The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: nessness on December 30, 2018, 03:25:54 PM
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My new year's resolution is to reduce my family's environmental impact, and I thought I'd see if anyone else wants to join, so we can share tips and keep each other accountable.
I want to reduce our impact in all areas, but some specific goals are:
- Reduce food waste
- Reduce food packaging waste
- Buy less stuff
- Buy used whenever possible
- Eat fewer animal products
- Potty train my younger daughter (yes, I should have used cloth diapers from the beginning, but now that she's almost 2 I think it makes more sense to potty train her than to switch to cloth now).
Anyone else?
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*Bumping this thread now that it's 2019.*
Any takers?
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I'm in! Mr krmit and I just bought a house, which I know increases our impact, but we intend to use our control over the house/yard to make it as efficient as we can.
Goals:
Reduce food waste; compost as much as possible on-site
Expand food gardening
Reduce plastic packaging
Buy used
Minimize energy bills
Minimize driving and flying - see if Amtrak is a possibility for some family-related travel later in the year.
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I am in
My main goal is to reduce plastic in our lives.
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Welcome @krmit and @Frugal Lizard!
Had a couple successes today - I saw that my favorite joggers are buy one get one free and almost bought 2 pairs, then realized that I don't really need joggers right now, no matter how cheap they are, so I didn't buy them.
I also went grocery shopping and the only animal product I bought was a half gallon of milk - I planned some healthy plant-based meals (and some that use cheese that we already have on hand, and eggs from our chickens. My own chickens' eggs are an exception to the "fewer animal products" goal).
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I am in
My main goal is to reduce plastic in our lives.
Same here. I reduced last year and made a big change from the previous year, but I'm trying to be even more aware and have more impact this year. So my goal is to completely eliminate all discretionary single-use plastic from my life. This means food packaging and even laundry detergent, shampoo, etc. I'm not sure how to do it yet.
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I'm in. Goals:
- minimize air travel
- eat fewer animal products
- if we have to buy something, get it used
- minimize single-use plastic (I'd love to hear what you figure out for that, @BlueHouse!)
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Yep, I'm in.
Our city started collecting compost, and it's really highlighted how much plastic packaging is in our trash bin. Will aim to reduce that.
We could also meet multiple goals be focusing on utility use: water, gas, and electric.
In addition, I'll be looking for advocacy opportunities and game-changer organizations to contribute to. Any suggestions?
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I'm in! Some goals written down for accountability as I'm lazy.
- Find ways to reduce my energy usage at a low cost. I rent so can't improve insulation, but I could use tricks like "put tin foil behind you're heater". This category of cheap/quick improvements I should make asap.
- Reduce animal use further by signing up for events as a vegetarian and encouraging friends to bring vegetarian food when doing potlucks (my own cooking with animal products is already close to 0, meat a full 0).
- The toughest one: reduce flying compared to last year.
- Vote for a greenish party during the next election
- Reduce plastic use; I already have a filter bottle that can filter water in places where it's not safe to drink from the tap, have a thermos that should reduce my coffee-cup use and should use my own mug at work more compared to getting the cups from the machine.
Edited to add:
- When buying clothes, check 2nd hand stores first
- Try to invest in durable investment vehicles and preferably no oil/gas companies.
- Buy more veggies at the market as they're less plastic-packed (and cheaper!)
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Welcome @krmit and @Frugal Lizard!
Had a couple successes today - I saw that my favorite joggers are buy one get one free and almost bought 2 pairs, then realized that I don't really need joggers right now, no matter how cheap they are, so I didn't buy them.
I also went grocery shopping and the only animal product I bought was a half gallon of milk - I planned some healthy plant-based meals (and some that use cheese that we already have on hand, and eggs from our chickens. My own chickens' eggs are an exception to the "fewer animal products" goal).
Warms my heart to see 'fewer animal products' on your list of things to do to reduce environmental impact. Good on you!
Are you open to adopting plant milks like oat milk, soy milk, hazelnut milk, or something like Ripple (pea protein based)? There's probably 20 different kinds of plant milks to choose from at a typical grocery store (IMO rice milk is disgusting tho). It just takes trying each one and going to the next til you find something you like. My parents love Ripple. Plus the switch brought my mom's cholesterol down by ~30 pts.
Recently I've done some GHG calculations on dairy. I discovered that one dairy cow emits anywhere from 50-100kg of methane every year (depends on the data source, but 50 is the lowest I've seen). Over 20 yrs, methane (CH4) is 87x more powerful a GHG compared to CO2.* In the end, it turns out that taking a dairy cow out of production is like removing 1-2 automobiles** off the road. (1 if you assume 50kg, 2 if you assume 100kg. And this doesn't account for clearing of forest to create grazing land or cropland to feed the cows).
* CH4 is 72x more powerful than CO2 over a 20 yr comparison, but 25x more powerful over a 100 yr period. The atmospheric life of methane is between 8 and 13 years. By year 20 it's all gone. Given that methane doesn't stay in the atmosphere more than 20 yrs, it makes little sense to compare CH4 with CO2 (a gas that persists for ~200 years) over a 100 yr time frame. In a 100 yr comparison, methane == 0 for 8 decades and thus dilutes the comparison.
http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
** EPA data for car emissions.
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle
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I'm in. Things I already do: electricity is from renewable resources, no flying, vegetarian/pescatarian, limited shopping and often second-hand, unwanted stuff goes to charity/freegle/recycling.
Projects for this year should include -
1. More insulation on the house - this is a work in progress at the moment.
2. Minimise plastics coming into the house. This is primarily a food packaging issue, which can be resolved by taking my own bags/jars/wax wraps to the shops - (and we have a new food shop in town which has no plastic packaging that I need to investigate).
3. No palm oil (oh, Nutella) and replace soya milk with locally produced oat milk.
4. Reduce car miles (currently about 5k a year).
5. Grow food: currently only a few herbs, which has to change, but a big project to make my land accessible and productive.
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I'm in.
At the end of the year, we reduced our energy use by putting the thermostat at home on really low temperature when we were away for a 2 week vacation.
In the new year, I will again try to walk to work as often as I manage, preferably twice a week of the four days that I work.
DH will cycle a lot to work. We will both alternate by driving a car as well.
I am all for reducing food waste. I didn't really waste food last year, apart from maybe a crust of bread, as I don't like crusts to much. I intent to continue that way- I also intend to eat more stuff that we find or catch ourselves.
Also, like last year, I will try to buy as little stuff as posisble.
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Yay, I'm glad to see so many people join! Welcome everyone!
@Malaysia41 I drink plant milk myself, but I give my kids cow milk as an easy source of fat and protein (as they're both carb-aholics). I'll probably phase it out once my youngest is past the toddler stage. I also prefer it for cooking in savory dishes, but most things that call for milk also call for cheese, so I'll be trying to cook less of those this year.
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Yay, I'm glad to see so many people join! Welcome everyone!
@Malaysia41 I drink plant milk myself, but I give my kids cow milk as an easy source of fat and protein (as they're both carb-aholics). I'll probably phase it out once my youngest is past the toddler stage. I also prefer it for cooking in savory dishes, but most things that call for milk also call for cheese, so I'll be trying to cook less of those this year.
Yes, I see. Milk is an easy source of fat and protein, that's true. But it also comes with a bit of baggage such as
dioxins (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/dairy-estrogen-and-male-fertility/),
estrogen (https://nutritionfacts.org/video/why-do-vegan-women-have-5x-fewer-twins),
saturated fat & cholesterol (https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/69/2)
Just something to consider.
If your kids like nuts - those are loaded with good fats and proteins. And as long as they're not flown in from some exotic elsewhere, nuts are low carbon too. That could be an easy substitute. Of course nuts can be a difficult food for a wee one to chew and swallow properly.
I'm like your kids - I love carbs too. I figure as long as they're whole grain though, I get some fiber and protein when i'm carb-loading.
Sorry if you didn't want this info - it's just that cow's milk really does come with a lot of baggage. So I thought I'd share a couple videos on the topic.
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I'm in! Things I'm implementing so far:
- reduce poultry based meals to once a week and fish to once a week (or less) (we already don't eat red meat at all)
- since I will be learning to cook more and better vegetarian food, bring vegetarian dishes to all potluck parties in 2019
- reduce plastic packaging
- reduce food transport by shopping at the farmer's market, once they reopen in the spring
- continue to expand my radius for walking/biking instead of driving
Things to do once we have moved out of our apartment and into a house:
- start a compost bin
- start a garden to grow fruits and vegetables
- plant native plants and plants to attract pollinators
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I’m in!
- Reduce food waste
- Reduce packaging
- Buy less stuff
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Our heating at home is natural gas, and today I signed up for a program through our gas company to pay a bit extra for Renewable Natural Gas. They get it from capturing methane produced from a landfill.
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I pay a little bit extra for my electricity to get it from renewable sources, but I recently saw in my electric company's annual report that the majority of their renewable energy now comes from biofuels. I've seen mixed opinions on whether biofuels are actually a significant improvement over fossil fuels - does anyone want to weigh in?
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I pay a little bit extra for my electricity to get it from renewable sources, but I recently saw in my electric company's annual report that the majority of their renewable energy now comes from biofuels. I've seen mixed opinions on whether biofuels are actually a significant improvement over fossil fuels - does anyone want to weigh in?
I think it comes down to how the biofuels are produced, as the technology currently used requires massive amounts of biomass to produce an equivalent amount of energy as fossil fuels. Someone can prove me wrong on that one though. I think everyone knows about corn subsidies in the mid west... The biggest thing for me is the difficulty in comparing land use changes and all of the intricacies that come with that to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. I've seen some estimates out there, but it varies so much. It's like trying to estimate soil carbon sequestration to allow for carbon tax rebates and applying that across a whole province (etc.) when soil types vary substantially.
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I pay a little bit extra for my electricity to get it from renewable sources, but I recently saw in my electric company's annual report that the majority of their renewable energy now comes from biofuels. I've seen mixed opinions on whether biofuels are actually a significant improvement over fossil fuels - does anyone want to weigh in?
I think it comes down to how the biofuels are produced, as the technology currently used requires massive amounts of biomass to produce an equivalent amount of energy as fossil fuels. Someone can prove me wrong on that one though. I think everyone knows about corn subsidies in the mid west... The biggest thing for me is the difficulty in comparing land use changes and all of the intricacies that come with that to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. I've seen some estimates out there, but it varies so much. It's like trying to estimate soil carbon sequestration to allow for carbon tax rebates and applying that across a whole province (etc.) when soil types vary substantially.
Thanks! It's hard to find specific information on how much energy comes from each source but I did a little research and it looks like a lot of our local biofuels come from burning municipal and agricultural waste, which seems like a good thing, since most of the concerns I have seen about biofuels stem from converting forested land to cropland.
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Yep, definite ongoing goal. Things for this year:
No private motor vehicle use for my commute.
Work is about 15 miles from home. Until the end of March last year I was on a ~30/70% split of cycling and 200cc, 90mp(UK)g motorcycle. Then the motorcycle got stolen, which it turns out was the nudge I needed. I've been almost 100% cycling since then, but this will be the first full calendar year. There will be a few part-bike-part-bus ones too when I've got evening stuff on in HomeCity or if it snows.
I drove once last year when I was feeling horribly ill but absolutely had to drag myself in for an an hour or so to get something sent out. And got a lift home when the motorcycle was stolen. Hope zero this year.
Get the family car mileage under 3000mi
Did about 5,500 miles last year.
About 1/3 was family holiday to south of France. About half the CO2 of flying there, but think we'll still be choosing somewhere closer this year. This is possibly a bit of a cheat, as it's not entirely for environmental reasons. But only gets us most of the way there.
Another third was down to inlaws being in middle of nowhere coastal town 250 miles away. This is basically what stops us going car-free, because our car is cheaper to run for the whole year than either train or hiring a car for these few trips. We did at least manage to combine all visits to my parents (about half way there) with these trips, rather than running up extra miles on separate visits.
The rest is the more local stuff and some other trips to friends, my sister, etc. More bike/bus/train.
Closer to vegan
Got to the end of 2018 with zero 'land meat', a couple of tins of tuna a week, and a fair amount of dairy on our weekly plan for our family of four. Can do better though.
Domestic energy use down/less harmful
Our bills from our old energy supplier showed our daily use against equivalent figures from the UK energy regulator for 'typical' low, medium, and high use households (I don't know, but would guess these are probably the quartiles or thereabouts of the actual data). We sit at slightly over half the 'low' value for both electricity and gas. Which is kinda good for us, mostly horrifying for the future of the planet - the 'high' use one is about four times us. We live in a not-terribly-efficient, 60yo house. We run the washing machine pretty much every day (kids clothes and cloth nappies). We have all manner of electronic things. What the hell are people doing?
Still room for improvement...
- Some time about now we should be switching onto a green tariff. 100% renewable electricity, 100% offset gas.
- I don't think there's much more we can do on the electric, and I'm not particularly convinced by "offsetting fixes everything", so focus on the gas. Not sure how it splits for space heating vs hot water, so will be keeping a closer eye on the meter readings as the seasons change. Low hanging fruit (or "should have done years ago") is to get the whole loft up to 500mm insulation. I have done the ~1/4 that I've boarded, but the rest is only 100mm and ancient. Am also interested in Heat Recovery Ventilation, but that's a bigger project/outlay to think about.
Other stuff
- No flights, but that's just a continuation, last for me was 2015, for OH 2013/4(?). Both business. Last pleasure flights 2013 for me and maybe 2010 for OH.
- Buy less stuff.
- Plastic packaging, esp food - this is a real struggle for us to make a dent in with the places we've been able to find locally.
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I am in. I wrote a bit about this in my personal journal, but my big "environmental" goal for 2019 is writing my elected officials at least 2x/month about climate change and the need to combat it. I plan to either mention specific legislation that I would like them to support, actions the current administration is/is not taking, or simply tell them that I am still fully in support of a carbon/pollution tax. I find with our efforts to reduce impact, we have trimmed most of the low-hanging fruit and now often find ourselves wondering "is X better or worse than Y?". If negative environmental impacts were taxed/priced into products, I think we would wonder/worry about this less and our environmental footprint would likely be forced down.
Other goals:
-Experiment with taking public transit to some areas in the hills that I sometimes take our toddler to. I have looked into the bus schedule and it's not as inconvenient as I thought it might be, though it will still take more time and organization than driving. I am considering next Friday (11th January) for a test.
-Plastic packaging: we already cut back on this quite a bit but I'm down for finding more plastic to eliminate. I have stopped using plastic produce bags and started taking my own containers for bulk bin purchases. Started making tortillas from scratch rather than buying them for toddler. Result is that toddler is also eating fewer quesadillas and tortilla pizzas, so I guess a win for the environment there too.
-Animal product consumption: we don't eat a lot of meat/dairy and I am reluctant to try to impose further restrictions on my husband. I can probably cut back on my personal consumption of cheese: specifically, I will stop consuming my toddler's string cheeses (I don't do this too often, but really...a handful of nuts would be a better choice). I will see what else I can think of.
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So here's a question for you all regarding plastic and social events:
Yesterday we went to a New Year's brunch and the hosts had disposable cutlery, plates, cups, napkins. The plates and napkins were paper, but everything else was single use plastic, not compostable, clearly headed for the landfill. My husband and I shared a fork, in retrospect I wish we had at least brought our own travel mugs for coffee (we have done this in the past when invited to events at parks). How socially weird would it be to show up at someone's house also bearing your own plate and fork? On the one hand we live in a "crunchy" enough area that I think people might not be too bothered if I said, oh we are trying to reduce single use plastic. On the other hand, seems a little judgy? Has anyone done this? Did it lead to social ostracization? I guess for events like this it might also not be too hard to just show up and hang out but not eat,
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I'm in. Goals for this year;
- Reduce Plastic (we made some head way on this last year and will continue to look for non-plastic options. RE: shampoo, you can buy shampoo bars instead of plastic bottles. I haven't tried this yet but as soon as my giant bottle is empty I will pick one up)
- Reduce Food waste (we already compost but I would like to also reduce how much food goes bad that we toss in the compost)
- Buy used whenever possible
- Bike/walk more for errands or at least plan all shopping stops on my way home from work or group them all together for less drive time.
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So here's a question for you all regarding plastic and social events:
Yesterday we went to a New Year's brunch and the hosts had disposable cutlery, plates, cups, napkins. The plates and napkins were paper, but everything else was single use plastic, not compostable, clearly headed for the landfill. My husband and I shared a fork, in retrospect I wish we had at least brought our own travel mugs for coffee (we have done this in the past when invited to events at parks). How socially weird would it be to show up at someone's house also bearing your own plate and fork? On the one hand we live in a "crunchy" enough area that I think people might not be too bothered if I said, oh we are trying to reduce single use plastic. On the other hand, seems a little judgy? Has anyone done this? Did it lead to social ostracization? I guess for events like this it might also not be too hard to just show up and hang out but not eat,
Very interesting point and I totally agree with you that I've felt similar issues before. My suggestion to try it in a natural way would be to first introduce the concept when hosting a party yourself. If you're the host, you'll be the person sending out the invitations and you could suggest people bring their own plate/fork/mug? Once it's been introduced once and you have some people that feel the same and are willing to take their own stuff (which you can't be sure of, but at least you can try) others might suggest the same thing too in future invitations or at least you may have convinced some people and not be the only odd one out bringing their own stuff.
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I pay a little bit extra for my electricity to get it from renewable sources, but I recently saw in my electric company's annual report that the majority of their renewable energy now comes from biofuels. I've seen mixed opinions on whether biofuels are actually a significant improvement over fossil fuels - does anyone want to weigh in?
I think it comes down to how the biofuels are produced, as the technology currently used requires massive amounts of biomass to produce an equivalent amount of energy as fossil fuels. Someone can prove me wrong on that one though. I think everyone knows about corn subsidies in the mid west... The biggest thing for me is the difficulty in comparing land use changes and all of the intricacies that come with that to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. I've seen some estimates out there, but it varies so much. It's like trying to estimate soil carbon sequestration to allow for carbon tax rebates and applying that across a whole province (etc.) when soil types vary substantially.
Thanks! It's hard to find specific information on how much energy comes from each source but I did a little research and it looks like a lot of our local biofuels come from burning municipal and agricultural waste, which seems like a good thing, since most of the concerns I have seen about biofuels stem from converting forested land to cropland.
Biofuel can range from worse environmental impact than fossil fuels (e.g. palm oils) to better than solar power (e.g. biogas from manure/waste water (up to 200 % reduction of climate emissions compared to using fossil fuels, and recycling of nutrients)). Burning waste for energy is ok, and certainly better than fossil fuels, or storing it in landfills. But you do lose the aspect of recycling materials and nutrients, and the ashes can be an issue (depending on the toxic content of what you burn). The overall environmental factor also depends on how much of the energy they use, since only 50 % can be used to produce electricity. Do they use the heat in any way?
Our heating at home is natural gas, and today I signed up for a program through our gas company to pay a bit extra for Renewable Natural Gas. They get it from capturing methane produced from a landfill.
This is really good! The GHG factor of methane is many times as high as CO2, so even capturing and burning the gas from landfills without utilizing the energy reduces the climate impact by maybe 20x. And when you use it to replace fossil gas, it really makes a difference.
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I pay a little bit extra for my electricity to get it from renewable sources, but I recently saw in my electric company's annual report that the majority of their renewable energy now comes from biofuels. I've seen mixed opinions on whether biofuels are actually a significant improvement over fossil fuels - does anyone want to weigh in?
I think it comes down to how the biofuels are produced, as the technology currently used requires massive amounts of biomass to produce an equivalent amount of energy as fossil fuels. Someone can prove me wrong on that one though. I think everyone knows about corn subsidies in the mid west... The biggest thing for me is the difficulty in comparing land use changes and all of the intricacies that come with that to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. I've seen some estimates out there, but it varies so much. It's like trying to estimate soil carbon sequestration to allow for carbon tax rebates and applying that across a whole province (etc.) when soil types vary substantially.
Thanks! It's hard to find specific information on how much energy comes from each source but I did a little research and it looks like a lot of our local biofuels come from burning municipal and agricultural waste, which seems like a good thing, since most of the concerns I have seen about biofuels stem from converting forested land to cropland.
Biofuel can range from worse environmental impact than fossil fuels (e.g. palm oils) to better than solar power (e.g. biogas from manure/waste water (up to 200 % reduction of climate emissions compared to using fossil fuels, and recycling of nutrients)). Burning waste for energy is ok, and certainly better than fossil fuels, or storing it in landfills. But you do lose the aspect of recycling materials and nutrients, and the ashes can be an issue (depending on the toxic content of what you burn). The overall environmental factor also depends on how much of the energy they use, since only 50 % can be used to produce electricity. Do they use the heat in any way?
Our heating at home is natural gas, and today I signed up for a program through our gas company to pay a bit extra for Renewable Natural Gas. They get it from capturing methane produced from a landfill.
This is really good! The GHG factor of methane is many times as high as CO2, so even capturing and burning the gas from landfills without utilizing the energy reduces the climate impact by maybe 20x. And when you use it to replace fossil gas, it really makes a difference.
The use of landfill gas as a source of energy is interesting to me because ideally we drastically reduce landfill gas production by organics diversion, but as companies/municipalities invest in the infrastructure to collect landfill gas they almost have a vested interest to maintain the production. The gas production curves are pretty well understood over the lifetime of a landfill though, so the engineers designing these systems have a decent understanding of the ROI from a particular landfill site.
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I'm in. We are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact
One of our core focuses will be growing and preserving a lot more of our food, as this will be the first year where we can expand into a proper garden.
This will also be the kick I need to go back to carpooling after a prolonged period of extremely variable schedules.
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The use of landfill gas as a source of energy is interesting to me because ideally we drastically reduce landfill gas production by organics diversion, but as companies/municipalities invest in the infrastructure to collect landfill gas they almost have a vested interest to maintain the production. The gas production curves are pretty well understood over the lifetime of a landfill though, so the engineers designing these systems have a decent understanding of the ROI from a particular landfill site.
I would imagine that the methane production from the landfill is too irregular to be a main business case. When you already have the landfill there, it does make sense collecting the methane, but dumping more organic matter on the fill to produce more methane is a very inefficient way to do it. In the long run, it must make more sense to do a professional setup with a biogas plant and closed rotting processes. It does require more sorting ahead of the process, but you do get much better controll, less leakage, and the leftovers can be used as fertilizer (replacing chemical fertilizers, and keeping rare nutrients such as phosphorous).
For those of you that want to influence policies, I highly recommend efforts to ban dumping organic waste into landfills. In Norway, it is illegal since 2009, and we do see a decline in methane production from landfills, and an increase in recycling and biofuel production from waste. Lately, there has even been an decrease in food waste.
https://www.internationallawoffice.com/Newsletters/Environment-Climate-Change/Norway/Arntzen-de-Besche-Advokatfirma-AS/New-Landfill-Ban-on-Biodegradable-Waste
Attacking the largest food wasters is a good start: https://sustainableamerica.org/blog/are-food-waste-bans-working/
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This is really good! The GHG factor of methane is many times as high as CO2, so even capturing and burning the gas from landfills without utilizing the energy reduces the climate impact by maybe 20x. And when you use it to replace fossil gas, it really makes a difference.
