What are you doing to Go Green? (pump, costs, better)

[JDTD]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

Here's an excerpt from bicycleuniverse.info that pretty much answers your question:

Of course, we can't just stop eating, but we can definitely choose what we eat, and here's the kicker: meat requires much more fossil fuel to produce than vegetables and grains. How much more? About 145 times more for beef than for potatoes.1 The reason for this is simple: Cattle consume fourteen times more grain than they produce as meat. They're food factories in reverse. So it takes a lot more water, land, and of course, energy to produce that meat. The energy goes to growing all that grain, most of which is then wasted by feeding it to cattle. That's why over 80% of the grain grown in this country is eaten by livestock, not people. So in short, the more meat you eat, the more gas you waste.

David Pimentel of Cornell University calculates that it takes nearly twice as much fossil energy to produce a typical American diet than a pure vegetarian diet. This works out to about an extra 150 gallons of fossil fuels per year for a meat-eater. This means that meat-eaters are "driving" an extra eleven miles every day whether they really drive or not, when we look at how much extra fuel it takes to feed them.2
In fact, meat production is so wasteful that walking actually uses more fossil energy than driving, if the calories burned from walking come from a typical American diet, as reported in Diet for a New America:
"It is actually quite astounding how much energy is wasted by the standard American diet-style. Even driving many gas-guzzling luxury cars can conserve energy over walking -- that is, when the calories you burn walking come from the standard American diet! (62) This is because the energy needed to produce the food you would burn in walking a given distance is greater than the energy needed to fuel your car to travel the same distance, assuming that the car gets 24 miles per gallon or better."3 The same is not true of bicycling vs. driving, because bicycling is more than twice as efficient as walking (calories consumed per distance traveled) -- bicycling uses less fossil energy than driving even if the cyclist were eating nothing but beef.4 But to focus on this misses the point. It's no bombshell that cycling uses less fossil energy than driving. What's important is that meat-eaters use twice as much fossil energy as pure vegetarians -- whether they're bicycling or not.

Gotcha. Thanks for both answers (you and Cosmic Wizard)! I'm not going to stop eating meat, so I guess that I should start hunting again. I don't eat a lot of red meat anyhow, but I think this would help "do my part". I bow-hunt too (used to) so, if I can within 30 yards of a deer or elk, I think I have given them a fair chance.

On a side note...I sometimes have wondered if recycling is worth it for the same reason (although I DO recycle). There seems to be a lot of moving parts with the recycling process.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by JDTD

On a side note...I sometimes have wondered if recycling is worth it for the same reason (although I DO recycle). There seems to be a lot of moving parts with the recycling process.

This is true, but keep in mind that to manufacture a product from scratch uses a lot more energy and natural resources than to use recylced materials - especially items such as aluminum & steel.

[songinthewind7]

I've been doing some research on being a green community this week and have learned that washing clothes on a regular cycle instead of perm press saves 5 gallons of water.
Also instead of running water waiting for it to get hot, I'm now using a container for the cold water and will water the plants, fill up dog water bowl or to use as water to rinse my mouth and toothbrush after brushing my teeth.
I'm getting a kick out of putting this stuff to use. I took it for granted before.

[frogandtoad]

I moved into a much smaller home. I realized that 4.200 sq. feet was a huge waste in resources--heating, cooling, etc. not to mention I spent much more time cleaning than necessary! It was a big leap for me--I'd lived in large homes for a long time, so I was nervous about the move. But I've found that not only do I feel good about saving resources, but I also like the proximity to family members in a smaller home--there is no escaping to other parts of the house!

That's my big one. Beyond that, just the regular stuff (walking, biking when I can; combining trips in the car; recycling; trying to buy as little new as possible, etc).

btw, while I do believe in global warming, I would do these even if I didn't. ANything to help reduce pollution being emitted is worth it in my book, whether or not it's related to global warming.

buckeyeinsc, that is really interesting. I hadn't thought of it in such concrete terms (though certainly I'd heard that omnivores use more fuel). I will probably not go back to being vegetarian (I was for years), but I will try to eat even less meat. Good for the earth and for me!

[CosmicWizard]

I think you are on to something songinthewind. Getting a kick out of it or simply having furn with it is the way to go. I think we all have a tendency to take this stuff too seriously wether we are for or against green living, wether we believe in global warming or think it's a hoax. If we're having our buttons pushed one way or the other, it's time to chill out, step back, take a deep breath, and do something that is pure fun!

