Eco-guilt

[Andrew]

I do little green things, too. We always have more recycling than trash, and our waste collector definitely keeps them separate, even to the extent having separate trucks. We use CFLs and I've become an old man in my quest to keep the lights off in empty rooms. We've only just now turned on the heat, but I keep it in the low 60s. I bring fabric bags to the grocery store and Costco. We buy in bulk where possible, which cuts down on packaging waste and gas for shopping trips.

I'm sure this is all offset by the tremendous amount of electricity used by our many and varied electronics, of course.

Last time I was shopping for a new car I said I'd want an alternate fuel vehicle, but the selection was just not there at the time. I recognize and accept that my G35 gets fairly crappy mileage, and try to plan trips to avoid doubling back or stop-and-go traffic.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Nephythys

controlling behavior through fear is mental and emotional terrorism-

which the car companies are guilty of in spades by telling people more or less blatantly that if they don't buy the biggest, most powerful gas guzzlers available they are 1) neglecting their family and 2) queer.

I agree with Alex. I would venture that less than ten percent of the big pickups I see around here can be justified based on lifestyle and true need. As for needing an SUV to go up to the mountains, after our first trip we frequently went up in our Honda Civic and would chain up as needed. On that first trip, I actually rented an SUV. The roads were clear, and I felt like a fool.

[Snowflake]

Well, gee whiz, didn't you see Wall-E?

I agree, we do need to be good citizens as we can and recycle.

In SF, it is not uncommon to see many a 60+ chinese lady toting huge bags of crushed cans and bottles to the local grocery recycling. I realize they're digging in the trash (and the recycling bins people put in front of their homes) for the money, but they must be making a fair amount with the size of the bags I see them toting to Cala Market on Cal and Hyde.

There are separate trucks that come to our building, one for recylcing and one for the trash.

I've given up carrying bottled water (I was a big waster, cases upon case of bottled water for years) and I use a bottle that I can wash. We've also converted to using a Pur filter rather than more bottled water for drinking (ancient pipes make for not so nice tasting water) and the Pur filter has cured that.

[Not Afraid]

We do little things but we could do more. Long Beach has a great recycling program which we take advantage of. Chris takes the train to work when he can and maybe that offsets the gas used by my 21 MPG car - which I drive around town constantly. We use proper light bulbs when available and watch our outside water usage. We use fabric grocery bags about 50% of the time. But, I DO use my heater in the house and I'm not going to get rid of my car any time soon and, until fuzzy water comes out of the taps, we buy cases at a time.

I have a lot of bigger eco projects I would like to do - plant a water-wise landscape and install a drip system and get new insulation in the attic. The windows are leaky but that's not going to change anytime soon. It just takes money to be as eco and I'd like to be.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Traci- experiences last longer than "things" and it's a lot more fun! I'm sure your family will have a great Christmas (and tickets come in envelopes and little boxes- less landfill waste!).

[Alex]

Originally Posted by JWBear

700 sqft?! I think Bill and I would end up killing each other if we had to cram into a space that small! Our current place is 1550 sqft, and it's just perfect for us.

I think the biggest place we've ever lived was a 980 sq. ft. two bedroom apartment. Our last move was actually a smaller place than we had before.

Oh, one other change, since I got my Kindle in May I have read exactly one book printed on paper (The Watchmen which is entirely Kindle unfriendly). So I'm no longer contributing to paper use for books. I must admit that in the second Twilight book, where there are four pages that are essentially left blank (I'm assuming since I was reading it electronically) my first thought was "how many millions of pages of paper were wasted for a bit of artistic flair." Having converted, I look forward to the day that paper printing is akin to the lingering vinyl LP market. That is, an artifact channel rather than a distribution channel.

[Nephythys]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

Well, gee whiz, didn't you see Wall-E?

Bwa hahahaha! At the theatre they gave my daughter a rubber watch with an unchangeable battery- when it died it became trash.

[Disneyphile]

We do what we can, and I'm very conscious of some things.