Yeah it is good. Capturing and using methane is way better than letting it get into the atmosphere. Consider this too: Methane has a life cycle of about 12.5 years. When you compare CH4 to CO2 over a 20 year period ("GWP20"), methane's impact is 84-87x that of CO2. According to the EPA:
CH4 emitted today lasts about a decade on average, which is much less time than CO2. But CH4 also absorbs much more energy than CO2. The net effect of the shorter lifetime and higher energy absorption is reflected in the GWP.
...
Just like the 100-year GWP is based on the energy absorbed by a gas over 100 years, the 20-year GWP is based on the energy absorbed over 20 years.
...
for CH4, which has a short lifetime, the 100-year GWP of 28–36 is much less than the 20-year GWP of 84–87.
- https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials#Learn%20why
This is why I'm fighting so hard to reduce animal agriculture. The 1.5 billion head of cattle on this planet account for 35-40% of anthropogenic methane emissions (FAO). When people say animal ag only accounts for ~15% of GHG, they are using GWP100, not GWP20. Using GWP20yr, it's arguable that animal ag contributes 50% of global warming GHGs (http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf).
If we weren't in such a dire predicament, we could have the luxury of using GWP100. But what we do in the next 20 years matters. We don't want to undercount the impact of methane.
Ruminant cattle in North America produce between 50-110kg of methane every year per head. Dairy cattle are on the high end. And that's not even accounting for manure methane emissions that can be another ~20kg or so (more for dairy).(Livestock's Long Shadow. PDF (FAO))
(https://i.imgur.com/0D7Ozjal.png)
There are 1.5 billion head of cattle on the planet.
(http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e.pdf)
Given that CH4 packs all its punch within 20 years, and that this punch is 85x stronger than CO2, I don't see why we wouldn't be doing everything in our power to stop consuming beef and dairy, and supporting programs to transition cattle ranchers and dairy farmers to low carbon businesses - for example they could ...
- grow vegetables to sell to local humans (esp those living in food deserts),
( https://youtu.be/yBKnG9Y0owQ?t=3152 ),
- build wind or solar farms (for land that can't be cultivated)
- enroll in CRP - the federal Conservation Reserve Program - that pays farmers to re-wild their land. For land that can be reforested - this would further mitigate global warming.
(just to name a few options).
I'm working with Renee of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary (https://rowdygirlsanctuary.org/ranchers-advocacy-program/) to come up with such a transition program in my pitch to our DC reps (https://www.lobbyists4good.org/animal-ag-subsidies) so they can support putting an end to federal subsidies for animal ag.
Don't get me wrong - we absolutely need carbon taxes, and measures to transition to low carbon / no carbon energy sources. I am on my bike every day and not in a car because I know this. We need to transition our energy sources ASAP. But we can't afford to ignore animal ag. We also must address the problem of eating animals. Just focusing on one high carbon emission source (fossil fuels) is unlikely to save us.
3x a day, every day, it's within our power to lower our carbon impact by choosing low carbon food options. There's so many plant based foods to choose from - and they ALL contain protein (and fiber - there's 0 fiber in meat and dairy) - why wouldn't we choose plant based options? Have you heard of anyone being hospitalized in the western world for protein deficiency? Probably not. We're obsessed with protein, and for no really good reasons. In any case, if you think you need oodles of protein for some reason - nuts, legumes and even the humble potato have plenty of protein.
Vegan options don't need to be equivalent to animal based foods in taste and texture, they only need be good enough. We're saving the planet for our children after all. Now's not the time to be a pansy about food taste pleasure. Besides, once you start choosing WFPB options , your body starts craving these, and these become the new YUM.
At the very least, seeking out plant based alternatives for beef and dairy will lower your impact the most. And consider that 250g of black beans have the same amount of protein as 100g of beef - and bonus - you get 22g of fiber, and loads of phytonutrients, folate, iron and calcium, along with other minerals. And they're cheap. Good all around for us mustachians.
Dairy isn't a health food, it's a marketing campaign. Paid for with US tax-payer's tax dollars through check off programs and advertisements. It contains cholesterol, saturated fats, estrogen, and pus. Yes pus. Mastitis is a real problem in the dairy industry as each dairy cow is milked for 22k lbs of milk a year ( 100 years ago, the typical cow produced ~4k lbs). Here, enjoy these (not so) fun facts from our USDA.
(https://i.imgur.com/Soh3qt4l.png)
If you want ideas for recipes or WFPB eating, join our throw down the gauntlet challenge here:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/go-whole-food-plant-based-(wfpb)-in-2019
This is a long post, I know - TL;DR - please find plant based alternatives to beef and dairy to reduce methane emissions - as methane is a GHG that is 4x more powerful in its global warming than most calculations assume - putting animal ag on par with fossil fuel usage in terms of its culpability for warming our planet.
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Reporting in :)
Week 1 of 2019:
-skipping milk in my tea at work (switched to herbal instead of black)
-wrote emails to my senators and representative asking them to support legislation to combat climate change in this new session of Congress
-wore a down jacket to bed and used a hot water bottle instead of setting up a space heater in our bedroom during recent cold snap
-no string cheese snacks for me
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Reporting in :)
Week 1 of 2019:
-skipping milk in my tea at work (switched to herbal instead of black)
-wrote emails to my senators and representative asking them to support legislation to combat climate change in this new session of Congress
-wore a down jacket to bed and used a hot water bottle instead of setting up a space heater in our bedroom during recent cold snap
-no string cheese snacks for me
NICE! I especially like that you emailed your reps. We all should do that. I imagine most reps do pay attention when a particular issue spikes compared to others. I mean, it's worth sending an email, right? I've already spammed my reps on this topic plenty :). Also - cutting out dairy is great.
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NICE! I especially like that you emailed your reps. We all should do that. I imagine most reps do pay attention when a particular issue spikes compared to others. I mean, it's worth sending an email, right? I've already spammed my reps on this topic plenty :). Also - cutting out dairy is great.
Yes, we should! I mentioned it in the hopes that some others would take it on as a project as well :) My goal for this year is at least 2 emails per month on the topic of climate change. At the individual level, my family has already taken a lot of steps and we've calculated our family carbon footprint to be quite low (I think something like 1/3 of American average by DH's most recent calculation), so I think the biggest thing I can do at this point is agitate for getting other people's carbon footprint down too. Writing elected officials is relatively easy, I'm hoping as I make a habit of that I might come across some other ideas. Doing it regularly will probably also remind me to pester friends/family to do the same more often.
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This was my new year's resolution last year, and I accomplished (and spent a lot). This article was most helpful to me in what would have the most impact - https://www.popsci.com/how-to-stop-climate-change
My big 2019 resolution is to stop consuming so much. For the first 3 months, I don't want to buy anything that is a need. I'd also like to forgo Amazon Prime as much as possible.
Here's what I did in 2018:
-Renewable Power: We got wind energy from Xcel and got solar panels. Switching to green power is one of the best things you can do and is only a couple dollars per month. Great article on this blog on DIY solar panels.
-Transportation: We purchased an electric car (biking would be much better). Transportation is the #1 cause of greenhouse emissions in the US
-More Plant Based Diet: We stopped eating beef, and typically only eat meat once or twice a week
-Composting: We took advantage of our municipal composting. This site can help you if want to find a place to compost https://sharewaste.com/
-Zero Waste: We swapped a lot of things out. We use swedish dish cloths instead of paper towels, soap instead of body soap in plastic, use bamboo toothbrushes, etc. Buy in bulk.
-Less Electricity: Switched all of our lightbulbs to LED, wash all of our clothes in cold, I used to line dry before having a baby.
-Less Water: We got a Rachio (like a smart thermostat for your sprinkler system)
-Buying Used: Everyone probably does this on the forum but it was a revelation to me - buy children's clothes at Thredup and used books at Thriftbooks.
-Recycling: Each city has different rules on recycling. Know your rules and check for a hard to recycle materials center (ours is called CHaRM - Center for Hard to Recycle Materials)
For those looking to cut back plastic, I found Zero Waste Home (blog and book) to be incredibly helpful.
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RE animals and methane, if you take all the CO2 and CH4 output from the system, CAFO is high and grass-fed is lower. You can't just look at the animal output, you have to look at all the outputs from the start of the process. One of the obvious ones is that every time soil is opened up (i.e. plowing for planting soy and corn to feed CAFO animals) CO2 and some CH4 are released to the atmosphere. Pastures and hayfields sequester carbon.
https://www.ecowatch.com/how-factory-farming-contributes-to-global-warming-1881690535.html
Of course CAFO is also inhumane.
RE biogas from landfill, the one I have seen (visited) is a reclaimed landfill (sodded, turned into a municipal park) where methane is captured and burned for electricity generation instead of just letting the methane out-gas from the landfill. There are also farm methane -> electricity setups so farmers can generate their own electricity from decomposing manure before they spread the manure on the fields.
https://www.ecowatch.com/how-factory-farming-contributes-to-global-warming-1881690535.html
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RE biogas from landfill, the one I have seen (visited) is a reclaimed landfill (sodded, turned into a municipal park) where methane is captured and burned for electricity generation instead of just letting the methane out-gas from the landfill. There are also farm methane -> electricity setups so farmers can generate their own electricity from decomposing manure before they spread the manure on the fields.
https://www.ecowatch.com/how-factory-farming-contributes-to-global-warming-1881690535.html
Biogas production is a goal in itself, since it reduces the amount of methane we spread. But the climate effect is even better if it replaces fossil fuels. The electricity production in Norway is 100 % renewable, so we are focusing on the transport sector. Currently, 80% of the buses in the region run on biogas, and with the current plans they will be at 100 % fossil free public transport within 2020. Some of the municipalities also run their cars, vans, and trucks on biogas, and the cruise company "Hurtigruten" is currently building boats that will run on a combination of batteries and biogas.
There are about 11 biogas plants in my county:
1 at a local agricultural school, where they use manure and some food waste to produce the gas, and then have a CHP machine (combined heat and power) to make electricity and heating for the school.
2 at industrial plants (papermill and bioraffinery) where they use waste from the processes to produce gas and clean the waste water. One of the plants use all the gas for processes in the plant, the other cleans the gas and sells it to the local bus company.
2 waste based plants, where they mainly use waste from local households, but also collect some from hotels and food industry. Both of them upgrade the gas and sell it to the bus companies.
6 wastewater treatment plants, where they use the gas for their cleaning processes and heating for their buildings. Biogas production is one of the most efficient ways to clean waste water.
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Wow Gaja that is impressive. Especially since it is a northern climate - so often people use Canada's geography/cold climate as an excuse.
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Wow Gaja that is impressive. Especially since it is a northern climate - so often people use Canada's geography/cold climate as an excuse.
It is 100 % down to political will. We could do a lot more if only more people knew about the advantages and importance of climate friendly solutions, and were willing to make the priorities. And the priorities are not only about what you buy or eat, but about telling the politicians (on a local, regional and national level) what you want them to prioritize:
-Protest FOR removing parking places for cars in central areas of the city, and installing bike racks
-Protest FOR congestion taxes to reduce transport
-If someone wants to build renewable energy, or build a multi-family house to increase urban density: tell your politicians "YIMBY" (yes in my backyard).
-Tell your city council (or whoever funds public transport) that you will accept the extra cost (through taxes or decreased spending in other areas) of 7 % for biogas, or 10-20 % for electricity, to get climate friendly buses in your town
There are politicians who have good ideas in most areas, but they don't get a lot of public support. The NIMBY people, the car drivers, and those other people who don't want any change, are really loud. They are the once protesting in the streets and writing angry letters in the local newspapers, hindering all good local initiatives. At the same time, the climate enthusiasts are focusing on national legislations and international agreements. I've been working on a local and regional level for a long time, and see so many good things happening just due to a few people getting engaged. Look at Freiburg in Germany, Werfenweng in Switzerland, Växjö in Sweden, and Samsö in Denmark: they can often point at one single person who got the ball rolling. Or even better: listen to Søren Hermansen tell his story about how they his little island around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQOED2JxT4
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Political will - for me there are so many issues here, and so hard to address most of them.
One thing I have only just become aware of is just how privatized the world's agricultural seeds are becoming. We have gone past Plant Variety Protection to actual patents, where farmers and gardeners are basically renting use of the seed - you can't save it, you can't breed from it, you can't use or give away or sell seed you saved.
I just found out about Open Source Seed Initiative (osseed.org) and not only want to start buying that seed for my garden, but publicize it. Farmers in our area get their seed basically from Monsanto, and 100% of the corn and 60% of the soy is treated with neonics. Our bees are in trouble, and the farmers have very few alternatives.
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Nice thread, thanks for starting it.
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Things we've done:
- Stopped buying meat other than salmon. Substitute tofu or chickpeas for meat in dishes.
- Stopped buying any food wrapped in plastic (mostly because it's stupid to individually wrap fruit or vegetables - I'm not afraid of plastic)
- Hardly buy anything that's not household goods (food, toilet paper) or baby stuff.
- Switched power plan to one that buys from solar and wind plants in the state (eventually will just switch to solar when we buy a house).
- I bike to work and grocery store.
Things we're working on:
- Getting wife to bike to work
- Using bikes instead of car to go to parks, etc
- Minimize excess heating in the house (runs on natural gas, not electric, unfortunately)
- Replacing paper-based goods wrapped in plastic with brands that aren't
- Minimizing air travel
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Political will - for me there are so many issues here, and so hard to address most of them.
One thing I have only just become aware of is just how privatized the world's agricultural seeds are becoming. We have gone past Plant Variety Protection to actual patents, where farmers and gardeners are basically renting use of the seed - you can't save it, you can't breed from it, you can't use or give away or sell seed you saved.
I just found out about Open Source Seed Initiative (osseed.org) and not only want to start buying that seed for my garden, but publicize it. Farmers in our area get their seed basically from Monsanto, and 100% of the corn and 60% of the soy is treated with neonics. Our bees are in trouble, and the farmers have very few alternatives.
@RetiredAt63 - You know about my lobbying project (https://www.lobbyists4good.org/animal-ag-subsidies). Right now we are lining up my meetings. On my last call with Billy, the founder of lobbyists4good, he proposed setting up a meeting with Monsanto lobbyists.
My initial reaction was fear. Then I said, yeah - let's meet with them! They're just people after all. That said, the business practices of Monsanto, and the degree to which they've positioned their influence into all manner of agencies and political offices - I gotta say, the fear persists. What's my plan for that meeting? I can't even fathom it I'm so overwhelmed by what I know about them. And what I know about them is likely only a tiny portion of their story.
Open Source Seed Initiative looks promising. Free the Seed!
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Investigated the new no plastics food shop in town and I will be able to cut down on some plastic food packaging. Bought a shampoo bar so if it works well enough (and I'm not exactly fussy about my hair) that's one plastic bottle that should never need to be replaced in my lifetime.
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Political will - for me there are so many issues here, and so hard to address most of them.
One thing I have only just become aware of is just how privatized the world's agricultural seeds are becoming. We have gone past Plant Variety Protection to actual patents, where farmers and gardeners are basically renting use of the seed - you can't save it, you can't breed from it, you can't use or give away or sell seed you saved.
I just found out about Open Source Seed Initiative (osseed.org) and not only want to start buying that seed for my garden, but publicize it. Farmers in our area get their seed basically from Monsanto, and 100% of the corn and 60% of the soy is treated with neonics. Our bees are in trouble, and the farmers have very few alternatives.
@RetiredAt63 - You know about my lobbying project (https://www.lobbyists4good.org/animal-ag-subsidies). Right now we are lining up my meetings. On my last call with Billy, the founder of lobbyists4good, he proposed setting up a meeting with Monsanto lobbyists.
My initial reaction was fear. Then I said, yeah - let's meet with them! They're just people after all. That said, the business practices of Monsanto, and the degree to which they've positioned their influence into all manner of agencies and political offices - I gotta say, the fear persists. What's my plan for that meeting? I can't even fathom it I'm so overwhelmed by what I know about them. And what I know about them is likely only a tiny portion of their story.
Open Source Seed Initiative looks promising. Free the Seed!
You know what you will get? Because it is what I got when I was at a provincial consultation about neonics? We are just doing what the farmers want. At this point most farmers are so tied into the modern industrial way of agriculture that it is a positive feedback loop. I heard a presentation from someone very involved with soil health in Canada, and his organization pushes no-till (they will use roundup if they have to, but almost all the time they don't have to) and they have a terrible time persuading farmers to change away from plowing. Farming is such a risky activity that farmers are very conservative and reluctant to change - if something works, it is one less risk for them. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been around since the 70's and is still not used as much as it could be. Farmers would rather buy seed to cope with soil pest insects than even see if that particular farm or a particular filed has the insects, they are all for insurance by pre-treatment and later on, by regular spray schedules. It is really sad, but they are on such tight margins, and their investment in equipment is so high, that change is incredibly risky for them. CAFO is part of the industrial model of agriculture, but I think it is also a reaction to the uncontrolability of animals being outside - if they are inside (pigs, poultry) or in a small monitored area (cattle) they are less vulnerable to the elements.
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Investigated the new no plastics food shop in town and I will be able to cut down on some plastic food packaging. Bought a shampoo bar so if it works well enough (and I'm not exactly fussy about my hair) that's one plastic bottle that should never need to be replaced in my lifetime.
I thought I wan't using all that much plastic, but when I look around I have liquid soap in a push pump bottle, and my shampoo and conditioner are in plastic bottles. I use real soap for washing. The basic issue is, solids do not need to be in plastic bottles, but liquids need to be in bottles, and almost all those bottles are plastic, not glass. So back to solids it is as the liquids get used up. Hmm, the only exception (what is the alternative?) is dish-washing liquid. There is powdered laundry detergent, and powdered dish-washer detergent, but I have never seen powdered dish-washing soap.
I'd love to know how the shampoo bar does for you, and if you miss having conditioner, or if you not need a conditioner.
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Investigated the new no plastics food shop in town and I will be able to cut down on some plastic food packaging. Bought a shampoo bar so if it works well enough (and I'm not exactly fussy about my hair) that's one plastic bottle that should never need to be replaced in my lifetime.
I thought I wan't using all that much plastic, but when I look around I have liquid soap in a push pump bottle, and my shampoo and conditioner are in plastic bottles. I use real soap for washing. The basic issue is, solids do not need to be in plastic bottles, but liquids need to be in bottles, and almost all those bottles are plastic, not glass. So back to solids it is as the liquids get used up. Hmm, the only exception (what is the alternative?) is dish-washing liquid. There is powdered laundry detergent, and powdered dish-washer detergent, but I have never seen powdered dish-washing soap.
I'd love to know how the shampoo bar does for you, and if you miss having conditioner, or if you not need a conditioner.
I use bar shampoo with no conditioner on my long hair and I'm happy with how it turns out, discounting the fact that it looks a little ratty because I desperately need to trim it. I did have to add a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse to the end of my shower to deal with some buildup I was experiencing. I just put 2 tbs of vinegar in a jam jar and dilute it with water while my shower warms up (1.5 - 2 cups?), then dump it over my hair after I rinse out my shampoo. I've been using the same shampoo bar for at least 8 months, possibly closer to a year, and I still have quite a bit left.
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Today I took the train and buss to an event in the city, instead of driving the car. My DH has a monthly train ticket that I can borrow, so I had no cost either.
Today I am making a vegetarian meal for the second time this week. Proteins are coming from blue cheese and some walnuts.
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Reduce plastic use.
Look into getting a compost bin and start composting. Had never really considered it before, but this thread has inspired me.
Look for a shampoo bar and switch back to bar soap in the shower.
Work from home one day a week.
See if I can convince my office to convert from using plastic cutlery back to regular ones. Maybe I will go to the thrift store and buy some to take to work. They also use K cups for coffee, but other than not using them myself, I don't know if there is much I can do about this. Might be a long term project.
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I thought I wan't using all that much plastic, but when I look around I have liquid soap in a push pump bottle,
Liquid soap is way more convenient for us, because small people, but we've started buying it in 5l bottles and just refilling the last few pump bottles we bought. Big bottles are still plastic, but way less of it than 10-20 small bottles plus pumps.
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I thought I wan't using all that much plastic, but when I look around I have liquid soap in a push pump bottle,
Liquid soap is way more convenient for us, because small people, but we've started buying it in 5l bottles and just refilling the last few pump bottles we bought. Big bottles are still plastic, but way less of it than 10-20 small bottles plus pumps.
I already do this for both hand soap and dish-washing detergent, so I am using less plastic, but I am not using no plastic. I do the same for coffee - I use the small cans for my daily coffee (all one of it) and refill from large cans as necessary. The large cans are way more cost effective, the total amount of container is much less (and if I am really careful to get the coffee smell out, can be reused for other things), and because I only open the large container about 4 times the coffee stays fresher.
Its funny/ironic, my sister asks me for frugal hints sometimes and all these things seem like no-brainers, but I guess they aren't.
Hmm, I compost my coffee grinds (great Nitrogen for the garden, also an easy wool dye if you want a really dark brown with no yellow to it) and the paper filters, but I don't know that my tea bags are compostable. I should write the manufacturers. I know I have read that some tea bags will compost in municipal composting but not in home compost bins, they just don't get consistently hot enough. I don't care if they don't fully compost, as long as when I add them to my garden they will continue to break down - i.e. slow composting cotton is acceptable, any synthetic is not.
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You can often buy the same as loose tea so you don’t need the bag. I am doing that.
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I buy loose tea when I can but usually that means going to a specialty shop. Grocery stores here basically like bagged tea.
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I've been focusing on organizing and decluttering, which doesn't feel environmentally friendly as I'm bagging up stuff to get rid of, but has the effect of making me more aware of and content with what I already have, so I don't feel the need to buy anything new. I thought about buying some plastic bins to organize my kids' toys but ended up using shoe boxes instead, which aren't ideal but work adequately.
Had a couple of fails this week related to poor planning - for example, I went to Starbucks the other day because I had to leave early and my husband didn't want me to risk waking the kids by running the coffee grinder, which could easily have been solved by grinding the coffee the night before. And I forgot a fork in my lunch today so will need to use a plastic one, which could be solved by leaving a few metal forks at work. So I think my next area of focus should be planning ahead better to avoid needing single-use items.
I think reducing dairy consumption is going to be one of the most challenging aspects of this challenge. As a busy family with two young, relatively picky kids, we eat a lot of quesadillas, pizza, and cheesy pasta dishes. They'll eat veggies on the side but won't reliably eat them mixed into things. The only WFPB dinner they'll reliably eat is vegetarian chili. They also like fake meat like veggie dogs and veggie sausage, so maybe I need to experiment with homemade versions of these things. Suggestions here would be welcome.
And a couple questions for pet owners: what's the best choice for cleaning up dog poop? I do reuse bags from bread, etc. when I have them, but we have 3 dogs so those aren't enough. Also, any recommendations for environmentally friendly cat litter?
