A test for greeness. (solar panels, recycle, green home, organics)

[Gunluvver2]

I am just curious about how different people define a "green" activity. I am going to list a number of activities. Using a scale of 1 to ten with 1 being something that is absolutely the worst thing to do to be green and 10 as the best please rate them.
1. Driving an SUV to your job solo. ..............................
2. Car pooling in an SUV with 4 passengers....................
3. Driving a Hybrid to work solo...................................
4. Stopping at McDonald's for a $1.65 coffee.................
5. Stopping at Starbucks for a $4.00 latte....................
6. Switching all light bulbs to new low wattage type.......
7. Wearing wool socks............................................. .
8. Wear a sweater........................................... ........
9. Turn thermostat down five degrees in winter.............
10. Turn thermostat up five degrees in summer............
11. Ride a scooter to work.........................................
12. Ride your motorcycle to work................................
13. Ride a bicycle to work..........................................
14. Ride your Harley to work.......................................
15. Dry clothes on a clothes line..................................
16. Use a gas clothes dryer........................................
17. Use an electric clothes dryer.................................
18. Wash dishes by hand and dry with a towel...............
19. Use an electric dishwasher....................................
20. Wood burning fireplace.........................................
21. Use a wood burning stove.....................................
22. Use electric heat.............................................. ...
23. Use Natural Gas for heating...................................
24. Passive solar heating........................................... .
25. Plant trees for summer shade.................................
26. Recycle and separate all trash................................
27. Plant a garden............................................ .........
28. Can garden produce........................................... ..
29. Buy from local farmer's markets..............................
30. Keep a deep freeze............................................ ..

A short description of your lifestyle and work might be interesting also.

GL2

[Xpat]

Eating meat - massive expenditures of water and fuel to produce plus much pollution from animal farms.
Not eating meat - minimal use of water and fuel to produce

[HSVbulldawg]

I had a gas efficient car, and when gas prices were at their highest I actually sold it and bought a (used) SUV (got the one I've wanted for a long time that was always too expensive before). If you look at the overall transaction though, my SUV purchase resulted in a lower consumption of gas in our society. I say this because 1. I sold my gas efficient car to someone who drives a whole lot more than me 2. the person who traded in the SUV probably drove a lot more than me too. I have a very short drive to work (I don't drive much at all, much less than 10k a year, not sure how much less) so I don't purchase that much gas no matter what.

Basically the gas inefficient car is now being used by someone who doesn't drive that much and the gas efficient car is now being used by someone who drives a lot. Overall the transaction resulted in the same amount of driving per person but less gas consumption.

Also, I purchased the SUV with a plan to (hopefully) buy and remodel a house and also get used furniture from local thrift shops and garage sales. Having an affordable SUV will enable me to carry out those activities.

I posted all of that because I think you have to look at an overall picture versus an individual activity. I drive an SUV to work solo, but I don't think that in and of itself is not "green" (wise use of resources). I also think that people tend to ignore various other green goals by focusing so much on energy consumption. You can use little energy but still contribute towards releasing tons of toxic chemicals into our environment. You can garden at home, but saturate the garden in chemicals that may or may not be good for your health, and I don't think that's a good move in terms of keeping our environment clean.

I would have to say activities that release fewer toxins would rate higher on a green list if I was preparing one.

[SCGranny]

If I'd'a known there was gonna be a test, I'd'a studied!

How about this? Growing and canning your own organic vegetables, raising your own meat (no hormones, free range, multi-use) while hunting/butchering extra meat. Having a compost heap that recycles all household organics including grass cuttings, leaves, and horse poop. Then there's heating the house with propane (with a woodstove backup, that can heat the whole house for 12 hours on four pounds of wood and is so efficient that there is very little smoke coming out of the chimney), walking to work, and only going shopping every two weeks. Not to mention owning two vehicles - one for interior comfort in the winter, one a pickup truck for serious hauling - both with an average 27 mpg, and both with a built-in longevity factor (I will have to put bullets in their radiators to kill them!).

Everyone's different, as HSVbulldawg pointed out. Some people live in $250,000 "green homes", where they might see a return on their investment in 20 years - by which time their batteries will have degraded and been replaced several times, and their water and cooling/heating sytems and solar panels will have become obsolete and needed replacement as well. Meanwhile their 'new' low wattage lightbulbs are not being accepted at landfills because of their high poison content - so people are bagging them and throwing them away 'secretly' anyway. Others live in McMansions that have a longevity of maybe 15 years if they are lucky... then they have to either buy or build again (another waste of resources). The constant replacement of "cheap" goods with built-in obsolescence is another high green-cost factor that no one thinks about. Buying expensive and poorly constructed 'hybrids' and ending up costing both themselves and the environment more when they are discarded or replaced. Some folks buy high-end "organic foods" whose 'organic' certification and inspection varies from state to state and even grocery store to grocery store, not really knowing if the food came from organic seed or feed, or was raised organically, thereby promulgating potentially inefficient and possibly inferior growing habits. Then there are the folks who go shopping every day after work because it is more time and fuel efficient - only to buy much more every day and cause more delivery trucks to be on the road.

It's all a matter of perspective... and everyone including me can justify their own lifestyles.

[KarenBo]

Sticking with your list...

Riding a scooter or motorcycle is more fuel efficient than an SUV or car, but I'm not sure if its better than car pooling. Riding a bicycle is green, but not necessarily feasible for everyone.

As for dishwashing, I've heard that the energy efficient dishwashers use less water than handwashing but then again I don't know who said it so I can't vouch for its credibility.

Not sure what the difference would be for the coffees - I think that Starbuck's uses only fair trade but I'm not sure.

Solar heat would be the most green but I have no idea where the others line up, since it really depends on the size of the house, the efficiency of it, insulation, etc.

Overall, I guess there is no hard and fast rule. I just try to use less, and recycle whatever I can.