However, I'll totally admit that we do not have a recycling bin at home for cans/bottles. Our kitchen is already small enough, and there's no room.

I don't feel guilty about that at all, because I do other things to make up for it. But, I really hate when someone comes into my home and condemns me for not having a recycling bin. In regards to the space issue, I've even been told, "that's no excuse". Um, sorry, but my comfort comes first, and I'm not sacrificing two square feet of the mere 21 that we have in there. We can already barely move in there as it is.

And, no, I'm not putting one outside either.

We largely make up for this by only buying sodas in 2-liter bottles, and we have a Brita pitcher for water. So, we discard approximately 2-3 soda bottles per week, if that. And, it's definitely not worth polluting the air to drive those couple of bottles over to a recycling center on a weekly basis.

We also eat mainly fresh foods and avoid most canned goods to also reduce the amount of trash we create.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I find a lot of the dogma behind the Green movement to be irritating and off-putting. And I don't wander around planet earth seeing only destruction and damage and the no good footprint of mankind. My guilt is measured and sprinkled around in small doses, and little of which is saved for the environment. But clearly our consumerist culture is wasteful, and there are ways to better conserve. Most of what the average person can do comes down to using common sense, having a little more patience and being less lazy. (Which is a challenge for me - heh.)

Not having a car is a mixed bag. In some ways it's eco-friendly, but in others it's not. Without a cart it's a PIA to get things to Goodwill, so I have trashed some things which could have been donated. I don't compost. I don't buy in bulk.

Little things I do: Use biodegradable trash bags for perishable items. I use vinegar and baking soda to clean, with a few Method products when necessary. I recycle, and hope it's not just bull****. I keep a drawer full of old batteries. I walk and ride my bike to local establishments. But I am in the process of getting a driver's license and I do want a car. And I don't want a hybrid, because I'm not convinced they aren't equally damaging if not more in the long run. And a non-hybrid can get equally good gas mileage if driven properly. I will also, once I have it, use it as conservatively as possible.

People who can afford it probably should install solar panels and create an eco-friendly landscape. People who can afford it should buy local, from farmer's markets, etc. I find that these Farmers Markets and Whole Foods are a luxury, so sometimes I shop there, but mostly I go to Ralphs.

"To Go" culture is one of the worst offenses, but I haven't stopped doing take-out or using plastic wear at work. Hopefully if our office moves and has its own kitchen I'll change my wicked ways.

I could buy a SIGG, and people who drink a lot more water than I do should probably do so if they like drinking water on the go.

Should definitely make more of an effort to use reusable bags for all my non-driving one-stop shopping. Should make coffee at home instead of ordering it "to go" everyday.

And, Alex, though I envy you your Kindle (just played around with one for the first time), and want one for myself, it won't replace books altogether for me. I'll still want them and buy them. Love the feel of them in my hands. Trees are there to breathe life, look pretty and become my books.

Also, light bulbs. I've not made that change yet. I tried, but I HATE the light the more eco-friendly bulbs give off. HATE. I'm light sensitive, it seems. Some hues give off a light I find sickly, and make me feel sick. So I'm old school until I find a type or wattage, etc. that is eco AND EH1812 friendly.

And I do leave the lights on. NM is trying to break me of this habit, but without much luck thus far. He lives in a dark house, and I like to bathe mine in light. I'll have to let go of that one, I think, and be better about conserving energy. But for some reason, this is a hard adjustment for me.

I'm also not ready to give up loooooooooong, hot showers. And as soon as I am sitting on my couch shivering in a blanket, the heat gets turned on. Not giving that up.

[Stan4dSteph]

Most grocery stores in France don't provide free plastic bags, so I got in the habit of bringing my own bags to do shopping. I use CFLs in all fixtures that allow it. I don't let the faucet run unnecessarily. I wash most clothes on cold, some on warm.

I moved closer to work recently, so have cut down on my commute impact. I might even try to bike to work when spring comes around.

Living green is very important to me, but I'm not fanatical about it.

It is very worrying what might happen. The earth's systems are sensitive things, and not easy to predict.