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I've been focusing on organizing and decluttering, which doesn't feel environmentally friendly as I'm bagging up stuff to get rid of, but has the effect of making me more aware of and content with what I already have, so I don't feel the need to buy anything new. I thought about buying some plastic bins to organize my kids' toys but ended up using shoe boxes instead, which aren't ideal but work adequately.
A researcher at the local university who specialises in climate related LCA analyzis always says that he doesn't like goals of reducing the total amount of garbage. Instead, we should focus on getting people to deliver all their stored junk to the recycling stations so we get the resources back into the loop. If we recycled all the precious metals in phones and other electronics people don't use anymore, maybe we could remove the market for some of the worst mines in Kongo?
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I've been focusing on organizing and decluttering, which doesn't feel environmentally friendly as I'm bagging up stuff to get rid of, but has the effect of making me more aware of and content with what I already have, so I don't feel the need to buy anything new. I thought about buying some plastic bins to organize my kids' toys but ended up using shoe boxes instead, which aren't ideal but work adequately.
A researcher at the local university who specialises in climate related LCA analyzis always says that he doesn't like goals of reducing the total amount of garbage. Instead, we should focus on getting people to deliver all their stored junk to the recycling stations so we get the resources back into the loop. If we recycled all the precious metals in phones and other electronics people don't use anymore, maybe we could remove the market for some of the worst mines in Kongo?
Getting all those things into the recycling stream is very important. The mining of coltan is a disgrace in many places. The low-tech highly polluting mines, which are also very dangerous for their operators, are called "artisanal", but "artisanal" is for cheese or wine or bread, not for mines. They remind me of the California gold rush in their environmental destruction. About the same level of technology, too.
My area does have an electronics recycling depot, so phones and microwave ovens and so on end up there, instead of in the garbage. We also have hazardous household waste day so hazardous waste does not end up in the garbage. We are a small rural township. It is doable if the will is there.
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I think reducing dairy consumption is going to be one of the most challenging aspects of this challenge. As a busy family with two young, relatively picky kids, we eat a lot of quesadillas, pizza, and cheesy pasta dishes. They'll eat veggies on the side but won't reliably eat them mixed into things. The only WFPB dinner they'll reliably eat is vegetarian chili. They also like fake meat like veggie dogs and veggie sausage, so maybe I need to experiment with homemade versions of these things. Suggestions here would be welcome.
We make a lot of homemade veggie sausage/seitan in our pressure cooker. I use this (https://www.isachandra.com/2012/01/vegan_sausage/) recipe as a general guide (can typically fit 4x the recipe in the pressure cooker, so great for making a big batch!).
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I've been focusing on organizing and decluttering, which doesn't feel environmentally friendly as I'm bagging up stuff to get rid of, but has the effect of making me more aware of and content with what I already have, so I don't feel the need to buy anything new. I thought about buying some plastic bins to organize my kids' toys but ended up using shoe boxes instead, which aren't ideal but work adequately.
A researcher at the local university who specialises in climate related LCA analyzis always says that he doesn't like goals of reducing the total amount of garbage. Instead, we should focus on getting people to deliver all their stored junk to the recycling stations so we get the resources back into the loop. If we recycled all the precious metals in phones and other electronics people don't use anymore, maybe we could remove the market for some of the worst mines in Kongo?
Thanks, this is an interesting perspective that I hadn't thought of. Most of what I got rid of so far was clothing and a few toys, and while I did donate most things, I know the supply of used clothing and toys already exceeds the demand, so they may still end up getting trashed. But I'm pretty sure I have a few old, non-working cell phones stashed away in the garage somewhere. I'll add finding and recycling my non-working electronics and spent batteries to my to-do list.
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I think reducing dairy consumption is going to be one of the most challenging aspects of this challenge. As a busy family with two young, relatively picky kids, we eat a lot of quesadillas, pizza, and cheesy pasta dishes. They'll eat veggies on the side but won't reliably eat them mixed into things. The only WFPB dinner they'll reliably eat is vegetarian chili. They also like fake meat like veggie dogs and veggie sausage, so maybe I need to experiment with homemade versions of these things. Suggestions here would be welcome.
@nessness, if you're open to the idea of soaking and blending cashews, you can make some pretty amazing 'cheezy' wfpb dishes.
The trick is to do a few iterations and dial in the sauce to your own liking. I would suggest using whole wheat pasta, of course, just to keep it healthy.
Here's an example. This one looks pretty darned close to the recipe I've followed. It's from Chocolate Covered Katie, and everything I've made from her site has been delicious. Some WFPB mac-n-cheeze recipes use roasted pumpkin rather than roasted carrot. Personally I prefer the pumpkin, but either will give the sauce the color your kids will likely expect. (And go easy on the vinegar).
( https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2018/08/13/vegan-mac-and-cheese-recipe )
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 medium peeled carrot, steamed or roasted (80g)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp white or cider vinegar
1/2 cup water, plus more for soaking
optional 2 tsp buttery spread or oil, for richness
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3 servings pasta of choice, or you can put the sauce over veggies or use it as a dipping sauce
Instructions
Completely cover the nuts in a bowl with water. Let soak anywhere from 2-6 hours, or refrigerate and soak overnight. Drain fully. Combine all ingredients (including 1/2 cup water, but not including the optional cheese-style shreds), and blend in a blender or with an immersion blender until completely smooth. Transfer to a small pot and heat to your desired temperature, stirring optional cheese shreds in at the end. Taste, and add extra seasonings (onion, salt, nutmeg, pepper) if desired – I like to add another 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch more nutmeg. Serve over cooked pasta, rice, veggies, etc.
Other sites that are also consistently good for simple, delicious WFPB:
minimalistbaker.com
onegreenplanet.org/channel/vegan-recipe
Like I mentioned before, you can always join us for the WFPB gauntlet challenge. Lots of people there are not quite doing 100% WFPB, but are there to increase their repertoire of WFPB recipes.
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(our whole discussion about Monsanto)
You know what you will get? Because it is what I got when I was at a provincial consultation about neonics? We are just doing what the farmers want. At this point most farmers are so tied into the modern industrial way of agriculture that it is a positive feedback loop. I heard a presentation from someone very involved with soil health in Canada, and his organization pushes no-till (they will use roundup if they have to, but almost all the time they don't have to) and they have a terrible time persuading farmers to change away from plowing. Farming is such a risky activity that farmers are very conservative and reluctant to change - if something works, it is one less risk for them. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been around since the 70's and is still not used as much as it could be. Farmers would rather buy seed to cope with soil pest insects than even see if that particular farm or a particular filed has the insects, they are all for insurance by pre-treatment and later on, by regular spray schedules. It is really sad, but they are on such tight margins, and their investment in equipment is so high, that change is incredibly risky for them. CAFO is part of the industrial model of agriculture, but I think it is also a reaction to the uncontrolability of animals being outside - if they are inside (pigs, poultry) or in a small monitored area (cattle) they are less vulnerable to the elements.
Thank you for writing this up. This is the kind of insight I need to better prepare for this project in Feb.
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Thanks @Malaysia41. Unfortunately nutritional yeast is one of the few foods I strongly dislike - I've tried a few well-reviewed recipes that use it and found them all to be barely edible. But I'll take a look at the WFPB thread - thanks for the suggestion.
I think I'm going to try making air-fried tofu this week - we like braised tofu from restaurants but I haven't been too successful at making it, but we got an air fryer for Christmas which might work better.
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Thanks @Malaysia41. Unfortunately nutritional yeast is one of the few foods I strongly dislike - I've tried a few well-reviewed recipes that use it and found them all to be barely edible. But I'll take a look at the WFPB thread - thanks for the suggestion.
I feel the same way about nutritional yeast. We have drastically reduced our dairy in the past year. My husband and older kid are lactose intolerant, kid may also be sensitive to casein. I tried several nutritional yeast recipes, and everyone thought they were awful. We've switched to non dairy milk for cereal and baking and coconut or almond yogurt. Older kid is also fine with vegan american- style cheese slices, coconut ice cream, and Kite Hill almond cream cheese is pretty decent. However, most of the cheese replacements just don't taste good to us, so we look for recipes that don't involve dairy to begin with. One of our standby quick meals is spaghetti. "Meatballs" are one of the vegetarian substitute foods that work really well, either homemade or commercial. For homemade, I prefer a mushroom and chickpea base. I keep some frozen, and with jarred marinara sauce, pasta, and a vegetable or salad, I can feed us all with minimal effort. Add some French bread brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt.
Also, it's worth having fast and easy options around. I keep a bag of frozen Morningstar nuggets and oven fries, so when we're really slammed I toss a pan of each in the oven and either microwave frozen corn and peas or cut up raw vegetables. Yes, processed and not nutritionally perfect, and not super frugal, but it's better and cheaper than hitting the drive through. I also always have a quart of tomato soup in the pantry. Just heat it up, add a swirl of coconut milk, and some garlic toast. My black bean burrito filling is a can of black beans, some frozen corn, salsa, and chili powder heated together for a couple minutes. I serve it with tortillas or over rice, with guacamole, red onion, cilantro, and more salsa. If I have more time, I cook dry beans.
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Thanks @Malaysia41. Unfortunately nutritional yeast is one of the few foods I strongly dislike - I've tried a few well-reviewed recipes that use it and found them all to be barely edible. But I'll take a look at the WFPB thread - thanks for the suggestion.
I feel the same way about nutritional yeast.
I like nutritional yeast ok, but it's important to know that there is a subset of the population that cannot clear vitamin b6 from the body (I turn out to be one of them, unfortunately), and therefore must be extremely careful of supplemental b6 or risk nerve damage. Trust, me it isn't fun to overdose on b6. I'm actually suspicious that a couple years of only 2x per week B-complex supplementation might have set off autoimmune diseases in me. And nutritional yeast has a lot of added b6.
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I found potatoes at the grocery store that come in a paper bag, and they're cheaper than the plastic bag ones!
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Thanks @MicroRN !
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...which could easily have been solved by grinding the coffee the night before.
Or a manual grinder. I have a hand crank grinder I use for my coffee, though admittedly this is because I'm the only coffee drinker - I use an Aeropress to make single cups at a time. The kettle is louder than the grinder. Though, to be fair, my daughter does pester me for coffee beans to eat whenever she finds me making coffee - I can't say I'm a huge fan of raw coffee beans, but she loves them.
Also, any recommendations for environmentally friendly cat litter?
A couple acres and an outdoor cat? ;)
A researcher at the local university who specialises in climate related LCA analyzis always says that he doesn't like goals of reducing the total amount of garbage. Instead, we should focus on getting people to deliver all their stored junk to the recycling stations so we get the resources back into the loop. If we recycled all the precious metals in phones and other electronics people don't use anymore, maybe we could remove the market for some of the worst mines in Kongo?
Cobalt and rare earths are somewhat hard to recycle out of electronics, sadly. There's often no good way to split the stuff out, and electronics "recycling" is, more often than not, shipping them to some third world country where the valuable chips get removed and the rest gets burned. We'd be far, far better off learning to use those things far longer, and repairing them as they broke instead of replacing them.
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I'm working towards reduced environmental impact, though via a somewhat different route - I'm one hell of a pessimist and am aiming to be able to produce a large amount of our own food/energy from our property (two acres, but I can expand to the land around it if I need - I shouldn't need to). That has a side effect of reducing our environmental impact, because it involves locally produced energy/food.
The big project for 2019 is home solar. After getting obscene quotes for a basic grid tied system that doesn't actually reduce grid use much, I'm building my own system. Ground mount, battery backed (hybrid - I can export to grid if it's up, or run standalone if it's down or I feel like it), and designed to be flexible. I expect my power company will eliminate net metering within the next few years, so I'm designing to be able to self consume a lot of energy and basically adapt to what comes down the pipeline. It may or may not save me money, but it should dramatically reduce our energy use, and I should be "export only" for most of the spring, fall, and summer, if I choose to run that way. We're a rural, pure electric house, so that covers water, heat, and a good bit of our transportation energy (we've got a Volt that covers most driving on electric, with a tank or so of gas a month in the winter, somewhat less in the summer as it doesn't need the engine for heat as much). I work from the property, so my office impact is minimal (off grid/solar powered with lead acid, so fairly low embodied energy in the batteries).
What I really should do is get my long range/high speed e-bike built - I've got about half the parts, but have been lazy about building it. It's a 20 mile round trip into town, and I live on a high speed rural road, so biking is a bit sketchy unless I take some long detours. Being able to cruise at 30-35mph reduces the speed delta massively, and also gives me power for some good lighting, while consuming far less energy than a car or motorcycle.
I've been working on the waste streams as well. Again, not as much for purely environmental reasons as for sanity and cost reasons. I finally found a recycling center that takes most materials (and pays for corrugated cardboard and aluminum), though I still can't recycle glass anywhere. I haul recycling if I'm making a Home Depot or Lowes run, so it's more or less free to haul, and it keeps material out of our trash trailer, which is slowly extending the fill-time. It was 4 months, then 6 months, and I'm hoping to get a year on this fill (I'll probably haul it late in the year if it needs it or not, unless I think I can make it through winter - hauling it in the winter sucks).
The local food production side of things is a bit behind where I was hoping to be, but we have a garden, and will be expanding it. I also intend to build some greenhouses for aquaponics, and some more sheltered garden beds (screen-covered sides to keep the birds out, mostly, because WOW they destroy the garden in a hurry when things are sprouting). Compost bins exist, but are not working optimally right now - I need to do more work to get them up to temperature so I can kill seeds in our feedstock, which is heavily tumbleweed and cheatgrass.
It's a long project, but we've got the land area to be able to really reduce our impact a lot, and I'm working towards continuing to do so.
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The big project for 2019 is home solar. After getting obscene quotes for a basic grid tied system that doesn't actually reduce grid use much, I'm building my own system. Ground mount, battery backed (hybrid - I can export to grid if it's up, or run standalone if it's down or I feel like it), and designed to be flexible. I expect my power company will eliminate net metering within the next few years, so I'm designing to be able to self consume a lot of energy and basically adapt to what comes down the pipeline. It may or may not save me money, but it should dramatically reduce our energy use, and I should be "export only" for most of the spring, fall, and summer, if I choose to run that way. We're a rural, pure electric house, so that covers water, heat, and a good bit of our transportation energy (we've got a Volt that covers most driving on electric, with a tank or so of gas a month in the winter, somewhat less in the summer as it doesn't need the engine for heat as much). I work from the property, so my office impact is minimal (off grid/solar powered with lead acid, so fairly low embodied energy in the batteries).
I'd love to see you start a thread on this @Syonk (though of course I realize that it's one thing to want someone else to do something and quite another to take on the workload yourself).
I followed your build of your off-grid office and might do something similar when we get our next home; would love to follow your process of home solar with the option of taking it off-grid.
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I'll consider tossing a build thread here - I haven't decided if I want to bother keeping multiple build threads going at various places, or just document it on my blog when it's done.
I suppose I should also mention, for completeness, that my office goes through a couple gallons of propane and about 5-15 gallons of gas a winter (propane for cloudy day heat, gas for the generator for inversion weeks, though I'm getting better at using less gas as I learn what my battery bank can actually handle).
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I intend to walk to work and back tomorrow. I meed to wear spike soles.
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A researcher at the local university who specialises in climate related LCA analyzis always says that he doesn't like goals of reducing the total amount of garbage. Instead, we should focus on getting people to deliver all their stored junk to the recycling stations so we get the resources back into the loop. If we recycled all the precious metals in phones and other electronics people don't use anymore, maybe we could remove the market for some of the worst mines in Kongo?
Cobalt and rare earths are somewhat hard to recycle out of electronics, sadly. There's often no good way to split the stuff out, and electronics "recycling" is, more often than not, shipping them to some third world country where the valuable chips get removed and the rest gets burned. We'd be far, far better off learning to use those things far longer, and repairing them as they broke instead of replacing them.
I do agree that repairing and reducing consumption is better. And yes, some things are more difficult to recycle. But we do need these technologies to be developed, and that won't happen until we (the consumers and voters) show businesses and politicians that there is a need for it. It has happened before with a lot of other materials, there is no reason it should happen with metals from electronics too.
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I do agree that repairing and reducing consumption is better. And yes, some things are more difficult to recycle. But we do need these technologies to be developed, and that won't happen until we (the consumers and voters) show businesses and politicians that there is a need for it. It has happened before with a lot of other materials, there is no reason it should happen with metals from electronics too.
I'm going to guess you don't work with lithium batteries terribly often - they have an annoying tendency to burst into flames with violently toxic fumes when you start mashing them up. In theory, they can be recycled and reused, but it's not nearly as easy as most recycling processes, which tends to mean a lot more energy is required (or a lot more hands-on labor - recycling electronics is harder when you have to individually remove the battery pouches from the units before they can be recycled, and that's the sort of thing that involves regular fires from damage).
More repairable electronics would help quite a bit, as they're easier to both maintain in service and disassemble for recycling, but that's not the trend we've seen. Sadly.
On the plus side, costs for electronics are going to be trending up with the tariffs, so maybe we'll get less crap coming out in the first place. A thundering global recession would be great for the environment.
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I do agree that repairing and reducing consumption is better. And yes, some things are more difficult to recycle. But we do need these technologies to be developed, and that won't happen until we (the consumers and voters) show businesses and politicians that there is a need for it. It has happened before with a lot of other materials, there is no reason it should happen with metals from electronics too.
I'm going to guess you don't work with lithium batteries terribly often - they have an annoying tendency to burst into flames with violently toxic fumes when you start mashing them up. In theory, they can be recycled and reused, but it's not nearly as easy as most recycling processes, which tends to mean a lot more energy is required (or a lot more hands-on labor - recycling electronics is harder when you have to individually remove the battery pouches from the units before they can be recycled, and that's the sort of thing that involves regular fires from damage).
More repairable electronics would help quite a bit, as they're easier to both maintain in service and disassemble for recycling, but that's not the trend we've seen. Sadly.
On the plus side, costs for electronics are going to be trending up with the tariffs, so maybe we'll get less crap coming out in the first place. A thundering global recession would be great for the environment.
Not personally, but I have chatted a bit with the national center for battery recycling and other recycling people about these topics. They are planning a new plant for lithium battery recycling, to get better control of it rather than shipping it abroad, and also have plans for reuse of the larger battery packs. The waste industry as a whole are changing, and they are moving fast. They have recently launched a center for circular economy (webpage is ncce.no, sorry for the language), and one of the projects they have received research funding for is how to drain energy from batteries and reuse that energy.
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I thought I would share a little story from my workplace.
A couple of years ago the bosses started buying plastic cutlery for the staff lunchroom. So, this week I brought some extra metal cutlery that I had at home, and also went to the thrift store and bought more, so now there is plenty of metal cutlery. I was telling this to the receptionist (C1), who also supports green living, and there was another co-worker standing there, let's call her C2. C1 was very much in favour, and thanked me for doing that. C2, on the other hand, gave a bunch of lame excuses as to why she prefers to use plastic spoons at work. I tried to remain neutral and just said it's up to her, she can do whatever she wants, but they are there for whoever wants to use them. BTW, we have a dishwasher at work that we run once a week.
There are still a lot of people that just don't get it. But it starts with one. I can't change the world, but I can change what I do, and hopefully the word will spread.
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One month in, how's everyone doing on their goals?
I've been doing well with my "buying less" and "buying used" goals, and somewhat well at eating fewer animal products. I've tried introducing the potty to my almost-2-year-old but haven't made any real progress on training her.
I haven't put enough effort yet into my goals of reducing food waste and food packaging waste - I've been super busy so my husband's been doing more of the food shopping and cooking, and he's not much for meal planning, and tends to buy a lot of single-serving snacks. I don't want to nag him constantly, so I think I'll need to find time to do more of these to make real progress - probably by using my crock pot more.
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There is a lot of travelling planned at work, but I've managed to avoid booking any plane tickets yet. That means driving 1500 km to a meeting in Brussels (and the same distance back) end of February, and probably skipping a meeting in Scotland in April.
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You're so die-hard @gaja! Much respect for your no-flying efforts.
I totally failed on the no-flying part by booking two trips in the past week. One is with a friend visiting from overseas. I suggested several destinations within bus/train distance, but due to him wanting to make most out of his trip he'd be 'too far to bus to' on the limited number of days I could join (I couldn't take more than 3 days off, otherwise I wouldn't mind a long bus/train ride).
There was also a 'too good to be true' deal to the country where I used to live and after talking with some friends from there I decided I wanted to go this year anyways so I better take the good deal.
Seems like I'm hopeless regarding flying this year. For both trips I'll pay for CO2 compensation though. On the long flight that'll mean a painful extra charity contribution.
No-meat is going really well. Haven't visited my parents in a while so that makes it easy. Have been eating too much cheese recently though.
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It's been surprisingly easy to cut down poultry and fish meals, we're actually having more vegetarian days than I originally 'budgeted' for without trying too hard. The last two weeks I didn't like the price of chicken, so we just skipped it. My DH does worry about getting enough protein, but we do still eat plenty of eggs and yoghurt as well as plant-based sources.
Looking like this year will be no-fly (barring family emergencies). Last year we had one trip to England to visit DH's relatives before our wedding, since they would not be able to attend, but we didn't go on a honeymoon, and we are not planning any trips this year.
I'm honestly not sure how we're doing on plastic packaging. I'm trying to buy things with less packaging, no single serve packs, or glass or paper packaging, but I'm not noticing much difference in our trash/recycling quantities. I have been good about remembering my reusable bags when shopping, so no plastic grocery bags so far.
The nasty cold snap has kept me from longer walking/biking trips, but I do walk to my closer errands and I have been making sure to never have single-purpose car trips, always combine at least 2-3 errands in the same direction. We also bought a new-to-us car early this month that gets better gas mileage than the old one (this decision was not related to environmental impact, but it still counts I think).
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It's been surprisingly easy to cut down poultry and fish meals, we're actually having more vegetarian days than I originally 'budgeted' for without trying too hard. The last two weeks I didn't like the price of chicken, so we just skipped it. My DH does worry about getting enough protein, but we do still eat plenty of eggs and yoghurt as well as plant-based sources.
Looking like this year will be no-fly (barring family emergencies). Last year we had one trip to England to visit DH's relatives before our wedding, since they would not be able to attend, but we didn't go on a honeymoon, and we are not planning any trips this year.
I'm honestly not sure how we're doing on plastic packaging. I'm trying to buy things with less packaging, no single serve packs, or glass or paper packaging, but I'm not noticing much difference in our trash/recycling quantities. I have been good about remembering my reusable bags when shopping, so no plastic grocery bags so far.
The nasty cold snap has kept me from longer walking/biking trips, but I do walk to my closer errands and I have been making sure to never have single-purpose car trips, always combine at least 2-3 errands in the same direction. We also bought a new-to-us car early this month that gets better gas mileage than the old one (this decision was not related to environmental impact, but it still counts I think).
This may be something to investigate. Ask himself what exactly is motivating his concern about protein. Dr. Garth Davis's book, called Proteinaholic, has some interesting data and facts to consider.
tl;dr - In America, no one is dying of protein deficiency, yet nearly everyone is concerned about getting adequate protein.