[shetibo]

i cloth diaper
minimize my flushes
use cloth wipes for napkins, tp, tissue
cloth grocery bags all the time
wash on cold when i can
recycle and reuse anything and everything that i can
use baking soda and vinegar to clean or peroxide
use b.soda and ving. to wash my hair so im not washing chemicals down my drain even in the shower, also why i use handmade natural soap
oh i know there is more but i cant think of any right now

[B'ichela]

Originally Posted by shetibo

minimize my flushes
use cloth wipes for napkins, tp, tissue
cloth grocery bags all the time
wash on cold when i can
recycle and reuse anything and everything that i can
use baking soda and vinegar to clean or peroxide
use b.soda and ving. to wash my hair so im not washing chemicals down my drain even in the shower, also why i use handmade natural soap
oh i know there is more but i cant think of any right now

I wash my laundry by hand. wring it with a 1840s hand wringer and hang it out to dry, it dries even in the cold New England winters, just takes longer. as for using baking Soda and white vinegar to wash ones hair... How well does that work? It seems to work good on my linolieum floors, tables, cleaning my stovetop. and if the oven is hot. (but turned off) it does get the grunge off my oven.

Using cloth for TP... When I was a young girl we often had to that as my famliy were poor, we wiped our bottoms and rinsed the cloths out. YUK! but,... if I can clean a cat box with a pooper scooper... it isn't much worse. Providing you keep the cloths rinsed out.

Using a litter box pooper scooper with unclumping litter and seasoning the box with baking soda, as needed, one can get several weeks out of the same kitty litter. When it is beyond reuse. just use it to sand your sidewalk!

White Vinegar and underwear, just worn once between washings and not heavily soiled, seem to do a good job of cleaning windows and other hard surfaces. You have to wash those panties anyway so it does not matter if they get a little more dirty.

[Oildog]

I cook my steaks rare.

[formercalifornian]

Great stuff and lots of inspiration in this thread! Over the past couple of years, we've made quite a few changes, but we still have far to go. Here's what we've accomplished so far...

* Relocated to be near my spouse's workplace. He negotiated with coworkers and his boss to work with clients in the same general vicinity to cut down on his driving, and he uses public transportation when possible.

* Chose a small, older home, rather than a big, new one, and worked to make it more energy-efficient.

* Donated the second car, which wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. It just takes a bit more planning to make sure everybody gets where they need to go. I keep a record of our weekly mileage on our remaining car, and I constantly look for ways to reduce it.

* Decided to replace the transmission on our remaining car and keep driving it, rather than purchase a new one.

* Learned to live without air conditioning when our home's original system failed.

* Began making our own non-toxic cleaning products. A little Bronner's, vinegar, and baking soda go a long way!

* Stopped buying paper products like paper towels and napkins.

* Dramatically reduced our consumption of new plastic! I still use our old plastic containers for bulk bin purchases. We also use reusable canvas shopping bags. Who doesn't?

* Began using the library consistently and stayed away from bookstores.

* Bought a reel mower to cut the lawn.

* Installed low-flow shower heads, faucets, and toilets.

* Stopped washing clothes so often, and started hang drying. The kids still struggle with hanging up their clothes at night, but they're making progress. We also buy good quality clothing and keep it in good condition, so we can purchase fewer pieces overall. Although I'm not a total thrift store convert, I've begun frequenting a resale shop near me.

* Contacted the Direct Mail Association to eliminate junk mail.

* Got rid of the TV. Less advertising has reduced our desire for the latest and greatest.

* Started cooking at home, and joined a CSA. We still eat in restaurants, but we avoid fast food places that use paper packaging. This means eating out is more expensive, so we do it less and enjoy it more.

* Chose natural gas appliances over electric when replacement was necessary. Natural gas is a renewable resource that can used as is, and energy loss is significantly lower than for those natural resources that must be converted to electricity for use by household appliances. We're also investigating green energy credits, but we haven't made any changes yet.

* Viewed the films Story of Stuff and No Impact Man with my family, and then challenged all of us to find new ways that we, too, could be better stewards of earth's bounty.

[1751texan]

Originally Posted by Beretta

We changed out our lightbulbs.
We use re-usable shopping bags at the grocery store.
I take all of my read magazines to the hospital to be used there.
We read the newspaper online now.
We combine errands and plan routes.
My husband and I go get haircuts at the same time to save a trip.
When I make meals I try to make one for right then and one for the future and freeze it.

We want to do more!

Just my thinking...It takes energy to cook the meal, energy to keep the meal frozen, and energy to re-heat meal. where is the savings?