pound of meat. What you're doing is very practical. It also makes sense that anyone aspiring to a truly green consciousness would eat more green foods.

Green food in = green actions out!
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Old 03-26-2008, 03:55 PM
 
Location: CA
2,464 posts, read 6,459,269 times
Reputation: 2641
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewAgeRedneck View Post
mommabear2

What you're doing doesnt seem silly to me. In fact, I just gave your reputation a boost for being so practical! A pound of vegetables or grains requires far less resources to produce than a pound of meat. What you're doing is very practical. It also makes sense that anyone aspiring to a truly green consciousness would eat more green foods.

Green food in = green actions out!
Thanks! It seems so costly when one looks at what these animals go through and what pollutants they emit while alive (not to mention what they are fed).
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Old 03-26-2008, 06:25 PM
 
Location: Ohio
125 posts, read 737,987 times
Reputation: 81
Default Go Green!

We've just switched out our whole home to natural products; everything from cleaners to laundry aids, bath and body products, deodorants and makeup - everything natural, no chemicals and no toxins. And because the products are concentrated, the containers use less plastic. PM me on how you can take advantage of a great program and switch out your home too!
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Old 03-26-2008, 07:05 PM
 
Location: Camberville
15,837 posts, read 21,372,529 times
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I live in a dorm so that makes my challenges a bit different.

-I work on the dining committee and have helped get cage free eggs and locally grown produce in the cafeterias. It's not all the way there yet, but it's close.
-recycle plastic bags and use my own cloth ones
-re-wear clothes and wash on cold water cycle
-buy used books (and it would be nice if I sold them, but I keep them all :P)
-I reuse plastic bottles until they die... and since I drink about 7 Dasani bottles a day, I always have to keep my fridge stocked
-keep my heat low because I'm on the 4th floor and heat rises (and put towels down around windows because they're drafty and old)
-recycle EVERYTHING
-no air conditioning
-don't buy CDs anymore
-research LCA/Life Cycle Assessment of electronics that I use
-don't eat anything I couldn't kill myself
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Old 03-26-2008, 10:48 PM
 
Location: Jax
8,200 posts, read 35,401,448 times
Reputation: 3442
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommabear2 View Post
I know this may sound silly... but I stopped eating beef and I've drastically reduced my meat intake (for me and my family). I think cows, pigs, etc. eat up a massive amount of resources and they put out more pollutants (manure, fertilizer, methane gas, etc) than it's worth. So, to me, being green means eating more plants (that consume CO2 and put out O) and less meat.
Not silly whatsoever!

You're eating low on the food chain . The production of carcass (yeah, I said it ) is incredibly wasteful. Most environmentalists will have to consider taking carcass off the table at some point .
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Old 03-27-2008, 12:21 AM
 
Location: California
4 posts, read 24,252 times
Reputation: 20
I own a vitamin company and we have replaced almost all our plastic vitamin bottles with petroleum free, earth friendly bottles.



They will decompose in 90 days once they hit a landfill.
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Old 03-27-2008, 02:57 PM
 
Location: CA
2,464 posts, read 6,459,269 times
Reputation: 2641
Quote:
Originally Posted by riveree View Post
Not silly whatsoever!

You're eating low on the food chain . The production of carcass (yeah, I said it ) is incredibly wasteful. Most environmentalists will have to consider taking carcass off the table at some point .
I've had people look at me like I'm crazy as if there's no connection between the consumption of meat and the effects on the environment. I can spot campaigns on reducing energy consumption, not throwing electronic devices into the trash, use energy efficient appliances/special bulbs, etc. But virtually nothing on how the mass production of meat damages the environment. To some, cutting out meat is a little radical... but I'm a tree hugger so, I do what I feel I need to do.
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