Meanwhile, the top 14 of 16 killers in the US are all related to eating too many animal products - meat, dairy and eggs all included.
Eating plant based isn't just good for the environment. So long as you eat a wide variety of plants, and get adequate calories, you can't be protein deficient. Just look at all the body builders and elite athletes like Rich Roll (check out his podcast) who outperform their competitors. Or read Penn Jillette's account of eating nothing but potato for IIRC 3 months. (not that I recommend an all-potato diet - it's simply instructive about how complete the nutrition is in a lot of plants).
Nice on no-flying. I have one big trip on an airplane coming up, but other than that it's trains all the time. I'm giving about $100 a month to activists and organizations as my 'self imposed carbon tax'.
On plastic - the following article made my brain and heart hurt. I hate that it's nearly impossible to buy anything without creating plastic waste. And our acceptance of that seems to have largely been due to an ad campaign :(. https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2017/10/26/a-beautiful-if-evil-strategy
Let me know if you guys look into protein - and what you conclude about the conventional obsession to 'get enough'
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It's been surprisingly easy to cut down poultry and fish meals, we're actually having more vegetarian days than I originally 'budgeted' for without trying too hard. The last two weeks I didn't like the price of chicken, so we just skipped it. My DH does worry about getting enough protein, but we do still eat plenty of eggs and yoghurt as well as plant-based sources.
Looking like this year will be no-fly (barring family emergencies). Last year we had one trip to England to visit DH's relatives before our wedding, since they would not be able to attend, but we didn't go on a honeymoon, and we are not planning any trips this year.
I'm honestly not sure how we're doing on plastic packaging. I'm trying to buy things with less packaging, no single serve packs, or glass or paper packaging, but I'm not noticing much difference in our trash/recycling quantities. I have been good about remembering my reusable bags when shopping, so no plastic grocery bags so far.
The nasty cold snap has kept me from longer walking/biking trips, but I do walk to my closer errands and I have been making sure to never have single-purpose car trips, always combine at least 2-3 errands in the same direction. We also bought a new-to-us car early this month that gets better gas mileage than the old one (this decision was not related to environmental impact, but it still counts I think).
This may be something to investigate. Ask himself what exactly is motivating his concern about protein. Dr. Garth Davis's book, called Proteinaholic, has some interesting data and facts to consider.
tl;dr - In America, no one is dying of protein deficiency, yet nearly everyone is concerned about getting adequate protein.
Meanwhile, the top 14 of 16 killers in the US are all related to eating too many animal products - meat, dairy and eggs all included.
Eating plant based isn't just good for the environment. So long as you eat a wide variety of plants, and get adequate calories, you can't be protein deficient. Just look at all the body builders and elite athletes like Rich Roll (check out his podcast) who outperform their competitors. Or read Penn Jillette's account of eating nothing but potato for IIRC 3 months. (not that I recommend an all-potato diet - it's simply instructive about how complete the nutrition is in a lot of plants).
Nice on no-flying. I have one big trip on an airplane coming up, but other than that it's trains all the time. I'm giving about $100 a month to activists and organizations as my 'self imposed carbon tax'.
On plastic - the following article made my brain and heart hurt. I hate that it's nearly impossible to buy anything without creating plastic waste. And our acceptance of that seems to have largely been due to an ad campaign :(. https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2017/10/26/a-beautiful-if-evil-strategy
Let me know if you guys look into protein - and what you conclude about the conventional obsession to 'get enough'
Honestly, this may be one of those things that I can't really convince him on. DH was a full vegetarian for 10+ years when he was younger, so he's done way more research on nutrition than I have, and I think he actually did have trouble with deficiencies when he was younger and still growing. I know his nutritional needs are different now as an adult, and there's a lot more reliable information now than then, but I can't really argue with his experience. His concern is mostly about when we have a meal with no meat, no dairy, and no bean/legume. I like to make vegetable soups (leek+potato, carrot+ginger, mixed veggie, etc) and he worries if we have more than one meal like that within a few days. I can combat this with more bean/lentil meals, but I have a limited repertoire of bean-based recipes - all of which he loves, but he also doesn't like to eat the same thing many days in a row. I've been learning more Indian cooking to combat this, but it's a work in progress.
Besides, that's why I'm on this thread - looking to make improvements this year.
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So here's a question for you all regarding plastic and social events:
Yesterday we went to a New Year's brunch and the hosts had disposable cutlery, plates, cups, napkins. The plates and napkins were paper, but everything else was single use plastic, not compostable, clearly headed for the landfill. My husband and I shared a fork, in retrospect I wish we had at least brought our own travel mugs for coffee (we have done this in the past when invited to events at parks). How socially weird would it be to show up at someone's house also bearing your own plate and fork? On the one hand we live in a "crunchy" enough area that I think people might not be too bothered if I said, oh we are trying to reduce single use plastic. On the other hand, seems a little judgy? Has anyone done this? Did it lead to social ostracization? I guess for events like this it might also not be too hard to just show up and hang out but not eat,
I only use cutlery and plates I bring if what's there is not reusable. On top of that, when I see someone take a napkin and not use it, which is standard at work events, I bring it home and use it.
If I can't avoid causing landfill waste, I skip the food. Sunday at an event I spoke at I brought cutlery, a plate, and a napkin. Everything they served was individually wrapped. I just didn't eat anything there. I let a friend use the cutlery so at least he could avoid using their plasticware since he still ate their food.
I haven't seen an issue of sanctimony. If there is any, it's from the person, not the cutlery. A sanctimonious person will be that way with or without their own silverware. A supportive, nonjudgmental person will be that way with or without silverware too.
I'll keep bringing my own things. I don't make a show of using them. I just use them. If people ask I answer.
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One month in, how's everyone doing on their goals?
I've been doing well with my "buying less" and "buying used" goals, and somewhat well at eating fewer animal products. I've tried introducing the potty to my almost-2-year-old but haven't made any real progress on training her.
I haven't put enough effort yet into my goals of reducing food waste and food packaging waste - I've been super busy so my husband's been doing more of the food shopping and cooking, and he's not much for meal planning, and tends to buy a lot of single-serving snacks. I don't want to nag him constantly, so I think I'll need to find time to do more of these to make real progress - probably by using my crock pot more.
Still haven't filled a load of garbage since September.
Still haven't flown since March 2016.
Still haven't eaten meat since 1990.
Nearly zero packaged food for about four years.
Still only public transit and walking around New York.
Most of all, happier, more convenient, saving more money, more connection with community than ever.
I'm redoing my floor, but keeping all the trash produced to take a picture of. Probably my biggest waste in a few years.
Still looking to improve my life yet more by continuing to reduce consumption of unnecessary stuff. I end up buying things online maybe once a month, which I'm still reducing, for example. Too much packaging.
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I'm in. Goals:
- minimize air travel
- eat fewer animal products
- if we have to buy something, get it used
- minimize single-use plastic (I'd love to hear what you figure out for that, @BlueHouse!)
- No air travel yet. We had one trip in January from VT to MD and took Amtrak.
- Still cooking 100% vegetarian at home, and trying new vegan recipes when I find ones that look appealing. Tonight's dinner will be tempeh/spinach/tomato/avocado sandwiches.
- Everything we bought in January was consumables - food, cat litter, etc - except for a pair of headphones and a box of greeting cards, which were both new. So we failed at this one but it was a small fail.
- F's dad gave us a set of beeswax food wraps for Christmas and I've used them instead of plastic bags/saran wrap three times so far, so that's something.
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-eat more small ruminants (sheep, goat)
-buy goat milk cheese instead of cow milk cheese
-renew summer vegetable and egg CSA
-carry stainless steel straw in purse
-buy second Yeti cup since work is providing only paper cups until new kitchen is complete; carrying one back and forth didn't work out well enough
-use silverware at work (even if it means washing them by hand since office dishwasher isn't connected yet)
-pick up a piece of trash every day
-keep reusable plastic bags in car to avoid "oops left them at home" syndrome
-cluster errands to save gas
-print double sided when possible
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-eat more small ruminants (sheep, goat)
-buy goat milk cheese instead of cow milk cheese
-renew summer vegetable and egg CSA
-carry stainless steel straw in purse
-buy second Yeti cup since work is providing only paper cups until new kitchen is complete; carrying one back and forth didn't work out well enough
-use silverware at work (even if it means washing them by hand since office dishwasher isn't connected yet)
-pick up a piece of trash every day
-keep reusable plastic bags in car to avoid "oops left them at home" syndrome
-cluster errands to save gas
-print double sided when possible
What's leading you to switch from cow to small ruminants? My understanding is all ruminants - small and large alike - emit methane.
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I have no interest in eating less meat; small ruminants have smaller footprint
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One month in, how's everyone doing on their goals?
- Commuting for January was three bike/bus round trips and the rest just bike. Oh and one bike/train to a dIfferent office. With everything else I just scraped over 400 miles of purely transport cycling (no 'just going for a ride').
- 96 miles on the family car, which isn't massive, but is a bit frustrating because they were almost all trips that we'd cycle in the summer but which are too far to keep the kids warm on the bike.
- Weekly meal plan is now 100% vegetarian for the whole family. That covers everything but #1's school lunches. The main remaining non-vegan stuff is #1/OH having cow's milk at breakfast (#2 and I have soya), cheese and soft cheese in lunches (I usually have hummus/peanut butter), and ice cream/yoghurt for desserts a few times a week (I can have something else).
- Stuff I bought in Jan: a bike light, a pair of in-ear headphones, a couple of batteries to resurrect a cordless drill my BIL gave me (because it didn't work), and a lidded plastic box so we can store some of our dry foods in the garage/utility without worrying about rodents. OH has bought a few things, but I think they were all second-hand. We've donated or freecycled a load of stuff this month too.
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Eh. I've been working outside on the warmer days, but haven't gotten the solar build going - I still need to finish the permitting paperwork for it.
The Volt (car) is working well - we're running around 150 miles per gallon of gas used, and that's including the cold winter weeks - the car runs the engine for heat if it's cold enough. I need to get another charger so I can "charge out" at a few places in the evening. I'm trying to get an outlet run around the side of our church office building so I can charge there, and if I've got another charger, I can charge in the evening when gaming at a friend's house (tabletop).
Recycling is going well, and I'm attempting to convince my inlaws up the hill that if they toss recyclables in a box, I'll deal with it for them - they have burn barrels, but the subdivision up the hill has been a bit cranky about burning, so they've just been hauling it un-burned, and they're having to do that more often than they like (a couple 55 gallon drums last a long time if you're burning, less so if you're not and not recycling either). So, we'll see how that goes - eventually, if our trash production goes down enough, I may just offer to combine trash services (which is to say, "they put trash in the trailer I haul every now and then"). Diverting to recycling has radically reduced volume into the trailer.
I... feel a bit stupid for having just worked this out, but I realized you don't have to put produce in a plastic produce bag at grocery stores. You can just toss a potato or onion in the cart, buy it, and carry it out without bags. We have a surplus of produce bags in our house, so they can get reused. I'm considering putting together some reusable mesh ones at some point, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
We could stand to actually use the reusable grocery bags as well. They don't get used, and I'm just as guilty as my wife on that front.
So, slow progress. Not having evening sun yet (sun goes down around 1745 or so right now) inhibits a lot of evening projects outside, but once we get longer days, I'm planning to be spending my evenings outside working on the solar install and related property tech.
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...I realized you don't have to put produce in a plastic produce bag at grocery stores. You can just toss a potato or onion in the cart, buy it, and carry it out without bags. We have a surplus of produce bags in our house, so they can get reused. I'm considering putting together some reusable mesh ones at some point, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
That popped in my head a few years ago, and for the most part the grocers think we're weird but otherwise don't mind. One or two accused me of trying to steal, which made no sense since the food was in the cart clearly visible to everyone. I got mad, the manager came, and finally they let us buy the food. Never went there again. My point being...be prepared for an argument!
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...I realized you don't have to put produce in a plastic produce bag at grocery stores. You can just toss a potato or onion in the cart, buy it, and carry it out without bags. We have a surplus of produce bags in our house, so they can get reused. I'm considering putting together some reusable mesh ones at some point, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
That popped in my head a few years ago, and for the most part the grocers think we're weird but otherwise don't mind. One or two accused me of trying to steal, which made no sense since the food was in the cart clearly visible to everyone. I got mad, the manager came, and finally they let us buy the food. Never went there again. My point being...be prepared for an argument!
For anyone thinking that placing produce in those plastic bags keeps it cleaner - take it from someone who's stocked shelves, it's not. Produce constantly hits the ground - in the fields, on the truck, in the storeroom and on display. A half dozen people have probably handled that head of lettuce. So wash everything regardless.
As for the bags - I've noticed a shift in a lot of regions lately (coinciding with single-use plastic bag bans). Clerks used to look at me weird for not placing everything into plastic bags and putting those in the cart. Now I pile everything into my reusable bags and unload those at checkout (no need for a cart/basket).
Oh - and we now use a set of reusable fine-mesh bags. Not only will they hold produce but are great for bulk items like rice. Completely washable.
The one thing I haven't found a good substitute for is bulk packages of meat. I buy from the butcher to eliminate that stupid tray of styrofoam, but even then it's inside a plastic bag and wrapped in butcher paper. Maybe I can bring my own tupperware?
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The one thing I haven't found a good substitute for is bulk packages of meat. I buy from the butcher to eliminate that stupid tray of styrofoam, but even then it's inside a plastic bag and wrapped in butcher paper. Maybe I can bring my own tupperware?
You can bring your own container for meat and cheese. Here's Bea Johnson doing it: https://youtu.be/y583QTbetsQ
Another useful video from her: https://youtu.be/CSUmo-40pqA
This video describes her technique to get meat and cheese without packaging (about 7:10): https://youtu.be/kWnsmzSSgdI
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...I realized you don't have to put produce in a plastic produce bag at grocery stores. You can just toss a potato or onion in the cart, buy it, and carry it out without bags. We have a surplus of produce bags in our house, so they can get reused. I'm considering putting together some reusable mesh ones at some point, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
That popped in my head a few years ago, and for the most part the grocers think we're weird but otherwise don't mind. One or two accused me of trying to steal, which made no sense since the food was in the cart clearly visible to everyone. I got mad, the manager came, and finally they let us buy the food. Never went there again. My point being...be prepared for an argument!
For anyone thinking that placing produce in those plastic bags keeps it cleaner - take it from someone who's stocked shelves, it's not. Produce constantly hits the ground - in the fields, on the truck, in the storeroom and on display. A half dozen people have probably handled that head of lettuce. So wash everything regardless.
As for the bags - I've noticed a shift in a lot of regions lately (coinciding with single-use plastic bag bans). Clerks used to look at me weird for not placing everything into plastic bags and putting those in the cart. Now I pile everything into my reusable bags and unload those at checkout (no need for a cart/basket).
Oh - and we now use a set of reusable fine-mesh bags. Not only will they hold produce but are great for bulk items like rice. Completely washable.
The one thing I haven't found a good substitute for is bulk packages of meat. I buy from the butcher to eliminate that stupid tray of styrofoam, but even then it's inside a plastic bag and wrapped in butcher paper. Maybe I can bring my own tupperware?
I've tried bringing tupperware to Sprouts to the butcher and deli counter once. I think the butcher I talked to hadn't had anyone do that before, because he couldn't figure out how to tare the tupperware before adding meat. He ended up weighing it out on that waxed paper, then plopping it in the container, which is better than nothing. Same at the deli - they still sliced it onto their waxed paper, but I avoided the plastic bag that usually is the final container.
I definitely forget to bring secondary containers for that purpose most of the time :( It's a good thing to start up again, thanks for reminding me! We also have a butcher down the road who uses actual paper, but his hours are unfortunately limited.
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Oh - and we now use a set of reusable fine-mesh bags. Not only will they hold produce but are great for bulk items like rice. Completely washable.
What did you make them out of? I'm planning to build a set of those, but haven't gotten around to it yet - advice is welcome. My wife is onboard, especially since I understand the mesh bags tend to help reduce "rotting in the fridge" that plastic seems to encourage.
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Oh - and we now use a set of reusable fine-mesh bags. Not only will they hold produce but are great for bulk items like rice. Completely washable.
What did you make them out of? I'm planning to build a set of those, but haven't gotten around to it yet - advice is welcome. My wife is onboard, especially since I understand the mesh bags tend to help reduce "rotting in the fridge" that plastic seems to encourage.
I'll come clean and confess we bought them. If I were to make them myself I might try the really robust reusable cheese cloth.
Design is pretty straightfoward - cut a rectangle, fold in half and sew up two sides. Add a drawstring. Would take 5 minutes on a sewing machine to make a couple of them.
ETA: what we have looks a lot like this. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IT37BPG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01IT37BPG&pd_rd_w=J7WFR&pf_rd_p=2bd81721-c115-4b8d-93a3-2ecd17466ded&pd_rd_wg=jC96W&pf_rd_r=A8540XXP8J5ZQTB3SC33&pd_rd_r=6f167f44-296d-11e9-96a7-dd88c24c87f5)
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Awesome, thanks! I'm not sure I could build them cheaper than I could buy them, but I'll still probably build a set. :)
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I need to crowd-source. I want in on this but I am kind of at a loss of where to go next. My husband would be a passenger on almost any changes that I would like to do but he maybe a reluctant passenger. Older kids in the house (not raised by us) are more than happy to watch the ride go past them. Little kids in the house (ours) I want to try to teach not to be wasteful and to be mindful of the environmental impact of their actions but I am kind of at a loss of how to proceed.
We have always composted, recycled, controlled the thermostat, turned off lights, reduced shower times, purchased "greener" items, brought our own bags, use cloth diapers, use cloth napkins (vs paper towels), buy in bulk, shopped at consignment store (my brother owns one), etc. Here are some of the bigger changes we have made recently.
2016 - Replaced the Prius (>300k miles) with a Leaf (husband drove the Prius until kid numbers required more seat belts)
2017 - Installed solar panels for the house + the Leaf
2018 - I went dairy, soy, egg free (due to allergy/sensitivities). Joined a fruit/veggie co-op. Installed an outdoor wood boiler for winter heat and hot water. Started to carpool
Things I know we/I could do but without the buy in from the family I am not sure that I would be successful in making the change.
COMMUTE - I commute a long distance and have reduced the impacts of the commute as much as I can (carpooling & electric car) without moving. The family (including me, most days) is very happy in our current house/town. Any other suggestions besides moving or a new job?
DAIRY - I don't see the family ever agreeing to dairy free. Most of the time husband (does all the cooking) uses alternatives in his cooking so I can eat it too but sometimes I just eat something different than everyone else. I was able to give the 5 year old chocolate almond milk the other day without any comments so maybe I can just make small changes this way.
MEAT - I might get to a meat free lifestyle but would need to figure a few things out as soy/tofu is not an option. I don't think this would be something the family would agree to. I have been thinking about raising our own backyard meat chickens, maybe I can push for that this summer/fall?
PLASTIC - This one might be something that I can actually have an impact on in our house. I have been looking at a shampoo bar lately and I have already started to switch to bar soap. I recently purchased glass containers for my lunches instead of plastic ones. Our produce almost all come from the co-op at this point so that is good. I think I have room for improvement on this at a personal level, even if the family is not on-board.
ENERGY - This has been a big focus for me the last couple years and 2019 should be dramatically lower than 2018 due to the wood boiler (installed Dec 2018). I should mention here that we live on 18 acres and will be able to selectively harvest our own "fuel" for this at the same time as we are maintaining our wooded parts of the land. I also purchased one that had better emission controls vs one with no emission controls and not approved by EPA. I want to add insulation to the house, maybe I can get that done before next winter.
TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
FOOD - I have been wanting to start the garden back up but need to clear the spot and just do it. I have "brown" thumb but I really want a garden, is it too late to start planning this? Did I need to dig it up last fall?
Any suggestions. I am a full-time working mama with a long commute and 4 kids in the house and am taking classes for a Master's, I want to continue to improve my environmental footprint but the time/money/energy bandwidth is pretty low at this point. Does anybody want to weigh-in on 1-3 things they think will give me the "biggest bang of my (personal energy) buck"?
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Wow, that's some awesome changes you've made @Slow&Steady!
Regarding diet/meat; beef has the highest footprint followed by pork, then turkey, then chicken. I'm not sure what your current diet looks like, but you could consider replacing some of the high carbon meat by lower carbon options (so use beef instead of chicken). Another option is to just make portions smaller. Also note that not all meals necessarily need a meat-replacement. Especially in chilis or curries I don't feel the need to add any meat or meat replacer and just eat veggies/beans/rice. Many people worry about protein intake, but most are actually already on the high end of the recommended range (you can calculate your own easily on several websites).
For the other areas I don't have any quick or easy suggestions. I think you've already made great efforts! Keep rocking it and try to inspire others to make similar changes if you can!
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TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
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I just pulled up Amtrack and they have a stop near the very remote town that I have to travel to (by plane) the most often. It would be a LOOONG travel day but it might be worth it, wonder if I can get work to agree?
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Wow, that's some awesome changes you've made @Slow&Steady!
Thank you. Most of the time I just look around and know there is some much more that I could do, I forget there there is a lot that I have already done. I should mention that my career is in environmental compliance so I feel that I am also able to have a positive impact on the environment by making sure that the companies I work for operate below their permitted limits and at least occasionally challenge themselves to do better.
Regarding diet/meat; beef has the highest footprint followed by pork, then turkey, then chicken. I'm not sure what your current diet looks like, but you could consider replacing some of the high carbon meat by lower carbon options (so use beef instead of chicken). Another option is to just make portions smaller. Also note that not all meals necessarily need a meat-replacement. Especially in chilis or curries I don't feel the need to add any meat or meat replacer and just eat veggies/beans/rice. Many people worry about protein intake, but most are actually already on the high end of the recommended range (you can calculate your own easily on several websites).
Chicken is probably our largest meat component but it is followed (probably closely) by beef and then bacon. I forget about turkey but replacing ground beef with ground turkey is very doable and would drastically decrease our beef consumption! I do love a great bean/veggie/green chile burrito but usually when burritos are on the meal plan there is either chicken or ground beef in them. I will remind my husband (our cook) that they do not always need to have meat in the to be yummy.
My protein levels are something that I have to pay attention to but beans are a great protein source for me. I have been fighting hypoglycemia for about 20 years and know that if I want to keep my blood sugars in check I need to pay attention to carbs vs protein intake.
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PLASTIC - This one might be something that I can actually have an impact on in our house. I have been looking at a shampoo bar lately and I have already started to switch to bar soap. I recently purchased glass containers for my lunches instead of plastic ones. Our produce almost all come from the co-op at this point so that is good. I think I have room for improvement on this at a personal level, even if the family is not on-board.
FOOD - I have been wanting to start the garden back up but need to clear the spot and just do it. I have "brown" thumb but I really want a garden, is it too late to start planning this? Did I need to dig it up last fall?
