Since the other thread was getting longer and more disparate in its elements I'm starting a new branch of the green tree. (I hope bad puns dont contribute to climate change)
If we think about design as a series of conscious choices made within a set of limitations in order to affect a specific outcome or function it makes sense that each individual existence can be designed with green choices. Each one of our lives takes place under different circumstances that will require different solutions. In the previous thread we've discussed 10 short modifications and hinted at plenty more. The most powerful solutions are often those that are creatively adapted to fit specific needs. Instead of listing general solutions I'd love to use this space to talk about specifics amongst our community members: what specific problems you all face in order to be green and what your solutions are.
Well let me go first!
I am in my mid-40's married, no kids. We have two cats, a 75 gal marine aquarium and a fish pond outside. I live in a passive solar designed home in Northern Massachusetts. In the 12 years I've lived there I have seen how much better my home performs to a typical stick-built home. I use far less heating oil than similar non-passive solar homes. For example, I've only used about 300 gallons of #2 heating oil since October ($~1000) We generally don't use more that 500 gal per year in total. I also bought a cord of firewood for $275 which will carry me for weekend use into late March. Our monthly electricity use, even considering we have a pond and fish taknk that run constantly is only about 700kWh. The US average is about 1000kWh per household. Many folks are much higher.
This home also has other features that make it efficient, some of which we installed.
They include:
High efficiency front loading washer/dryer
Non electric, water flow powered water softening system
Fisher Paykel DishDrawers which are very efficient
Viking gas range/electric oven which has no electronic parts that consume power when the stove is off
We use natural cleaning products for the house and ourselves, we buy organic and local foods whenever feasible (especially meats, coffee and fruits). We compost. We use recycled newspaper for the cat litter, which we also compost (yesterday's news is the brand, clay litter is very bad) We have CFLs wherever we can and we don't leave lights on overnight. We don't get a newspaper and only have 3 magazine subscriptions which we really do read and then send to our town library. I regularly call catalog companies to get our names removed from mailing lists. We turn off our electronics with power strips and use timers to control cordless battery chargers. We use only rechargeable batteries. My microwave has only a timer dial and no power-munching keypad, I only use it to reheat and defrost stuff anyway. We use reusable shopping bags and reusable cotton bags for food in the fridge. I use cotton rags for housecleaning rather than paper towels. We commute together several times a month and do our grocery shopping on the way home from work. Hubby changes the oil on our cars which we take to a local company that recycles it.
We seriously considered a Solar hot water system for our home and a small PV system to maintain the pond. We have also debated converting our Passat to a veggie mobile.
Last year we made the choice to relocate to New Mexico. The home we will build there will be a kit house that includes, rainwater catchement, solar water heating, solar space heating, a small greenhouse, natural air conditioning, natural clay plaster walls, high fly ash concrete floors and reclaimed wood. This design is currently tracking at about $170 per sq, ft. So $255,000 for a 1500 sq.ft house which is very reasonable! Sustainable homes are acheivable by normal humans!
I should note...
My firewood comes from a local apple orchard. Apples trees need heavy pruning to stay productive. Using these trimmings gives me small very clean burning chunks that smell wonderful and are sustainably harvested. That's just my solution for not buying wood from clear cut lots.
Since it was located fairly...
Since it was located fairly deep down on the page of the hmmmm thread, I am going to attach an interview with Wendell Berry here that I also attached on Olive's thread.
It speaks I think, among other things, to many of the points that LuciferSum has made: creativity, meeting specific needs, etc.,.
If you are so inclined, and you have the time.
http://arts.envirolink.org/interviews_and_conversations/WendellBerry.html
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I suspect compared to many I live an ascetic life, apart from a lust for books, good scavenged furniture and objects and using some resources for furniture making.
I'm very fortunate to live in a benign climate (summer humidity and low rainfall are a problem though), Olives heating costs were really alarming, and the European situation where so much gas use is dependant on the Russian pipeline makes my toes curl.
I'm single and live alone.
I face most ethical questions with the 'can/should' idea. I could make furniture with polyurethane foam, high gloss finishes and lots of laminated wood but what gives me the right to dump the excess and empty glue pots and rollers full of solvent into my communities landfill and inevitably the water catchment?
The major resources I do use are electricity (I pay a small premium to the utility which is invested in sustainable production), water (amazing how clean you can get in 3 minutes with a low flow shower head if you scrub really fast) power tools which I buy the best of and timber and finishes (shellac, no breathing mask required).
Timber use is the biggest challenge, I'm looking at reclaimed timber but the local timber here is not called ironbark for nothing and consistency of supply is difficult, I make some noise pollution which I try and overcome by setting up equipment to work as quickly as possible.
I ride my bike or walk wherever possible and I use a laptop which sucks less power, I get a lot of my food from a farmers market.
I'd describe the interface as poverty with a twist of indulgence.