Any suggestions. I am a full-time working mama with a long commute and 4 kids in the house and am taking classes for a Master's, I want to continue to improve my environmental footprint but the time/money/energy bandwidth is pretty low at this point. Does anybody want to weigh-in on 1-3 things they think will give me the "biggest bang of my (personal energy) buck"?
Not that these are the biggest bang for your buck, but the only ones I have input on.
I have found shampoo bars at Ulta and at Vitamin Cottage. The ones at Ulta have plastic in the packaging, unfortunately, but not nearly as much as a bottle of shampoo. I've been using the same shampoo bar for >6 months, but I only wash my hair once a week. I also follow up with an apple cider vinegar rinse (2 tbs in ~2 cups of water) to reduce the buildup I was seeing and to condition my hair. I think my hair looks pretty much the same as it did when I used regular shampoo and conditioner, maybe even better, and no one else has complained yet, so...
Good luck with the garden! Is there anything in particular you want to grow? We've been trying to streamline what we grow so we don't waste as much (although we usually give overdone things to our chickens to eat). We're in Northern Colorado, so it's pretty dry, but we have good luck with tomatoes, sometimes hot peppers, cucumbers, greens, green beans, snap peas, and zucchini/summer squash. Beets and carrots are super easy, and our raspberry bushes are giving us a lot of good fruit after two years. We're in a Zone 4, and we usually plant seedlings (tomatoes, peppers) a week or two after Mother's day, or direct sow (cucumbers, squashes, root veggies, beans/peas) in April or May, depending on the weather. You're not too late! Pick something you know your family eats and start with that, so you don't have to figure out water requirements and soil nutrition for 15 different plants at once.
Chickens in general are pretty easy, if a little smelly. Once you have a coop and a run, they're very cheap to keep. Definitely not cheaper than buying the cheap eggs, but not expensive to keep up either. Meat chicken breeds, from what friends have said, are really stupid, and once they reach slaughter weight actually really need to be slaughtered, as they start having heart attacks during thunder storms or getting too heavy to walk. Sad and ridiculous.
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Slow&Steady, are you okay with gluten? If so, seitan might be a good high-protein meat substitute. I make my own and it is also very cheap if you can find a bulk source of the vital wheat gluten that is the primary ingredient. I use this recipe (http://) as a template but play around with different spices. Also, I make 5x what that recipe makes and shape into 5 large sausages, which fits perfectly into our pressure cooker (I cook them in the pressure cooker instead of steaming). It freezes well so if I make a large batch we then have it around to pull out as an easy protein add-on to our meals.
If I were just cooking for myself, I would probably be vegetarian with a lot of vegan meals, but like you I have family members who feel differently. The solution for us has been less frequent meat consumption (we eat meat about 3x/week) and also keeping the portion sizes to <4oz/person. In terms of protein, it is also (I think) worth paying some attention to the protein content of your more carb-y foods and also veggies. Some vegetables are quite a bit higher in protein than others, and while you aren't going to get 100g of protein/day from kale alone, getting a couple extra grams here and there from making sure you get some leafy greens, eating beans instead of potatoes, etc. does add up.
With regards to gardening, I also work FT and I find I don't really have the time to keep up with a big fancy garden, but I do keep some herbs in pots and I plant a few things each year. I focus on either things that are fairly resilient in the face of my periodic neglect, or that are a bit delicate and thus more difficult to transport home from the grocery store via bike. In the former category I find things like peas & beans are pretty mindless once they get going. In the latter I have had good luck with stuff like kale, arugula, fancy lettuces, and chard. I notice when I buy a bunch of kale at the grocery store it's often got ice mixed in, which suggests to me that it's probably rather resource intensive to transport to the store (if it's arriving in a refrigerated truck with a bunch of ice). Remember also you don't have to clear out an entire garden this year. Dig up a 3x3' plot and plant some peas this spring. Expand and add a second crop next year or whenever you have time.
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@SlowAndSteady congrats on the progress you've made already! These aren't necessarily the biggest changes, but some that don't require much bandwidth:
- Buy clothing used, for yourself and the younger kids at a minimum. Unless you need something super specific, buying used clothing isn't really any more effort than buying new (there are even online options now!) and textiles are a huge source of waste.
- Switch to reusable menstrual products - better, cheaper, and zero waste!
- Don't think of going meat-free as an all-or-nothing thing. Start by mixing in a few vegetarian meals per week, and some others that have only a small amount of meat (e.g. a pasta dish with 1 chicken breast for the whole family, or a stew with a few ounces of ground turkey). You might get less resistance from your family this way, and you'll still be reducing your meat consumption by a significant percentage.
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TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
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I just pulled up Amtrack and they have a stop near the very remote town that I have to travel to (by plane) the most often. It would be a LOOONG travel day but it might be worth it, wonder if I can get work to agree?
Much of my job can be done almost anywhere, so my boss is ok with me working on the train. But for the really long travels where I insist on not flying, I do spend some of my own time (and also take some time off mentally). Based on all the measures you have already implemented, my guess is that flying is probably a quite large part of your carbon footprint.
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TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
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I just pulled up Amtrack and they have a stop near the very remote town that I have to travel to (by plane) the most often. It would be a LOOONG travel day but it might be worth it, wonder if I can get work to agree?
I took the train from New York to Los Angeles. I brought my own food. For months before, any project that took more than an hour of focus I put on the agenda for the trip. The solitude was great and I arrived in L.A. with unfinished work, so wished it was longer.
On the other hand, the pollution in taking a train that far is a lot. I think it's roughly a third of flying. Before going I saw two-thirds as a big reduction. Now I think a third of a lot is still a lot.
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You are all awesome, thank you for the suggestions. Now to see which ones I can implement without extra bandwidth being used to convince the family.
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TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
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I just pulled up Amtrack and they have a stop near the very remote town that I have to travel to (by plane) the most often. It would be a LOOONG travel day but it might be worth it, wonder if I can get work to agree?
I took the train from New York to Los Angeles. I brought my own food. For months before, any project that took more than an hour of focus I put on the agenda for the trip. The solitude was great and I arrived in L.A. with unfinished work, so wished it was longer.
On the other hand, the pollution in taking a train that far is a lot. I think it's roughly a third of flying. Before going I saw two-thirds as a big reduction. Now I think a third of a lot is still a lot.
For me, carbon footprint has three parts: the direct emissions, the emissions from producing the materials/item, and whether my choice promotes the paradigm shift. The last part is why I choose ferries and trains over many other options. These transport forms already have zero emission options available, (most European trains are electric, and we will soon have 60 electric ferries in Norway alone. Liquid biogas and hydrogen are also good and mature solutions). I believe it is much better for our future that we have a good public transport system based on trains, rather than building more motorways. Some people claim it is better to exchange diesel ferries with bridges and tunnels, because the private cars are turning to electric. But all data shows that the total transport increases when you build a bridge. So the total carbon footprint over the next 50-100 years is better with trains and ferries, than with most other alternatives.
Avoiding transport completely, with skype or other types of e-meetings, is of course the best option.
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For me, carbon footprint has three parts: the direct emissions, the emissions from producing the materials/item, and whether my choice promotes the paradigm shift. The last part is why I choose ferries and trains over many other options. These transport forms already have zero emission options available, (most European trains are electric, and we will soon have 60 electric ferries in Norway alone. Liquid biogas and hydrogen are also good and mature solutions). I believe it is much better for our future that we have a good public transport system based on trains, rather than building more motorways. Some people claim it is better to exchange diesel ferries with bridges and tunnels, because the private cars are turning to electric. But all data shows that the total transport increases when you build a bridge. So the total carbon footprint over the next 50-100 years is better with trains and ferries, than with most other alternatives.
Avoiding transport completely, with skype or other types of e-meetings, is of course the best option.
And not in the least place, we should have more railroad solutions available for goods transport. There are enormous amounts of trucks on the roads. The more bridges we build and the better the roads, the more attractive it is to have goods transported by truck instead of train. I have understood that in Norway the goods trains have become less reliable in the last decade(s) and that therefore the transport of goods by road has increased enormously. I wish we would improve the trains and railroads for goods transport.
On a personal level, we can contribute to this by purchasing more stuff secondhand and repairing our broken products, so that less goods need to be transported. Also growing more of your own food would help, but that is not an option for everyone.
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I am really struggling internally right now.
I bought the electric car before I started this job, so this is my 1st full winter at this job with my car. This job is slightly further away than my last job and this winter has been really cold (not good for electric cars). This has caused me to have to stop after work (on my week to drive) to get additional charge before I can go home in the evenings, which means I get home late, which means that I some nights I feel like I don't get to see the baby at all. I leave before the kids are awake in the morning and the baby is usually ready for bed between 7:30 and 8, so if I have to charge after work that means I get home later than I want to and might only be home in time to do bath and then bedtime, and it is even worse if there is someone else at the charging station. Grant it this is only a problem on my week to drive and only in the winter and by next winter baby will be older and might be going to bed a little later but this is really wearing me down emotionally. I have been considering replacing the car to stop this emotional beat down. I need input!!
My 4 criteria are: Initial Price, Do I have to stop to charge?, Environmental Impact, & Monthly Cost.
My 4 choices that I see are: Keep current car, Replace with Prius, Replace with new Leaf (longer range), Replace with Used Tesla (much longer range).
If I rank these 1-4 in each category, my current car wins but it doesn't fix my frustration (although that frustrations is only a few months of the year). The next highest score is the Prius but I feel like that is going backwards on the environmental scale (current electric car replaced a Prius). The new Leaf or Used Tesla rank about the same but I have a problem parting with that kind of money.
Help what would you do?
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What's your round trip commute/current car?
We bought a used Volt instead of a pure BEV because my wife running out of charge in a town that has no charging infrastructure isn't a useful option for a car.
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2017 Leaf, current commute is 45-50 miles ONE-WAY! This is the very edge of what the 2017 Leaf can handle in absolute perfect conditions but in the winter it has been requiring me to charge both before and after work. In the spring/summer/fall it is the perfect excuse to go hang out (walk) at a local park and charge during lunch and that adds plenty of miles to get me home.
There is a pretty established charging network in my area but it still takes time.
I have looked at the Volt but once you go past the electric range you are on a traditional gas engine with MPG that I don't think really compare to a Prius. I would need to get a 2016 or new to get 50 mile electric range (which is what I feel would make the Volt a good contender for me). At least in my area, the prices I am finding for a Volt 2016 or newer are not significantly lower than the new Leaf.
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What's your round trip commute/current car?
Not sure if this was directed specifically at Slow&Steady or to the broader audience, but I'll play along.
We have an '06 civic that's our main car. Going to an EV is very high on our wishlist, but at present two things are stopping us: i) our 13 year old car has a ton of life in it (we just hit 80,000 miles) and ii) we've gone back to being renters in a rural area with poor charging infrastructure. Since I can't install a rapid charger and 3-4x/mo one of us needs to drive 100+ miles (on direction) we still feel its not the right time.
As soon as we put down roots and buy our next home (possibly within 12 monhts) we'll be looking for an EV. So long as the property orientation allows it we'll be putting up PVs as well, more out of principle than absolute dollars and cents (our region heats almost exclusively with fuel-oil, and has very high electricity rates).
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2017 Leaf, current commute is 45-50 miles ONE-WAY! This is the very edge of what the 2017 Leaf can handle in absolute perfect conditions but in the winter it has been requiring me to charge both before and after work. In the spring/summer/fall it is the perfect excuse to go hang out (walk) at a local park and charge during lunch and that adds plenty of miles to get me home.
Other than the "you're missing out on time with your kid because you don't have a vehicle that can actually get you home" thing... Does your carpool mind spending an hour or two charging every day?
I have looked at the Volt but once you go past the electric range you are on a traditional gas engine with MPG that I don't think really compare to a Prius. I would need to get a 2016 or new to get 50 mile electric range (which is what I feel would make the Volt a good contender for me). At least in my area, the prices I am finding for a Volt 2016 or newer are not significantly lower than the new Leaf.
Range varies based on how you drive. We have a 1st gen that's between 25 and 40 miles on battery, typically, depending on temperature/climate control/speed/etc. A 2nd gen would work nicely for it, especially if you can charge at work, and you can get them for under $20k if you look.
Yes, the MPG on gas is lower than a Prius, but for most people, the net MPG is far higher if you charge it at all. If I do half a day on battery, half on gas (we don't have 240V charging yet), it's about 70mpg - still better than a Prius.
Or you could find a job closer to your house. There's no particularly environmentally friendly way to do 100 miles/day.
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Other than the "you're missing out on time with your kid because you don't have a vehicle that can actually get you home" thing... Does your carpool mind spending an hour or two charging every day?
Charging happens when before/after co-worker joins me.
Range varies based on how you drive. We have a 1st gen that's between 25 and 40 miles on battery, typically, depending on temperature/climate control/speed/etc. A 2nd gen would work nicely for it, especially if you can charge at work, and you can get them for under $20k if you look.
Yes, the MPG on gas is lower than a Prius, but for most people, the net MPG is far higher if you charge it at all. If I do half a day on battery, half on gas (we don't have 240V charging yet), it's about 70mpg - still better than a Prius.
Or you could find a job closer to your house. There's no particularly environmentally friendly way to do 100 miles/day.
I have looked and I can NOT find a 2016 or new Volt for under $20k, at least not in my area at this time.
New job/house are not options I have right now.
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So do a fly-and-drive. I'm finding 2016s (1st year of the 2nd gens) for under $20k pretty easily on eBay with lower miles, mostly off-lease stuff, far as I can tell.
Yes. You'll use gas. However, you can actually get places on the current infrastructure, without having to spend an hour or two charging every day and missing time with your family. If not using gas is more important, than keep doing what you're doing or spend a ton on a longer range BEV. I can't afford a Tesla, and didn't want my wife stuck in town with a Leaf, so... Volt it is. Though in retrospect, I probably should have gone with a Gen2. I'll see how summer mileage is, but winter fuel use has been higher than I was expecting (~115 miles per gallon gas used).
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So do a fly-and-drive.
yeah, I never limit my auto searches to my immediate area, but expand it to include major metropolitan areas within a day's drive where I can get a direct flight. I even had a guy who's car I wanted to buy (and did buy) pick me up at the airport.
If I'm going to drop five figures on an item taking a day of my life and spending ~$200 on a flight is worth saving a few grand.
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Does anyone know anything about TerraCycle?
I saw a reference to them in an NPR article about reducing waste. It looks like they'll accept a HUGE variety of things for recycling - pens, flip flops, food packaging, baby food squeeze pouches, coffee pods, fabric, solo cups, paint brushes, mascara tubes, the list goes on. It does cost a fair amount. An 11" x 11" x 20" box for "All In One Zero Waste" recycling is $184, but if they're legit, I would honestly be willing to pay for that 1-2 times a year. It would be really nice to be able to recycle fabric scraps, plastic food packaging, rigid plastic things that break, coffee bags, etc.
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Anyone supporting divesting through Your Stake? Right now they are trying to get enough support to get Vanguard to create new index funds free of FF money. Once the petition has enough shareholder support, a power player from Yourstake will meet with Vanguard to present the demand and ask for change.
https://www.yourstake.org/ask/vanguard-create-fossil-free-versions-of-your-index-funds/
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Does anyone know anything about TerraCycle?
I saw a reference to them in an NPR article about reducing waste. It looks like they'll accept a HUGE variety of things for recycling - pens, flip flops, food packaging, baby food squeeze pouches, coffee pods, fabric, solo cups, paint brushes, mascara tubes, the list goes on. It does cost a fair amount. An 11" x 11" x 20" box for "All In One Zero Waste" recycling is $184, but if they're legit, I would honestly be willing to pay for that 1-2 times a year. It would be really nice to be able to recycle fabric scraps, plastic food packaging, rigid plastic things that break, coffee bags, etc.
I just had lunch with Tom Szaky, Terracycle's founder and CEO, last week after interviewing him for my podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast, though my backlog of episodes means editing will take about a month to appear. I'm interviewing him for a second interview in April. If you want me to ask him specific questions and don't mind waiting a couple months for an answer, I can.
In the meantime, there are lots of videos on them and he's written several books. Terracycle's origin story, of Tom composting Princeton's food waste, is worth reading. It shows his passion and dedication.
There's still the systemic issue that efficiency is not the same as decreasing total waste http://joshuaspodek.com/technology-wont-solve-environmental. Increasing efficiency, which recycling does, overall increased total waste. Few people get this issue. Nature gets it, sadly, and we live in a world that's more efficient than ever, creating more waste than ever, and we're continuing that trend. The alternative I'm working toward is to change our systemic goals from growth, comfort, and externalizing costs to enjoying what you have, personal development, and responsibility for how your actions affect others.
Good to know, thanks!
I know that recycling isn't the BEST option, but it's certainly a BETTER option than just throwing things out. I think I'd use one of those boxes primarily for the less common things that come up throughout the year. Fabric scraps or clothes I can't donate (nobody is going to buy my old underwear), pens that run out, packaging material, etc. I'm sure I'd end up with far more plastic wrap from purchased food than I'd like.
There are a lot of things I need to be better about just not using that generally are purchased purely for convenience. We're going to be using diapers again soon, and even with cloth diapering during the day, those things add up so dang quick. It is ridiculous how often newborns need to be changed.
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It's been a while since we had a check-in on this thread; how's everyone doing with their goals?
I've been doing pretty well on buying less and reducing plastic waste. I've definitely noticed our trash cans are less full at the end of the week, although we could still improve further.
I can't bring myself to make the leap to being vegan, but our animal product usage is decreasing (other than eggs - we have chickens and I have no qualms about eating their eggs). In an average week we go through about a quart of milk, six ounces of cheese, and half a stick of butter, which isn't a ton for a family of four, but I'd like to decrease it further. I recently managed to get the kids to start eating oatmeal for breakfast instead of yogurt.
In bad news, I cleaned out my fridge today for the first time in way too long and was ashamed of how much food I had to throw out, so I'm making food waste my focus for this month. I need to get into the habit of checking all the food in my fridge regularly, so that I know what I have, what needs to be used up soon, what I should feed to my chickens, etc.
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Eh.
Solar isn't in yet. Still fighting with permitting and my ability to communicate NEC 2017 code-compatibility. I'll keep trying... starting physical construction anyway.
Our household energy use (electric/gasoline/diesel consumption) is sitting stable around 10 ton CO2/yr. That will drop, significantly, once solar is up, but it's down from previous years. The truck now dominates transport fuel use, on fairly few miles/month. It gets used for hauling heavy/large stuff (currently full of plywood and 2x4s/2x6s for some shipping container shelves). The car is successfully doing most of the miles on electric, running 400-500 miles per gallon of gas used in service.
Gardens... not really doing much this year, just have been swamped trying to get solar done and keep up with the weeds. Compost bin got really, really hot when I tossed a ton of fresh grass clippings in, then died. I struggle with keeping enough volume to do what I want - I've crunched volume many times, and can light it up with fresh nitrogens, but it's not a balanced hot pile for any length of time.
On the other hand, the hugels are coming along. I need to push them acidic for berry bushes, but I have a ton of scrap wood buried in them now - just need to move another yard or two of dirt back on top for the mounds, and cut up a bit more wood to put in there.
And, in the land of epic failure, I still don't have an ebike working for runs into town. Despite having half a dozen kits in various stages of dysfunction/function laying around. I'm just not comfortable doing 18mph on a 55mph road right now, and I don't have anything that will run 40mph.
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I am in for the challenge.
The good:
I live in my truck camper, which means a very pared-down wardrobe, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom. No superfluous sheets, towels, clothing, shoes, we have basic kitchenware and utensils. We don't buy anything that doesn't fit in our limited space.
Non-potable water use is under 5 litres per person per day used mostly for washing, cleaning, dishes, very short shower.
Composting toilet.
Solar-powered battery system used only to power led lights and recharge cell/laptop, no electrical appliances such as toaster, coffee maker, air fryer, etc.
Propane stove and mini-fridge.
We only use green cleaning products and detergent for cleaning and personal hygiene. White vinegar and baking soda are used for everything, from "washing" dishes to cleaning surfaces, dusting, face, body, and hand wash, etc.
Laundry is done by hand, or in a plastic bucket when are on the road (put dirty clothes in bucket, add water and soap, close lid. Repeat after a few hours' drive but with clean water). Air dry only.
We don't fly.
We don't commute to work by motor vehicle.
We walk or bike a lot.
We are frugal.
We follow and enjoy a plant-based diet and follow Michael Pollan's simple food rules: eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
We only buy the food we need due to limited space. This reduces food spoilage to zero.
The bad:
Not much is terribly bad in our lifestyle. But we do plan to fly to Asia to visit wife's family, and Eastern Canada and Europe to visit my family, for 4-6 months. The environmental impacts of flying are a big concern of ours.
But mostly, it is either good or ugly.
And the ugly is ugly:
We are overlanders and travel on average 6 months of the year and drive about 15,000 km. Once we decide to overland full-time, we will be driving the same distance since we will go in one direction. In the summer, we currently stay mostly put and rarely if ever drive while still living in the camper. Our truck is an F350 diesel that does 18L/100km on average. That's a big concern of mine that I am struggling to address. Overlanding is our lifestyle, and the truck is our house so we need to have a relatively large vehicle that can carry it, and despite our efforts to greenify and frugalize our life, we are conscious of the environmental impacts of our choice of vehicle.
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Progress toward vegetarian meals continues - we're down to meat/fish about once every other week, as a treat. As a byproduct of that, I've been able to buy fresh fish instead of frozen, which is packaged in butcher paper instead of individual sealed plastic packets in a larger plastic bag. Double win! Also switched to buying chickpeas dried in bulk (with reusable bags) rather than canned. That was the last holdout on the bean front, so we're now entirely buying from bulk bins/packaging free.
Looking for the next potential target on the packaging front, but it's hard to balance cost. Both our local produce market and BJ's have everything in plastic, but regular grocery or farmer's markets are much more expensive :(
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@nessness what about SwheatScoop? Also, I believe you can flush some cat litter (the poop/pee clumps) down the toilet. However, I haven't tried that myself. I'm curious about this topic too since I currently use the litter genie system and feel bad about plastic bags in general.
Really want to commend anyone trying a plant based diet or already is. Love it! I will be plant based for two years this august/september.
This week, I purchased a deodorant paste in a glass jar to reduce further plastic consumption. So far, I really like the paste and don't mind application by fingers. Love that the ingredients are minimal and it's not gritty. I was using "natural" deodorants before but this is by far the simplest. I'd really like to try next time/soon making my own deodorant paste soon since I already have the core ingredients, coconut oil, arrowroot flour, and baking soda and can reuse some glass containers for this.
Looking into shampoo bars and the apple cider vinegar rinse as an alternative to plastic container shampoo and conditioners, although I can refill the plastic containers with products in bulk or at the refill store. I still have a lot of product to use up, but it's be great to have a bar that can be used for shampoo, body wash, and shaving. It would also be ideal for traveling since it would be a solid, and really compact.
Also bought some much needed sports bras and a rain jacket for cycling pre-owned on Ebay instead of buying new.
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Looking into shampoo bars and the apple cider vinegar rinse as an alternative to plastic container shampoo and conditioners, although I can refill the plastic containers with products in bulk or at the refill store. I still have a lot of product to use up, but it's be great to have a bar that can be used for shampoo, body wash, and shaving. It would also be ideal for traveling since it would be a solid, and really compact.
I have traded to shampoo, conditioner and soap bars to avoid the plastic. I was a bit sceptic but now I will not go back to bottles. It also ideal for travel. I learned this week that my choices had palm oil in them so next time I will look up some palm oil free. Here is a list of things to avoid if you want to avoid palm oil: https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil
I am trying to reduce my water use in the tap by installing this thing that is supposed to reduce your water use by 98 %. https://www.alteredcompany.com
I have installed it in the kitchen sink so I don't believe I will see a 98% reduction but it will be interesting to see if it there is a noticeable reduction. If I can get it to work with my bathroom tap I will buy another one. I think the biggest change will be that I cut my long hair to really short. I am amazed over how fast I wash the hair nowadays and I will probably skip the conditioner when the bar is finished. I think I have reduced the time in the shower with 2/3 every third day when I wash my hair. Which will make it difficult to see the results of the tap thing. Damn!
I am also adding more vegeterian meals to my diet. I have mostly given up on red meat and eat chicken and sometimes pork. I eat maybe a burger per month and sometimes if I am away something else. And when I am at my parents place I eat moose.
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Transport:
Still only been to work by combinations of bike/bus/train. Mostly just bike.
Car had done 1238 miles by the end of April, so slightly the wrong side of 'schedule' for a target of under 3000 miles. But we've already done two of the usual four big trips to friends and family already. Also, the car hasn't moved since 28 April, and probably won't until June. Going to my parents (100 miles away) on the train next week, which will be the first time we've done more than a day trip with two kids on the train.
More intangible, but have ramped up what I'm doing on cycle advocacy/campaigning work quite a bit so far this year.
Food:
Not much changed in terms of food. Fairly settled at 'near enough' vegan for the grown-ups and veggie for the kids.
However, we've actually started talking about it to my parents more, and I think this time they might be open to eating more veggie while we're visiting. Now, coming at it more from a footprint point of view than an outright objection to eating animals, I'm not that fussed about having the odd roast dinner there - it's a tiny proportion of the food we eat - but if some of it 'stuck' and they started eating a bit less when we weren't there, that would be great.
Manufactured goods:
Dunno. Feels like we're trying not to buy stuff, but quite a bit seems to arrive in the house.
We had to replace our washing machine (>10 years old, have already repaired several times). Bought in some timber and topsoil for the garden.
Then there's the small matter of having both kids birthdays in the last couple of months ... hmm.
Domestic energy use
Not really changed anything here yet, other than we did transfer over to the renewable electricity/fully offset gas plan at the start of the year.
I did find out the 'typical' usage values on our old energy company bills were wrong. Against the real values from the energy regulator we sit somewhere in the second quartile of UK households, not the first as implied by the bills. Disappointing, but also motivation.
We have cash sat to invest in making this better. Primary candidates at this point are solar PV or heat pump. I'm just a bit short of mental bandwidth to properly assess which to do first.
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Things I know we/I could do but without the buy in from the family I am not sure that I would be successful in making the change.
COMMUTE - I commute a long distance and have reduced the impacts of the commute as much as I can (carpooling & electric car) without moving. The family (including me, most days) is very happy in our current house/town. Any other suggestions besides moving or a new job?
DAIRY - I don't see the family ever agreeing to dairy free. Most of the time husband (does all the cooking) uses alternatives in his cooking so I can eat it too but sometimes I just eat something different than everyone else. I was able to give the 5 year old chocolate almond milk the other day without any comments so maybe I can just make small changes this way.
MEAT - I might get to a meat free lifestyle but would need to figure a few things out as soy/tofu is not an option. I don't think this would be something the family would agree to. I have been thinking about raising our own backyard meat chickens, maybe I can push for that this summer/fall?
PLASTIC - This one might be something that I can actually have an impact on in our house. I have been looking at a shampoo bar lately and I have already started to switch to bar soap. I recently purchased glass containers for my lunches instead of plastic ones. Our produce almost all come from the co-op at this point so that is good. I think I have room for improvement on this at a personal level, even if the family is not on-board.
ENERGY - This has been a big focus for me the last couple years and 2019 should be dramatically lower than 2018 due to the wood boiler (installed Dec 2018). I should mention here that we live on 18 acres and will be able to selectively harvest our own "fuel" for this at the same time as we are maintaining our wooded parts of the land. I also purchased one that had better emission controls vs one with no emission controls and not approved by EPA. I want to add insulation to the house, maybe I can get that done before next winter.
TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
FOOD - I have been wanting to start the garden back up but need to clear the spot and just do it. I have "brown" thumb but I really want a garden, is it too late to start planning this? Did I need to dig it up last fall?
Any suggestions. I am a full-time working mama with a long commute and 4 kids in the house and am taking classes for a Master's, I want to continue to improve my environmental footprint but the time/money/energy bandwidth is pretty low at this point. Does anybody want to weigh-in on 1-3 things they think will give me the "biggest bang of my (personal energy) buck"?
COMMUTE - I am still carpooling and it is going really well. Now that it is warmer out I don't have to charge the EV as much when it is my turn to drive. HOWEVER, I have had a phone interview for a position that would cut my commute in half and I am really hoping to get a call back for an in person interview this week. Fingers are crossed!
DAIRY - Oldest kid is in the process of moving out and 2nd oldest is almost convinced to switch to almond milk so there has be a little movement on this. Giving up dairy cheese is currently not something the rest of the family is willing to discuss
MEAT - We have been trying to work on at least 1 meat-free dinner per week but it is a slow process
PLASTIC - Per a suggestion from this challenge I have looked into and am attempting to use menstrual cups, so far this is a success. I am also looking at a couple different kinds of silicon "zip-lock" type of bags as we use several of these when we buy in bulk and then portion out to freeze.
ENERGY - We are working on building up the wood pile for winter and I am hoping that a shorter commute would also decrease the energy usage. April was almost a net zero energy month and May is looking even closer to net zero as of now!
TRAVEL - I have had to air travel for work 3 times so far this year and will probably need to make another trip to the same location in June (unless the new job happens), I am currently planning to drive for the June trip.
FOOD - The garden is not going to happen this year but the food co-op and farmer's market are still great sources of fruits and vegetables.
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I accomplished one of my biggest waste-reducing goals this week: potty training my 2-year-old. It was surprisingly easy. She's still in a diaper/pull-up for nap and overnight, but my understanding is that staying dry while sleeping is mostly developmental and can't really be trained.
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About as tiny as it can get;
I've been using my mint plant as a souce of tea more often, reducing the number of tea bags I use (= less packaging). It's probably only about one or two tea bags a week that I save now as my plant isn't big enough to cover my full tea consumption, but I'm growing a second plant now so the % should go up :)
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Glad to have found this thread. I am always working on this. Right now I am considering buying an ebike to help me overcome my reluctance to bicycle longer distances. I am over 60 and overweight, so I hope no one will face punch me for laziness.
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Glad to have found this thread. I am always working on this. Right now I am considering buying an ebike to help me overcome my reluctance to bicycle longer distances. I am over 60 and overweight, so I hope no one will face punch me for laziness.
Speaking as someone younger and fitter, who chooses to ride ridiculous distances for fun and has only ridden an eBike twice...
...if anyone does, I will fight them* for you.
* write a sternly worded critique of their ridiculous position, hopefully from another continent.
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Glad to have found this thread. I am always working on this. Right now I am considering buying an ebike to help me overcome my reluctance to bicycle longer distances. I am over 60 and overweight, so I hope no one will face punch me for laziness.
Speaking as someone younger and fitter, who chooses to ride ridiculous distances for fun and has only ridden an eBike twice...
...if anyone does, I will fight them* for you.
* write a sternly worded critique of their ridiculous position, hopefully from another continent.
:)
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Hi, I'm interested in joining in here for the latter half of 2019. I've been working towards reducing my environmental impact for years. Here is the progress I have already made:
-reusable grocery bags have been a mainstay for YEARS; use mesh bags or no bags for produce
-cloth diapered both my younger kids
-reusables for female needs (cup and cloth pads; haven't used disposables in over 6 years)
-cloth napkins/rags; VERY rare paper towel usage for super gross things (I do have kids and a dog, grossness happens)
-switched to shampoo and conditioner bars from Silver Falls Sustainability Co which I LOVE, husband on board too
-bring my own water bottle, coffee cup, straw when I (rarely) use one (iced coffee, though I usually make my own)
-solar on our house, 5 years now
-2 mile commute, and husband and I work together most days so we carpool 95% of the time
-reducing waste in cosmetics (switched to Stowaway and Elate for makeup, Plaine Products for face wash and moisturizer, but using up older stuff too)
-reducing plastic in toilet paper (switched to Who Gives A Crap; not the cheapest but plastic free at least)
-reducing plastic in dental goods (use Dental Lace, experimenting with tooth powders and toothpaste bits at the moment, while using up all samples from dentist visits that have been stockpiled)
-reducing plastic waste in household stuff (Dropps for laundry and dishwashing, Blueland for spray cleaners; these actually are cheaper too)
-compostable dog waste bags (Doggie Do Good, though I'm working through a stash of free ones from a friend who lost their dog to cancer)
-pretty good about meat, eggs, and dairy being locally procured from more ethical providers/not factory farmed; we eat less but higher quality/more ethical when we do. Not perfect, I know.
Areas to improve:
-I need to minimize our STUFF so I know what we have and I'm not buying things unnecessarily. Working on using up things we already have instead of stockpiling
-Food waste...ugh. Kids are so bad about opening things in the pantry before something else is empty, then food goes stale. My plan is to reduce packaged items so this problem goes away, plus we'll be healthier. Trying to shift treats and snacks to homemade or occasional bulk bins, bringing my own bags (which I do have)
-food packaging...cooking more from scratch, shopping the perimeter...need to up my game here; it's been sad lately
-continue reducing meat and dairy: We've made big strides here but room for improvement. Husband is very "meat and potatoes" but he is getting more on board with meat-free meals on a regular basis. He does 95% of the cooking in our home, so this has been a process.
-composting. We need to do this. Researching options to decide which one fits our lifestyle the best right now
-travel is a challenge for us because we LOVE to visit distant places. This will be "improved" for the next few years while our travel budget pays for my oldest to attend college. Later when the kids are grown we plan to engage in "slower" travel where we spend more time in an area and reduce the number of long haul flights. I don't see us ever cutting it out completely, but we'd like to spend more time in each place and fly less often at least.
I follow several Zero Waste blogs/facebook groups, and I've found a lot of good information out there. I've come to the conclusion that it's better to incorporate changes sequentially as opposed to going all out at once and getting overwhelmed and quitting, which happened to me when I first tried several years ago (some things stuck from then, though, like the grocery bags, water bottle, coffee cup, etc). Now I try to focus on making sustainable changes and getting them solidified as habits, then move on to the next one.
With a family of five (kids are 7, 9, and 18), it can be a challenge to get everyone on board with changes. I'm hopeful, though. My 18 year old is planning to study Environmental Science and is considering law school so he can have a career in environmental policy. He feels very strongly about the environment, but there is still a disconnect in some of his habits (mostly junk food packaging and driving EVERYWHERE); not the I am in a position to judge because I have a lot of room for improvement too. He graduates from high school tomorrow and chose to rent a cap and gown instead of buying one because (his words) "what will I do with it after graduation?". He primarily shops at thrift stores and always brings his own water bottle everywhere, reusable bags, etc. I wish I was as aware of the impact of my actions on the environment when I was 18.
I hope I haven't written too much of a novel here; I'm excited to see how other folks balance environmental impact with frugality. There is a lot of overlap (especially in food), but ethical products can cost more sometimes, too. I guess the key is to focus on buying as little as possible, and buying secondhand as much as possible, and ethically produced items that are good quality otherwise. Looking forward to keeping involved here for the rest of the year and beyond.
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I took the planet or plastic pledge when NatGeo started running it last year. I've made some decent progress removing all single use plastic from my life.
Produce Cloth bags
Bread bag
Stainless Steel Containers
Cloth Snack bags
Water Bottle
Reusable Straw / Brush Cleaner
Bamboo Cutlery
Toothbrush
Reusable Cottons
Safety Razor / Shaving Brush
Shaving Mug & Soap Puck
Dental Floss
Deodorant (Baking Soda + Tea Tree oil)
Facial Bar Soap
Toothpaste
Soap box
Who Gives A Crap Toilet Paper
I've been using https://packagefreeshop.com/ and http://lifewithoutplastic.com/ to find the alternatives as well some DIY tips I've come across online. The biggest challenge I have right now is buying dry food in bulk containers. I don't have a car and the only grocery store near me is ShopRite about 5 blocks away so I do all my grocery shopping there. The nearest bulk store is two towns over. I guess I could bike there and carry the containers on my bike's hanging basket. This challenge will have to wait a bit longer :-/
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Hi All - would like to join. I have been working on this for 3 years now and have done relatively ok. Just need to keep pushing.
The things we have incorporated:
I am vegatarian and the only one who cooks in the house so for the most part we are a meat free house. (I have sliced meat (yuk) in my fridge. He will not budge on the cheese.
We buy soap with no wrapping
TP comes from who gives a crap - these double as gifts - love the wrapping
I just bought some Silver Falls Sustainability Co - thanks for the hint - I had not found a condition bar I liked. Will llet you know.
Bought the other half a stainless steel lunch box - he has used it religiously for a year.
I get eggs from a resue farm - I tend to trip over the chickens to get it - they are very much free roaming. They also have honey and homemade jam - jars are returned to the farm.
I have stainless steel straws, bamboo toothbrushes, etc.
I grow mint for my tea.
I buy second hand clothes or bamboo.
I bought a bread maker for $20 3 years ago from a charity shop - still going. It costs me $1.20 per loaf now.
We buy from Winco - we take containers with us, fill them and then go through self checkout. They do no like it but it is too late at that point :-) Sugar/Nuts/Beans and Lentils/Rice etc.
My family is not all in but I have learnt that you cannot force people. Our trash can only needs to go out once every 3 weeks - recyle can be months.
Thank-you to everyone in the group - the more onboard - the more options become available the more people will join. After all, it is about convenience.
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Rented a bike instead of renting a car for a week long work trip.
Wins:
- Commute was shorter by bike, time & distance
- Commute was peaceful, along a river path and an access road
- Didn't have to deal with California drivers
- No worrying about filling up the gas tank before returning the car
- Free transport from hotel to airport
- Got to explore the city by way of river paths and nature trails
- Met a friend for dinner in the next town over and got there before she did, "there's been an accident on the highway, I'll be a bit late"
- Ate all the food, normally would feel poorly after eating at restaurants that much
- Great mental health benefit, balanced the stresses of working in a new place with new people
- Got to ride a fancy new bike
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Got my new e-bike yesterday. Will have to report back on how much I am able to reduce car usage with it. The plan is to eliminate all car trips in town that do not include a passenger. I should be able to reduce car mileage by at least 50%, goal is 2/3.
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great thread!
I just started composting (again)
started my food garden, some things will take years to produce, but eat something from the garden everyday, eg tomatoes, cucumber, blackberry, lemongrass, blueberries, basil in the last few days
bought an EV car - a Chevy Volt, I get 60 miles EV and haven't bought Gas since Feb, love it!
changed most light bulbs to LED
bought a smaller fridge - supermarket close by and costs nothing in car to get there
put a LOT of solar powered lights around the house and outside that give ambience in the evening and reduce need for lighting
Glad to read the thread and get more ideas ;)
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great thread!
I just started composting (again)
started my food garden, some things will take years to produce, but eat something from the garden everyday, eg tomatoes, cucumber, blackberry, lemongrass, blueberries, basil in the last few days
bought an EV car - a Chevy Volt, I get 60 miles EV and haven't bought Gas since Feb, love it!
changed most light bulbs to LED
bought a smaller fridge - supermarket close by and costs nothing in car to get there
put a LOT of solar powered lights around the house and outside that give ambience in the evening and reduce need for lighting
Glad to read the thread and get more ideas ;)
Ooh, how long have you had the Volt? I was looking at a Prius Prime, with a 25 mile EV range, which should be plenty most of the time for my smallish city. Ended up going with the above mentioned e-bike, but still thinking about some sort of EV/plug in hybrid for the future.
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Ooh, how long have you had the Volt?
Can't speak for ffg, but what do you want to know? We've had our 1st Gen for most of a year out in rural farm country, and it's quite good - in the past year, we got around 100 miles per gallon of gas used in the winter, and we're typically in the 300-400 miles per gallon of gas used in the summer. That's with the 35 mile range on battery, though winter drops it closer to 20 and uses the engine for heat (which is why winter fuel use is far higher). We don't have 240V charging - it's just living on a 12A/120V charger and charges overnight. When we eventually bother with 240V charging, it'll offset a tiny bit more gas use, but not much - that's just designing for a future longer range pure EV at some point.
For now, I think the Volt is about the ideal option for a "car" if you aren't going to have multiple car-class vehicles. It does the common case on electric, and can still drive across the country on gas. If you're doing a couple hundred mile trip, you... just drive it. Fill up when it asks for gas.
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how I'm feeling about all of this atm:
https://me.me/i/little-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-environment-bike-b718f180f8564de1b730540465a63b8a
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Ooh, how long have you had the Volt?
Can't speak for ffg, but what do you want to know? We've had our 1st Gen for most of a year out in rural farm country, and it's quite good - in the past year, we got around 100 miles per gallon of gas used in the winter, and we're typically in the 300-400 miles per gallon of gas used in the summer. That's with the 35 mile range on battery, though winter drops it closer to 20 and uses the engine for heat (which is why winter fuel use is far higher). We don't have 240V charging - it's just living on a 12A/120V charger and charges overnight. When we eventually bother with 240V charging, it'll offset a tiny bit more gas use, but not much - that's just designing for a future longer range pure EV at some point.
For now, I think the Volt is about the ideal option for a "car" if you aren't going to have multiple car-class vehicles. It does the common case on electric, and can still drive across the country on gas. If you're doing a couple hundred mile trip, you... just drive it. Fill up when it asks for gas.
Thanks, Syonyk. That’s what I was looking for. A happiness level with purchase over a period of time. Did you buy it used, then? Any concerns about the battery life?
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Thanks, Syonyk. That’s what I was looking for. A happiness level with purchase over a period of time. Did you buy it used, then? Any concerns about the battery life?
We got our Gen 1 used. The battery life isn't a concern, because the Volt doesn't use the full pack capacity (for longevity reasons, not fully charging a pack helps) - and does a very good job managing the thermals.
It is a complex car, and there's always a risk of an expensive failure, but they're pretty rare in practice.
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I bought a slightly used 2018 Gen 1 Volt. I get about 60 miles of pure EV. It has a backup Gas extender so can go all up about 420miles, though I haven't used much gas. The first time I filled up I thought something was wrong, because it only took a minute, it has a small tank but is super efficient. I haven't bought Gas since February, so have saved at least $1k on Gas. I bought a Level 2 charger and it charges quickly in about 3 hours at home, even faster on the public charging stations, but I mostly just charge at home, it's really easy. I thought I would use more gas actually but haven't needed to. I like too that if I want to go on a big road trip I still have the Gas option if I need it. Also where I am there is Hurricane risk. I feel safer knowing if the Gas stations are backed up or empty, (as they were the last Hurricane), I can use the EV to get me away far enough to find Gas or pull out the chord and charge.
Because my car was close to new I still have a lot of warranty including I think it's an 8 year warranty on the battery. My research indicated I would have non existent maintenance costs too. For example the car has a regenerative braking system that captures energy back to the battery and saves on brake and tire wear.
I really love this car, it feels like a space ship and I love that I have eradicated a regular bill from my budget, hopefully forever.
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I watched a documentary the BBC have been showing over the past month called 'War on Plastic'. Was really interesting/disheartening. I don't think people understand the sheer scale of plastic contamination we face. One of the most shocking revelations was that we're inhaling plastic at an alarming rate (they said worrying about consuming plastic through eating contaminated fish was pointless, considering the quantity we inhale on a daily basis).
Another, huge dissapointment was to see how our government exports plastic waste to be recycled abroad. Primarily in Asian countries like Malaysia. The plastic is sent there, heaped in landfill sites and eventually contaminates local water supplies. Only a tiny fraction of it is recycled.
They found how our supermarkets charge more for the likes of loose fruit as opposed to plastic packaged fruit. So anyone who wants to reduce their plastic waste has to do so at a huge financial cost.
There's literally no incentive for anyone who's disinterested in the environment to reduce plastic waste. Very sad state of affairs.
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I watched a documentary the BBC have been showing over the past month called 'War on Plastic'. Was really interesting/disheartening. I don't think people understand the sheer scale of plastic contamination we face. One of the most shocking revelations was that we're inhaling plastic at an alarming rate (they said worrying about consuming plastic through eating contaminated fish was pointless, considering the quantity we inhale on a daily basis).
Another, huge dissapointment was to see how our government exports plastic waste to be recycled abroad. Primarily in Asian countries like Malaysia. The plastic is sent there, heaped in landfill sites and eventually contaminates local water supplies. Only a tiny fraction of it is recycled.
They found how our supermarkets charge more for the likes of loose fruit as opposed to plastic packaged fruit. So anyone who wants to reduce their plastic waste has to do so at a huge financial cost.
There's literally no incentive for anyone who's disinterested in the environment to reduce plastic waste. Very sad state of affairs.
I wish there was a war on plastic. As best I can tell, nearly everyone is on plastic's side. I know maybe a handful of people putting any more than token effort to use less. Meanwhile, they act like recycling helps, but there's no evidence it reduces production of virgin plastic.
In other words, we're just shuffling plastic around as it breaks into smaller parts while we pour billions of tons of plastic into the system. Only reducing production reduces plastic.
The Guardian is publishing a series on plastic. You can start with this article https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/17/united-states-of-plastic-series-about-america-waste-crisis and click to the rest from it, though I recommend this illustrated piece https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/23/all-the-plastic-ever-made-study-comic (which cites that there's no evidence that recycling reduces virgin production) and this long piece https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/recycled-plastic-america-global-crisis.
> There's literally no incentive for anyone who's disinterested in the environment to reduce plastic waste.
Do you mean no financial incentive for people interested? There are plenty of incentives, largely one's health, the cleanliness of one's community, and maintaining Earth's ability to sustain life and human society.
There are still financial incentives. I spend less on food now that I avoid packaging, which has reduced my household garbage by at least 80%, mostly plastic.
Personally, since the public has to pay for cleaning plastic and other pollution, I see taxes on extraction and pollution as more accurate accounting. Inaccurate accounting, like when you, I, and Malaysian people pay for Trader Joe's plastic pollution, distorts markets. Our markets don't reflect plastic's costs.
As important as institutional change is, I believe individual action to reduce use by everyone possible (not stopping other efforts, like lobbying, etc), however modest it seems in the moment, is the fastest, most effective way to change institutions.