Simple City Boy
I started this thread yesterday, then didnt have a chance to contribute.
I'm just a country boy, living in the city. I grew up on a small farm; we grew our own vegetables, raised our own animals, and ate both. More important than doing things that were 'green' was doing things right. Construction of our house was done by the whole family because my father believed that we would do a better job than a contractor. As mentioned in previous posts my family has a creative/craft bent to it, with carpenters,artists,writers etc amongst the members.
So my MO is to find solutions that will bring some elements of simple country living into a busy urban environment. I buy things that are simple in form, material, and upkeep. I look for quality and craftsmanship that will last, along with generally eco-decent manufacturing. The quality and form will endure through whatever fads are accessorized around them, meaning less turnover of larger pieces of furniture like couches and beds etc.
After that its little things:
Utilizing public transportation for virtually ALL trips.
Replacing virtually ALL lightbulbs with CFLs.
Keeping the heat low, using thermal blinds, and wearing an extra sweater if its too cold.
Forgoing plastic grocery bags in favor of my bike bag.
Forgoing almost all forms of bottle beverages (Oj & soymilk are the only two I keep in the fridge) -water is straight from the tap.
Alternating days I take showers.
Donating, selling, or curbing anything I dispose of that might have inherent value.
Just to try to do the best...
Just to try to do the best to keep this thread near the top for awhile, I see many aspects of conservation being alluded to, or very good questions with regard to that subject being asked here and on other boards, on very similar threads.
So, to that, with respect ...
Do you need a new car every three years?
Does it need to be an SUV?
Do you need even a new car?
Do you need a new house every ten years?
Does it need to be 5000 square feet, with a four car garage, and home theater ...
Do you need a bright green lawn?
In the desert?
Or even the midwest?
Where, if it can be supported, might be the best place you could plant a tree?
Do you really need to keep up with Joneses, or is that even, any more, a very good question ...
Hudson,
Good questions. Keeping up with the Joneses? Drive through the wealthy suburbs of Boston (or any city, I'd imagine) for the answer.
I feel like it's important to point out the distinction between being a hardcore vegan hippie living in a commune (no offense to any commune living HCVHs present)and making small changes in your mindset and daily routines.
Heath's description so far seems the most severe, and yet...it's not really. It's all in the frame of mind. It used to be that 'economical' people were cheap/poor. Economical became about monetary value and not inherent value. The gal working at the grocery checkout doesnt think twice about tossing two cans of peas into a plastic bag and then double bagging it to boot. Why? The same reason the consumer accross the checkout counter doesnt object - both perceive the plastic bags as free/worthless/disposable. Neither is thinking about the machinery and materials used to produce/transport/recycle those bags, nor about the inherent value the bag has as a means of moving groceries from point A to point B. Once you start thinking about things like that you can make some choices that wont have a huge impact on the way you go through your day.
Am I going to skip coffee if they only have to-go cups? Probably not. Am I going to use a ceramic plate, metal utensils, and a ceramic mug if I stay in the coffee shop? You bet. If everyone, as Hudson Honolulu points out, asked "is this necessary" more often the impact would be huge!
http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/12/16/living_large/
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yeah you're right, it might sound severe but I really think I lead a rich life. I am surrounded by handsome well made things that given that they were bought from charity shops or made by myself have given me and others pleasure and sustenance.
I have no complaints and don't feel in the least deprived, in fact I have more free time than most people I know, and when I am working I do what I love.
And you are also right about...
1.The perceived value (ie:embodied energy) of 'disposable' things.
2. The complete lack of critical thinking regarding the items of daily life. I bet you only one in a million people regularly say: "Do I need this?" "Is this necessary?"
3. How easy it is to drastically reduce your wastestream and energy usage impact if you just think on #'s 1 and 2 above!
This month my electrical consumption came down again to 624kWh! It continues to astound me that I can cut my usage so much with such small changes in my normal routine. We are now at nearly 1/3 of our peak usage level. And since I live in the country we have to haul our own garbage to the dump. This has always made us aware of the volume of waste we generate, but now we also see how much less we generate since changing our consumption habits.
It really is not hard to consume less you just have to be willing to think about it a bit.
SDR - nope
It's a house. A single family house. For a man and his wife. They have 2 sons, but one is already at college, the second is finishing high school. I cannot even imagine what one would DO in such a place - besides get lost trying to find the loo.
If it were mine I'd lay down hardwood floors throughout and only wear rollerblades.
This one probably has seven o...
This one probably has seven or more shitters, one for at least every stupid day of the wasteful week. I imagine a monstrosity of this magnitude is already sadly bought and paid for, but, in the interest of fairness, I have to say we have thousands of homes approaching this one in size in my own city, a large number now with a 'for sale' sign in the yard, the current occupant confined finally by the most precise need of his or her bank, counting time like a death sentence since the mansion was put on the market. If this is not prison, it's got to be close.
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