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Things I know we/I could do but without the buy in from the family I am not sure that I would be successful in making the change.
COMMUTE - I commute a long distance and have reduced the impacts of the commute as much as I can (carpooling & electric car) without moving. The family (including me, most days) is very happy in our current house/town. Any other suggestions besides moving or a new job?
DAIRY - I don't see the family ever agreeing to dairy free. Most of the time husband (does all the cooking) uses alternatives in his cooking so I can eat it too but sometimes I just eat something different than everyone else. I was able to give the 5 year old chocolate almond milk the other day without any comments so maybe I can just make small changes this way.
MEAT - I might get to a meat free lifestyle but would need to figure a few things out as soy/tofu is not an option. I don't think this would be something the family would agree to. I have been thinking about raising our own backyard meat chickens, maybe I can push for that this summer/fall?
PLASTIC - This one might be something that I can actually have an impact on in our house. I have been looking at a shampoo bar lately and I have already started to switch to bar soap. I recently purchased glass containers for my lunches instead of plastic ones. Our produce almost all come from the co-op at this point so that is good. I think I have room for improvement on this at a personal level, even if the family is not on-board.
ENERGY - This has been a big focus for me the last couple years and 2019 should be dramatically lower than 2018 due to the wood boiler (installed Dec 2018). I should mention here that we live on 18 acres and will be able to selectively harvest our own "fuel" for this at the same time as we are maintaining our wooded parts of the land. I also purchased one that had better emission controls vs one with no emission controls and not approved by EPA. I want to add insulation to the house, maybe I can get that done before next winter.
TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
FOOD - I have been wanting to start the garden back up but need to clear the spot and just do it. I have "brown" thumb but I really want a garden, is it too late to start planning this? Did I need to dig it up last fall?
Any suggestions. I am a full-time working mama with a long commute and 4 kids in the house and am taking classes for a Master's, I want to continue to improve my environmental footprint but the time/money/energy bandwidth is pretty low at this point. Does anybody want to weigh-in on 1-3 things they think will give me the "biggest bang of my (personal energy) buck"?
COMMUTE - I am still carpooling and it is going really well. I did receive an offer for a different job, it isn't as big of reduction in miles as the job I talked about wanting but it is a reduction. I was also able to convince the SO to trade in the van for a Prius so his commuting/kid shuttling impact will be for the better going forward.
DAIRY - We have not purchased cow milk in probably a month! Giving up cow cheese is currently not something the rest of the family is willing to discuss.
MEAT - This is still a slow process but we did find a local farm that we have started buying our meat from. Still meat but less transportation.
PLASTIC - I did pick some silicone bags that we purchased to replace "ziplock" bags, I read so many reviews and most of them were frustrated that the silicone bags they purchased were wrapped individually in plastic bags. I decided to purchase anyways with the hope that the company read the reviews and stopped that practice, I was wrong. I have also switched to a shampoo bar and I LOVE it!
ENERGY - April ended up as a grand total of 144kW over what the solar produced. May ended up as a grand total of 296kW over what the solar produced, but there were a lot of cloudy days so the solar produced less in May than expected. June as of today is sitting at 93.6kW over the solar production. With the exception of May (solar panels were great producers last May) these numbers are drastically better than 2018.
TRAVEL - We will be making a family trip for in the next few weeks but it will be driving (in a PHEV). I am hoping I can turn in my resignation before I get scheduled for any additional work travel.
FOOD - The garden is not going to happen this year but the food co-op and farmer's market are still great sources of fruits and vegetables.
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I bought a slightly used 2018 Gen 1 Volt. I get about 60 miles of pure EV. It has a backup Gas extender so can go all up about 420miles, though I haven't used much gas. The first time I filled up I thought something was wrong, because it only took a minute, it has a small tank but is super efficient. I haven't bought Gas since February, so have saved at least $1k on Gas. I bought a Level 2 charger and it charges quickly in about 3 hours at home, even faster on the public charging stations, but I mostly just charge at home, it's really easy. I thought I would use more gas actually but haven't needed to. I like too that if I want to go on a big road trip I still have the Gas option if I need it. Also where I am there is Hurricane risk. I feel safer knowing if the Gas stations are backed up or empty, (as they were the last Hurricane), I can use the EV to get me away far enough to find Gas or pull out the chord and charge.
Because my car was close to new I still have a lot of warranty including I think it's an 8 year warranty on the battery. My research indicated I would have non existent maintenance costs too. For example the car has a regenerative braking system that captures energy back to the battery and saves on brake and tire wear.
I really love this car, it feels like a space ship and I love that I have eradicated a regular bill from my budget, hopefully forever.
Many, many thanks regarding the comments on the Volt. I had been concerned about a used one, but you have allayed my fears. Will see how much I succeed in lowering the use of my Fit by substituting the Ebike, and if not enough, will probably go with a Volt or similar.
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Things I know we/I could do but without the buy in from the family I am not sure that I would be successful in making the change.
COMMUTE - I commute a long distance and have reduced the impacts of the commute as much as I can (carpooling & electric car) without moving. The family (including me, most days) is very happy in our current house/town. Any other suggestions besides moving or a new job?
DAIRY - I don't see the family ever agreeing to dairy free. Most of the time husband (does all the cooking) uses alternatives in his cooking so I can eat it too but sometimes I just eat something different than everyone else. I was able to give the 5 year old chocolate almond milk the other day without any comments so maybe I can just make small changes this way.
MEAT - I might get to a meat free lifestyle but would need to figure a few things out as soy/tofu is not an option. I don't think this would be something the family would agree to. I have been thinking about raising our own backyard meat chickens, maybe I can push for that this summer/fall?
PLASTIC - This one might be something that I can actually have an impact on in our house. I have been looking at a shampoo bar lately and I have already started to switch to bar soap. I recently purchased glass containers for my lunches instead of plastic ones. Our produce almost all come from the co-op at this point so that is good. I think I have room for improvement on this at a personal level, even if the family is not on-board.
ENERGY - This has been a big focus for me the last couple years and 2019 should be dramatically lower than 2018 due to the wood boiler (installed Dec 2018). I should mention here that we live on 18 acres and will be able to selectively harvest our own "fuel" for this at the same time as we are maintaining our wooded parts of the land. I also purchased one that had better emission controls vs one with no emission controls and not approved by EPA. I want to add insulation to the house, maybe I can get that done before next winter.
TRAVEL - There is not really any travel in the plans for 2019 but most of it is done by car. Although husband is having to take the older kids to a funeral (2 states away) this week and we chose to utilize Amtrak vs him driving. I have to fly 6-10 per year for work, I have been trying to figure out if they would let me drive for at least half of these.
FOOD - I have been wanting to start the garden back up but need to clear the spot and just do it. I have "brown" thumb but I really want a garden, is it too late to start planning this? Did I need to dig it up last fall?
Any suggestions. I am a full-time working mama with a long commute and 4 kids in the house and am taking classes for a Master's, I want to continue to improve my environmental footprint but the time/money/energy bandwidth is pretty low at this point. Does anybody want to weigh-in on 1-3 things they think will give me the "biggest bang of my (personal energy) buck"?
COMMUTE - I am still carpooling and it is going really well. I did receive an offer for a different job, it isn't as big of reduction in miles as the job I talked about wanting but it is a reduction. I was also able to convince the SO to trade in the van for a Prius so his commuting/kid shuttling impact will be for the better going forward.
DAIRY - We have not purchased cow milk in probably a month! Giving up cow cheese is currently not something the rest of the family is willing to discuss.
MEAT - This is still a slow process but we did find a local farm that we have started buying our meat from. Still meat but less transportation.
PLASTIC - I did pick some silicone bags that we purchased to replace "ziplock" bags, I read so many reviews and most of them were frustrated that the silicone bags they purchased were wrapped individually in plastic bags. I decided to purchase anyways with the hope that the company read the reviews and stopped that practice, I was wrong. I have also switched to a shampoo bar and I LOVE it!
ENERGY - April ended up as a grand total of 144kW over what the solar produced. May ended up as a grand total of 296kW over what the solar produced, but there were a lot of cloudy days so the solar produced less in May than expected. June as of today is sitting at 93.6kW over the solar production. With the exception of May (solar panels were great producers last May) these numbers are drastically better than 2018.
TRAVEL - We will be making a family trip for in the next few weeks but it will be driving (in a PHEV). I am hoping I can turn in my resignation before I get scheduled for any additional work travel.
FOOD - The garden is not going to happen this year but the food co-op and farmer's market are still great sources of fruits and vegetables.
Thanks for the update, Slow and Steady. Sounds great. We also have solar panels, but with all the clouds and rain we have had this spring they have performed quite a bit less well than last year. Still had a small excess last month, though.
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Political will - for me there are so many issues here, and so hard to address most of them.
One thing I have only just become aware of is just how privatized the world's agricultural seeds are becoming. We have gone past Plant Variety Protection to actual patents, where farmers and gardeners are basically renting use of the seed - you can't save it, you can't breed from it, you can't use or give away or sell seed you saved.
I just found out about Open Source Seed Initiative (osseed.org) and not only want to start buying that seed for my garden, but publicize it. Farmers in our area get their seed basically from Monsanto, and 100% of the corn and 60% of the soy is treated with neonics. Our bees are in trouble, and the farmers have very few alternatives.
It's horrifying right! The genetic manipulation of food! I'm totally sickened by it. I'm trying to grow my own food, and order from heirloom suppliers hoping to support the non-GMO seed companies.
In my own garden I had a very bad beginning with plants flowering but not fruiting, I established they weren't being pollinated. I'd seen only one bee this season that we later found dead in the driveway. I set about planting loads of Pollinator attractors and was happy to see a lone bee again the other day, but I am still very upset. I used to easily get loads of zucchini and cucumbers from each plant. So far zero zucchini and only 3 cucumber. Have been getting plenty of Cherry Tomatoes, I think they self pollinate. I tried pollinated the zucchini's by hand and it didn't work.
I think the Monsanto agenda is to control the food - ALL THE FOOD. Not much competition out there for them either as I understand it. They are incredibly ruthless. I really don't like where I see it all going.
I vote with my dollars by trying to buy mostly Organic, local and non-GMO and and home grown!
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Political will - for me there are so many issues here, and so hard to address most of them.
One thing I have only just become aware of is just how privatized the world's agricultural seeds are becoming. We have gone past Plant Variety Protection to actual patents, where farmers and gardeners are basically renting use of the seed - you can't save it, you can't breed from it, you can't use or give away or sell seed you saved.
I just found out about Open Source Seed Initiative (osseed.org) and not only want to start buying that seed for my garden, but publicize it. Farmers in our area get their seed basically from Monsanto, and 100% of the corn and 60% of the soy is treated with neonics. Our bees are in trouble, and the farmers have very few alternatives.
It's horrifying right! The genetic manipulation of food! I'm totally sickened by it. I'm trying to grow my own food, and order from heirloom suppliers hoping to support the non-GMO seed companies.
In my own garden I had a very bad beginning with plants flowering but not fruiting, I established they weren't being pollinated. I'd seen only one bee this season that we later found dead in the driveway. I set about planting loads of Pollinator attractors and was happy to see a lone bee again the other day, but I am still very upset. I used to easily get loads of zucchini and cucumbers from each plant. So far zero zucchini and only 3 cucumber. Have been getting plenty of Cherry Tomatoes, I think they self pollinate. I tried pollinated the zucchini's by hand and it didn't work.
I think the Monsanto agenda is to control the food - ALL THE FOOD. Not much competition out there for them either as I understand it. They are incredibly ruthless. I really don't like where I see it all going.
I vote with my dollars by trying to buy mostly Organic, local and non-GMO and and home grown!
You can hand pollinate zucchini and cucumbers. Go out about 8 in the morning. Remove a male flower and take off the petals. Make sure the pollen has started shedding by rubbing a bit of the stamen against your thumb. If it isn’t shedding you may need to wait for the temperature to rise a bit. Then take the depetaled male blossom and use it like a paint brush to spread pollen all over the pistol on newly opened female flowers. If you do this after about 10 am it may not work because pollen will be too old.
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Me and my family love underwater activities (diving, snorkeling) therefore we travel quite a lot to be able to see places where coral reefs and marine life is still 'untouched'.
To be honest, when we started traveling years ago I didn't know much about waste problems but the more we travel the worse thing we see.
My fav destination in terms of marine life is Indonesia, but I see that the plastic situation is worse and worse year after year. Even in the most remote places, the beaches are covered with tons of plastic and no one seems to be interested in finding a solution.
These experiences led to be more responsible at home and when traveling. I try to do my best to leave the smallest impact by taking some simple actions, like using
- canvas bags to avoid plastic bags
- reusable bamboo and metal straws, reusable cups and water bottle
- eco-friendly ocean safe sunscreen https://snorkelaroundtheworld.com/2018/08/best-reef-safe-sunscreen/ (https://snorkelaroundtheworld.com/2018/08/best-reef-safe-sunscreen/) instead of chemical sun care products
- solid bar soaps, shampoo, body lotion
- natural home-made detergents such as baking soda, vinegar and lemon
- buying less but good-quality products (no matter it's food, clothes, household items or anyhting)
I know these are little steps and I still have to improve a lot, but I try to educate myself and my family continuously how to do it better.
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Me and my family love underwater activities (diving, snorkeling) therefore we travel quite a lot to be able to see places where coral reefs and marine life is still 'untouched'.
To be honest, when we started traveling years ago I didn't know much about waste problems but the more we travel the worse thing we see.
My fav destination in terms of marine life is Indonesia, but I see that the plastic situation is worse and worse year after year. Even in the most remote places, the beaches are covered with tons of plastic and no one seems to be interested in finding a solution.
These experiences led to be more responsible at home and when traveling. I try to do my best to leave the smallest impact by taking some simple actions, like using
- canvas bags to avoid plastic bags
- reusable bamboo and metal straws, reusable cups and water bottle
- eco-friendly ocean safe sunscreen https://snorkelaroundtheworld.com/2018/08/best-reef-safe-sunscreen/ (https://snorkelaroundtheworld.com/2018/08/best-reef-safe-sunscreen/) instead of chemical sun care products
- solid bar soaps, shampoo, body lotion
- natural home-made detergents such as baking soda, vinegar and lemon
- buying less but good-quality products (no matter it's food, clothes, household items or anyhting)
I know these are little steps and I still have to improve a lot, but I try to educate myself and my family continuously how to do it better.
Have you connected your love of nature to the effects flying has on it? Or if you can learn to love the nature closer to your home?
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So far, so good, with the ebike. Left the car parked for a full six days last week. Saturdays I will still have to drive my disabled son around, so that will be about 25 miles per week. And I have to drive to another city at least once a month, so that will average around 80 miles per month. Over the life of the car, I have averaged about 550 miles per month, so if I could keep it below 200, that would be good.
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Took a step in reducing plastic. I traveled to a country where tap water isn't drinkable, so I got a filter bottle which will allow me to drink the tap water, eliminating the need to buy small plastic bottles. It felt good to not be buying any plastic bottles during the trip, although I didn't avoid it for the complete 100% (once forgot the bottle, once didn't have an opportunity to fill it and once wanted COLD water).
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Half way through the year.
Transport stuff:
Miles I've cycled so far this year - 2431
Miles our family car has moved - 1315
Cycling is about 10% just for fun, 90% going places, 75% commuting.
Driving is dominated by the two big 500 mile round trips (one to friends, one to in-laws) we've made so far this year. Two more trips to in-laws planned this year. We've got our other car mileage down to something like 50 miles a month.
Unlike last year, we have done a standalone trip to my parents (as well as seeing them on the way to the in-laws), but we managed to take the train, rather than 200 miles round trip in the car.
I think we've made some progress on internalising not using the car and dwelling less on relative cost of trains/buses. What's the point being (marginally more) rich on a dead planet?
So well on track for targets upthread (no driving to work, <3000 car miles). But is it good enough? Still 0.7t CO2 to do 3000 miles even in a Yaris, but getting kids and stuff to in-laws is another level of public transport logistics, and quite limiting on doing stuff while there.
TLDR: Frustratingly trapped in the tyranny of car ownership
Food:
Still somewhere between vegetarian and vegan (kids have more dairy, adults very little).
Trying to buy more organic and get more seasonal rather than lazy eating the same stuff year round without really paying attention to origin. Am more or less treating 'Western Europe' as a hard boundary and UK as a strong preference. Throws up some interesting questions about what is 'least harm' - organic spinach from Italy, or non-organic from within the UK? Then add in loose vs plastic wrapped to the mix.
In the last few weeks, we've acquired an allotment (not sure how much of a thing that is in US, so https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_(gardening) (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_(gardening))). Way more space than we have at home, so might eventually make a dent in food miles and food packaging.
TLDR: Going pretty well
Domestic energy:
Not really made progress on this front. Do now have six months worth of regular readings, and some idea how our annual gas use breaks down into hot water vs space heating. Roughly:
- 2000kWh electric
- 2000kWh gas for hot water
- 8000kWh gas for space heating
Total gas use gives about 2t CO2 pa, so 0.4t water, 1.6t heat.
Notionally electric is 100% renewable, but the supplier isn't building any windfarms, so aside from a bit of demand stimulus we're basically just buying the clean bits of the same old UK energy mix and leaving the dirty bits for people on non-green tariffs. Honest assessment is probably 0.6t CO2 pa as the UK grid gets pretty dirty in the winter.
What to do, what to do?
Loft insulation upgrade, as per my original post, is a must-do before the heating comes on again. Don't think there's other easy wins on reducing usage.
I think the long-term answer is some combination of heat pump, heat storage, and solar PV.
Could easily fit enough solar on the roof to exceed current electricity usage over the course of a year, although would end up exporting a lot in summer and importing in winter and still using a lot of gas. Also involves designing a loft conversion we're not expecting to need to do for a decade and a bit of prework taking a chimney stack down and putting roof windows in now so we don't end up having to move panels.
Straight up swap of the gas boiler for an air-source heat pump is probably the right first step, but there's a bit of me that would quite like to get rid of the wet central heating (just for maintenance hassle/disaster potential), and investing in an ASHP would lock that in.
Phase change heat batteries are really interesting, and might be a good way of getting the hot water off gas while also fixing some non-environmental shortcomings of the system - ridiculous length of piping from boiler to any taps, plus start-up time of the boiler means a lot of water wasted waiting for it to get hot. But new tech/early adoption issues.
TLDR: Decision fatigue
Consumption of stuff:
Feels like too much, but not really tracking it well enough to figure out where it's going.
TDLR: Meh
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So many great steps @dashuk! As your 2nd car only drives about 50 miles/month, would it be an option to ditch it completely? I can imagine 50 miles of extra trains/busses or even Uber/taxi/carshare may be cheaper than maintenance + registration + insurance.
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Sorry, by 'other car mileage', I meant mileage that isn't those four big trips per year. We only have one car.
We wouldn't keep a car for 50 miles per month of local miles, it would be gone by now and we'd find alternatives - I can cycle to a car club car within 30 mins for stuff that can't be done by any other means.
It's the four 500mi round trips that force us to keep it. We're working up to doing at least some of them by public transport, but not there yet. Getting to the in-laws would be two trains plus an hour on a rural bus service, basically all day with 5yo and 2yo plus luggage in tow. I'm fine with paying for the train, as it actually has some environmental benefit. But sitting on a hire car for 3-4 weeks a year is more expensive even than the train, and likely environmentally worse as would be a bigger, newer car. So for the minute, ours stays.
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Ah ok then I misunderstood! I thought you talked about 1 car that you did most driving with including the big trips and a the remaining 50 miles with a 2nd car. I totally get that going to the in laws by public transport in that case would be a pain, especially with the kids.
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Notionally electric is 100% renewable, but the supplier isn't building any windfarms, so aside from a bit of demand stimulus we're basically just buying the clean bits of the same old UK energy mix and leaving the dirty bits for people on non-green tariffs.
Today I learnt that the parent company of our energy provider is actually the biggest owner of solar farms in the UK - so actually there is a slightly more direct link between us choosing a green tariff and more renewables getting built.
Nevertheless, reducing demand still best.
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maybe many of you knew this already, but I just learned it. I have always thrown away clothing that is worn out or stained, instead of giving it to Goodwill. But it turns out that it’s actually better to give it to Goodwill because it will then be recycled as something like furniture stuffing instead of being sent to the landfill where natural fibers will eventually decompose and produce methane. I even called my local Goodwill to confirm this. So this will be a change in my behavior going forward . I’m sure they’d appreciate having things sorted and labeled as unwearable though.
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maybe many of you knew this already, but I just learned it. I have always thrown away clothing that is worn out or stained, instead of giving it to Goodwill. But it turns out that it’s actually better to give it to Goodwill because it will then be recycled as something like furniture stuffing instead of being sent to the landfill where natural fibers will eventually decompose and produce methane. I even called my local Goodwill to confirm this. So this will be a change in my behavior going forward . I’m sure they’d appreciate having things sorted and labeled as unwearable though.
If you appreciate learning about clothing, you might like The True Cost, a documentary on clothes, available free here: https://thoughtmaybe.com/the-true-cost. The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDx711ibD1M.
It will change your views on clothes. I've shopped almost exclusively at thrift shops since. Coincidentally, this weekend I'm visiting my mom and scheduled a sewing lesson.
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maybe many of you knew this already, but I just learned it. I have always thrown away clothing that is worn out or stained, instead of giving it to Goodwill. But it turns out that it’s actually better to give it to Goodwill because it will then be recycled as something like furniture stuffing instead of being sent to the landfill where natural fibers will eventually decompose and produce methane. I even called my local Goodwill to confirm this. So this will be a change in my behavior going forward . I’m sure they’d appreciate having things sorted and labeled as unwearable though.
If you appreciate learning about clothing, you might like The True Cost, a documentary on clothes, available free here: https://thoughtmaybe.com/the-true-cost. The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDx711ibD1M.
It will change your views on clothes. I've shopped almost exclusively at thrift shops since. Coincidentally, this weekend I'm visiting my mom and scheduled a sewing lesson.
+1 The True Cost is well worth watching, and eye opening too about where the thrift store cast offs end up, in case anyone uses that as justification for buying new stuff ("oh, I'll just donate it when I'm done with it").
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So well on track for targets upthread (no driving to work, <3000 car miles). But is it good enough? Still 0.7t CO2 to do 3000 miles even in a Yaris, but getting kids and stuff to in-laws is another level of public transport logistics, and quite limiting on doing stuff while there.
Would renting a car for those trips work?
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maybe many of you knew this already, but I just learned it. I have always thrown away clothing that is worn out or stained, instead of giving it to Goodwill. But it turns out that it’s actually better to give it to Goodwill because it will then be recycled as something like furniture stuffing instead of being sent to the landfill where natural fibers will eventually decompose and produce methane. I even called my local Goodwill to confirm this. So this will be a change in my behavior going forward . I’m sure they’d appreciate having things sorted and labeled as unwearable though.
If you appreciate learning about clothing, you might like The True Cost, a documentary on clothes, available free here: https://thoughtmaybe.com/the-true-cost. The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDx711ibD1M.
It will change your views on clothes. I've shopped almost exclusively at thrift shops since. Coincidentally, this weekend I'm visiting my mom and scheduled a sewing lesson.
Thanks, Joshua. Did watch the trailer. I don't buy a lot of clothes (living in a 1950s house with small closets makes that kind of a necessity). I usually wear things until they wear out, and I do buy some things second-hand, but that tends to be work-out or work in yard clothes. If i want to look "nice" i find it hard to find clothes that are flattering in thrift shops. BUT, that trailer has inspired me to work harder at avoiding new. I will see if I can alter used clothes to look better on me. I am not into fashion at all, I just want to look respectable.
Also, recently watched the video of you cooking vegetable stew in your pressure cooker. Very tempted to try, but don't own a pressure cooker, pretty sure my husband will refuse to eat it anyway... It was fun to watch, though, and the wheels are turning in my head to come up with healthy, earth friendly food that will actually get eaten. So thanks for what you are doing.
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So well on track for targets upthread (no driving to work, <3000 car miles). But is it good enough? Still 0.7t CO2 to do 3000 miles even in a Yaris, but getting kids and stuff to in-laws is another level of public transport logistics, and quite limiting on doing stuff while there.
Would renting a car for those trips work?
Low end of hire car would be £30/day, and £40 might be more realistic. Those trips add up to about a month of the year, so £900-1200.
Insurance, tax, service parts for the car ~£500/year. Ten year old Yaris, so not depreciating very fast, sale value pretty low.
It probably gets close enough that we wouldn't sink money into replacing it if it wears out before we crack using the train for the big trips. But not close enough to run out and sell it.
From the point of view of this thread, there's no tangible environmental benefit -we'd be doing those miles in a bigger, newer car. Into questions like "would feeding our car into the bottom of the used market eventually trickle up to one fewer person buying a new car?.
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Notionally electric is 100% renewable, but the supplier isn't building any windfarms, so aside from a bit of demand stimulus we're basically just buying the clean bits of the same old UK energy mix and leaving the dirty bits for people on non-green tariffs.
Today I learnt that the parent company of our energy provider is actually the biggest owner of solar farms in the UK - so actually there is a slightly more direct link between us choosing a green tariff and more renewables getting built.
Nevertheless, reducing demand still best.
Just to throw another suggestion into the soup of decision fatigue, I get my electricity and gas from Good Energy. The electricity is 100% renewable and they do invest in new schemes including Swansea Bay tidal scheme (finally a big tidal scheme in the UK). The gas is 6% biogas, and the rest they currently offset, but even that 6% is better than any of the other energy companies as far as I’m aware. They also buy from individuals so if you do get pv at some point that might be worth looking at for evening out your supply and demand.
I haven’t checked for a while but I’m sure they are more expensive than the bigger companies, which can obviously be a consideration. As you said the important step lots of people miss out is using less energy in the first place and insulation etc.
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maybe many of you knew this already, but I just learned it. I have always thrown away clothing that is worn out or stained, instead of giving it to Goodwill. But it turns out that it’s actually better to give it to Goodwill because it will then be recycled as something like furniture stuffing instead of being sent to the landfill where natural fibers will eventually decompose and produce methane. I even called my local Goodwill to confirm this. So this will be a change in my behavior going forward . I’m sure they’d appreciate having things sorted and labeled as unwearable though.
If you appreciate learning about clothing, you might like The True Cost, a documentary on clothes, available free here: https://thoughtmaybe.com/the-true-cost. The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDx711ibD1M.
It will change your views on clothes. I've shopped almost exclusively at thrift shops since. Coincidentally, this weekend I'm visiting my mom and scheduled a sewing lesson.
Thanks, Joshua. Did watch the trailer. I don't buy a lot of clothes (living in a 1950s house with small closets makes that kind of a necessity). I usually wear things until they wear out, and I do buy some things second-hand, but that tends to be work-out or work in yard clothes. If i want to look "nice" i find it hard to find clothes that are flattering in thrift shops. BUT, that trailer has inspired me to work harder at avoiding new. I will see if I can alter used clothes to look better on me. I am not into fashion at all, I just want to look respectable.
Also, recently watched the video of you cooking vegetable stew in your pressure cooker. Very tempted to try, but don't own a pressure cooker, pretty sure my husband will refuse to eat it anyway... It was fun to watch, though, and the wheels are turning in my head to come up with healthy, earth friendly food that will actually get eaten. So thanks for what you are doing.
I'll say you're welcome because you said thank you, but I'm just sharing what I've found that happens to save time and money, create community, and taste great.
Used versions of my pressure cooker (which I bought used) are about $80 with shipping (https://www.ebay.com/p/Cuisinart-CPC600-1000W-Electric-Pressure-Cooker/710161019?iid=192861354909). Near me Craig's List (https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=pressure%20cooker&sort=rel) has maybe 20 for less.
These posts augment the video and got a few people started:
- My famous no-packaging vegetable stew formula, take 1 (http://joshuaspodek.com/my-famous-no-packaging-vegetable-stew-formula-take-1)
- My famous no-packaging vegetable stew formula, take 2 (http://joshuaspodek.com/my-famous-no-packaging-vegetable-stew-formula-take-2)
My nieces and nephew are picky eaters with many food allergies and they like the stews.
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Investigated the new no plastics food shop in town and I will be able to cut down on some plastic food packaging. Bought a shampoo bar so if it works well enough (and I'm not exactly fussy about my hair) that's one plastic bottle that should never need to be replaced in my lifetime.
I thought I wan't using all that much plastic, but when I look around I have liquid soap in a push pump bottle, and my shampoo and conditioner are in plastic bottles. I use real soap for washing. The basic issue is, solids do not need to be in plastic bottles, but liquids need to be in bottles, and almost all those bottles are plastic, not glass. So back to solids it is as the liquids get used up. Hmm, the only exception (what is the alternative?) is dish-washing liquid. There is powdered laundry detergent, and powdered dish-washer detergent, but I have never seen powdered dish-washing soap.
I'd love to know how the shampoo bar does for you, and if you miss having conditioner, or if you not need a conditioner.
The shampoo bar is going great, and as @chaskavitch said it seems to last forever. I'm still using up the conditioner bottle I had before switching and have reduced how much I use with no ill effects.
The no plastics food/household store is looking at bringing a van out to my rural locality once a fortnight: together with using the local farmer's veg stall that will save on driving into town.
My big win this month has been less than £10 of electricity used, in a house that is all electric (renewables tariff). No heating or cooling (the summer weather has helped a lot on that), clothes washing on cold and hanging outside to dry, showers instead of baths, turning off everything at the plug when not in use. Winter will be different, because my old dog's bones will need to be kept warm, but I can keep on with all the other behaviours with no difficulty.
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Investigated the new no plastics food shop in town and I will be able to cut down on some plastic food packaging. Bought a shampoo bar so if it works well enough (and I'm not exactly fussy about my hair) that's one plastic bottle that should never need to be replaced in my lifetime.
I thought I wan't using all that much plastic, but when I look around I have liquid soap in a push pump bottle, and my shampoo and conditioner are in plastic bottles. I use real soap for washing. The basic issue is, solids do not need to be in plastic bottles, but liquids need to be in bottles, and almost all those bottles are plastic, not glass. So back to solids it is as the liquids get used up. Hmm, the only exception (what is the alternative?) is dish-washing liquid. There is powdered laundry detergent, and powdered dish-washer detergent, but I have never seen powdered dish-washing soap.
I'd love to know how the shampoo bar does for you, and if you miss having conditioner, or if you not need a conditioner.
The shampoo bar is going great, and as @chaskavitch said it seems to last forever. I'm still using up the conditioner bottle I had before switching and have reduced how much I use with no ill effects.
The no plastics food/household store is looking at bringing a van out to my rural locality once a fortnight: together with using the local farmer's veg stall that will save on driving into town.
My big win this month has been less than £10 of electricity used, in a house that is all electric (renewables tariff). No heating or cooling (the summer weather has helped a lot on that), clothes washing on cold and hanging outside to dry, showers instead of baths, turning off everything at the plug when not in use. Winter will be different, because my old dog's bones will need to be kept warm, but I can keep on with all the other behaviours with no difficulty.
You can buy conditioner bars if you need conditioner. I cut my hair short so I will probably eliminate altogether the conditioner when my bar is finshed. I really like the schampoo bar and are only emptying my current schampoobottle before going totally over to schampoo, conditioner and soap bars. My goal for the next purchase is to find ones without palmoil because it is an industry that I don’t want to support.
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We just started the next big project to move our house to net zero. The house was built in '69 and is a u-shaped floor plan which means it has the most exterior walls possible to enclose the floor space. This week instead of a spendy vacation somewhere exotic, we are going to insulate a large portion of the basement. The infra-red photos showed the west wall of the basement with the same heat loss as the windows, one big long fuchsia strip - except for the little rings where the spray foam was filling the gaps around the windows. Hubs has been doing the research and the plan is to: rigid foam insulation against the concrete with tape and then roxul bats in a framed wall that doesn't touch the foam. Then drywall for fire protection.
We are surviving the humidity without AC - because we have no choice - in our quest to get the house to net zero we won't be installing it. Once the drywall is up, most of our basement will be living space. We will set up spaces that can have beds for the really hot nights. Our master bedroom is in the basement so we don't notice the heat but the kids are finding their rooms hot. It should get better though when we get their walls insulated properly too! I am hoping we can do one of them this fall when the kid moves out for university.
We have also been doing great on reducing food waste and plastic coming into the house.
My garden is producing lovely fresh vegetables and I am reusing a ton of stuff to make barricades to keep out the critters and to hold up the vines.
Clothes dryer is sitting idle while the lines are in constant use.
We had a dry spell and the rain barrels got totally empty so I watered with city water twice at home and five times at the veg garden.
I planted 72 native perennials in my garden this spring to landscape a large area that was bare.
We removed 30 face feet of railway tie retaining wall and replaced it with a rockery that the chipmunks love. The ties are going to the toxic waste at the sorting plant.
We cleaned up all the rotting shed and have sorted all materials (except for all the nails in the wood). We are taking it to the sorting plant instead of just ordering a dumpster and hauling it away to landfill.
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It's the end of July and have put only 172 miles on my car this month, which is nowhere near dashuk's level, but a significant improvement over my previous average of 550/month. I used the car only when I needed to transport another person or a cat. :) Have been using the ebike for everything else and feel great!
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We just started the next big project to move our house to net zero.
Sounds like a really interesting project. Retrofit is complicated.
It's the end of July and have put only 172 miles on my car this month, which is nowhere near dashuk's level, but a significant improvement over my previous average of 550/month. I used the car only when I needed to transport another person or a cat. :) Have been using the ebike for everything else and feel great!
It's pretty much spot on our mean monthly mileage for the year to end July - just that we have a few 550 mile months in amongst the <50 mile norm. July was 36 miles, but August will be another trip to the in-laws.
Really glad the eBike is working out for you!
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DH read an article in the newspaper about meat consumption being horrible for the environment so we've decided to eat meat only once a week and fish also once a week. We weren't huge meat eaters before (probably ate it 3 times a week before including chicken and ham/bacon) but it's nice to cut back. We also need in increase our consumption of beans and lentils to make sure we're getting enough protein.
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DH read an article in the newspaper about meat consumption being horrible for the environment so we've decided to eat meat only once a week and fish also once a week. We weren't huge meat eaters before (probably ate it 3 times a week before including chicken and ham/bacon) but it's nice to cut back. We also need in increase our consumption of beans and lentils to make sure we're getting enough protein.
Kudos to both of you!!
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I forgot to post here when we finally got our compost tumbler set up! Looking forward to generating some lovely compost for next year's garden, as well as savings from not having to take out the trash as often, as it won't have much in it to get smelly (we hardly ever fill the bag, so odor is the determiner of when we take it out).
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DH read an article in the newspaper about meat consumption being horrible for the environment so we've decided to eat meat only once a week and fish also once a week. We weren't huge meat eaters before (probably ate it 3 times a week before including chicken and ham/bacon) but it's nice to cut back. We also need in increase our consumption of beans and lentils to make sure we're getting enough protein.
Kudos to both of you!!
Seconded.
This is how we arrived at a household of (pretty much) vegan adults and vegetarian kids.
"Let's try and eat a bit less meat"
"This seems to be going fine, what if we added another meat-free evening meal?"
"How about we just have fish once a week and no land meat?"
"Oh look, we're vegetarian now, maybe we should try and cut back on the dairy?"
"Hey, we've never really talked about this with either set of parents, just eaten whatever they fed us when we visit, but maybe we should?"
And so on. Don't think either of us anticipated ending up here when we started, but it always seems logical and attainable to take the next little step.
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We're forced to use air conditioning during part of the season due to where we live, but we replaced our air conditioning unit and it immediately reduced our summertime energy usage by 38%. We're also improving our house's insulation and using eco-friendly mineral wool in replacement of fiberglass insulation in the process. I'll let everyone know how that turns out as well.
Next year's big project is going to be replacing our 43-year-old windows. We toured an eco-conscious model house at the science museum where we have a membership, so we think we have some excellent ideas on how to replace the windows with environmentally-friendly and money-saving stuff. When we have the windows replaced, I also want to install several solar tubes for naturally lighting areas inside the house.
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I forgot to post here when we finally got our compost tumbler set up! Looking forward to generating some lovely compost for next year's garden, as well as savings from not having to take out the trash as often, as it won't have much in it to get smelly (we hardly ever fill the bag, so odor is the determiner of when we take it out).
I predict another effect if it hasn't happened already, which is when shopping to favor more fresh fruits and vegetables and less packaged food, leading to yet less trash to take out, among other results.
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I forgot to post here when we finally got our compost tumbler set up! Looking forward to generating some lovely compost for next year's garden, as well as savings from not having to take out the trash as often, as it won't have much in it to get smelly (we hardly ever fill the bag, so odor is the determiner of when we take it out).
I predict another effect if it hasn't happened already, which is when shopping to favor more fresh fruits and vegetables and less packaged food, leading to yet less trash to take out, among other results.
We already buy mostly fresh produce and bulk dry goods, and very little packaged foods. Anything more would involve a lot more time investment cooking, but I'm working on that too :) Trying to work up to making all our bread from scratch, and once I'm keeping up with that, adding on granola and yogurt to replace breakfast cereal (I eat overnight oats, but DH likes his cereals).
Today I remembered to save my plum pits and paper napkin from lunch, to throw in the compost when I get home. Also remembered to bring in a mug and spoon for an ice cream event at work this afternoon, so I don't have to use plastic.
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The concept of turning to veganism/vegetarianism and eating pulses cropped as a monoculture is something I still struggle with. I have markedly increased my intake of pulses to reduce my meat consumption for environmental reasons, but it's definitely not a magic fix to our problems. Does anyone have some good resources on the topic of land use and mass adoption of plant based diets? I'm aware of a few people in the Permaculture space that argue that a vegan in an urban centre eating monocultured crops from breadbasket areas (Canadian Prairies) and then disposing of their waste (sewage) into the ocean (Victoria, BC) or incinerating the organic matter (Montreal?) is ridiculous in a vein parallel to our emissions problem.
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The concept of turning to veganism/vegetarianism and eating pulses cropped as a monoculture is something I still struggle with. I have markedly increased my intake of pulses to reduce my meat consumption for environmental reasons, but it's definitely not a magic fix to our problems. Does anyone have some good resources on the topic of land use and mass adoption of plant based diets? I'm aware of a few people in the Permaculture space that argue that a vegan in an urban centre eating monocultured crops from breadbasket areas (Canadian Prairies) and then disposing of their waste (sewage) into the ocean (Victoria, BC) or incinerating the organic matter (Montreal?) is ridiculous in a vein parallel to our emissions problem.
There are huge problems with modern agriculture, both for plant crops and animals. But it is not the plants or animals, it is the methods. There is lots of good information on the web. Look at mob grazing and carbon sequestration, for an example. Or for something a bit less technical, read Joel Salatin's blog.
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The concept of turning to veganism/vegetarianism and eating pulses cropped as a monoculture is something I still struggle with. I have markedly increased my intake of pulses to reduce my meat consumption for environmental reasons, but it's definitely not a magic fix to our problems. Does anyone have some good resources on the topic of land use and mass adoption of plant based diets? I'm aware of a few people in the Permaculture space that argue that a vegan in an urban centre eating monocultured crops from breadbasket areas (Canadian Prairies) and then disposing of their waste (sewage) into the ocean (Victoria, BC) or incinerating the organic matter (Montreal?) is ridiculous in a vein parallel to our emissions problem.
Ipcc published a report a out landuse: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/
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Also, any recommendations for environmentally friendly cat litter?
I'll answer my own question from earlier this year - I've been using walnut shell cat litter for several weeks now and it works pretty well - not quite as good as traditional clay litter for odor control, but it clumps well and is a decent substitute.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/blue-naturally-fresh-multi-cat-clumping-cat-litter
Also, the pet store employee recommended against the litter made out of wheat - she said it turned into mush and smelled disgusting as soon as her cat used it. Just in case anyone was thinking of trying that.
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I regularly use Swheat Scoop, which is wheat, and it doesn't turn into mush or smell IME, so maybe worth a shot? I have used it for 5 years.
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That's good to know! I'm not sure if that's the brand my store carries or not - I just googled Swheat scoop and it has really good reviews.
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I was worried that the wheat litter might attract mice. Any thoughts on that?
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I drove to visit my son this past weekend and used about three months worth of my driving budget. :( I think I can take the bus about 3/4 of the way there if I drive the first quarter, so will try to do that next time.
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I was worried that the wheat litter might attract mice. Any thoughts on that?
Get a cat?
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I was worried that the wheat litter might attract mice. Any thoughts on that?
Get a cat?
I sent him a strongly worded letter, but he still isn't meeting expectations in that department. :)
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I was worried that the wheat litter might attract mice. Any thoughts on that?
Get a cat?
I sent him a strongly worded letter, but he still isn't meeting expectations in that department. :)
(https://d1ejxu6vysztl5.cloudfront.net/comics/garfield/2015/2015-05-02.gif)
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- DH brought a reusable container to the deli, guy had no problem putting the sticker on the container instead of using a ziplock bag.
- Re-used produce bags as dog poop bags
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- DH brought a reusable container to the deli, guy had no problem putting the sticker on the container instead of using a ziplock bag.
- Re-used produce bags as dog poop bags
Good work.
I don’t have a dog, so I reuse my produce bags as produce bags. :)
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- DH brought a reusable container to the deli, guy had no problem putting the sticker on the container instead of using a ziplock bag.
- Re-used produce bags as dog poop bags
Good work.
I don’t have a dog, so I reuse my produce bags as produce bags. :)
I have bought reusable producebags. I have used the producebags as garbagebags.
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I have lately put a bit more effort in reducing my (plastic) waste, even if it costs a little more. I have started to always pick the unpacked veggie where available, even when there's a plastic-packed cheaper option. Also replaced my plastic (yet reused loads of times) grocery bag by a cloth one, which should be more durable and easier to wash when I've carried loose veggies/fruits or sth that leaks.
My flight-habits are still a disaster though. That's basically the only thing that keeps me (way) above my 'fair share of resources' (e.g. how many earths you need calculator).
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Took containers to the shop for re-filling for rice, almonds, peanuts, cashews.
Used my electric vehicle for errands yesterday.
Last night for an outing we carpooled with an EV but walked home after the event.
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I have lately put a bit more effort in reducing my (plastic) waste, even if it costs a little more. I have started to always pick the unpacked veggie where available, even when there's a plastic-packed cheaper option. Also replaced my plastic (yet reused loads of times) grocery bag by a cloth one, which should be more durable and easier to wash when I've carried loose veggies/fruits or sth that leaks.
My flight-habits are still a disaster though. That's basically the only thing that keeps me (way) above my 'fair share of resources' (e.g. how many earths you need calculator).
This gets me too, especially this year when I am going to be taking a longer flight than usual. Anyone know of good carbon-offset plans for Canadians? David Suzuki's websites gives guidelines but not recommendations.
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I had french toast left over from breakfast, and instead of grabbing the plastic wrap, I used a sandwich holder.
There's a lady I know on the environmental committee at church, and I proposed that we try to reduce the amount of leaf blowing that the landscapers do on the property. I'm willing to organize the youth group to rake. She got very enthusiastic. I'm also going to bring this up to a mom that I know on the PTA too, regarding the school grounds.
Because,
To equal the hydrocarbon emissions of about a half-hour of yard work with this two-stroke leaf blower, you'd have to drive a Raptor for 3,887 miles, or the distance from Northern Texas to Anchorage, Alaska.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html
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So, 2019 is done, anyone want to check back in?
For me:
Transport:
The two goals I wrote down last year were:
- No private motor vehicle use for my commute
- Get the family car mileage under 3000 miles.
Success on the commuting front. I went to the office about 130 times (I'm part time), 110 of which were cycling the full 30 mile round trip. Rest were part bike/part bus.
Final score on the car was an infuriating 3045 miles. A month ago I was convinced it was going to be under.
Other transport stuff - didn't fly, didn't have much business travel, but what there was I did mostly by train with one car-share, bought a longboard and did actually use it in a few transport situations where it was more convenient than a bike.
Food
Goal was a slightly woolly "closer to vegan", which we did. I think all that's left coming into the house is 4-6 pints of milk and a small tub of soft cheese a week. 5yo has whatever he wants for lunch at school, and both kids do on the odd occasions we eat out. OH and I will always eat at least veggie away from home now.
In other food stuff, we got an allotment mid-way through the year, and made pretty good progress on getting from a patch of weeds to something productive. I planted four fruit trees at home and helped plant another 30-odd to create a community orchard nearby. I also started buying dried beans/peas/pulses from a company which is focused on increasing farming of plant-based protein in the UK.
Domestic Energy
The good:
- We went through 2150kWh of electricity and 9400kWh of gas in 2019, which is slightly down on 2250/10000kWh in 2018.
- There's still a bit of finishing off to do, but most of the loft is now very well insulated.
The bad:
- I spent the whole year stuck in a massive decision-fatigue rut on what "big project" to do first to start making our house really sustainable. This shit is complicated. I have a bit of a better idea now, but ultimately, we sat on a big chunk of cash all year without doing anything.
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Update on last year's projects -
1. More insulation on the house - this is a work in progress at the moment. Done, and a big improvement in comfort (too soon to tell on energy use)
2. Minimise plastics coming into the house. This is primarily a food packaging issue, which can be resolved by taking my own bags/jars/wax wraps to the shops - (and we have a new food shop in town which has no plastic packaging that I need to investigate).A work in progress. The bulk items shop now brings a van to my locality once a month which I'm using. I've also moved to bar shampoo and conditioner, so no more plastic bottles there. None-recyclable waste is now a small bag once a week, to be improved on further.
3. No palm oil (oh, Nutella) and replace soya milk with locally produced oat milk.I've cut out palm oil but not yet soya.
4. Reduce car miles (currently about 5k a year). Just over 4k this year. Again, a work in progess
5. Grow food: currently only a few herbs, which has to change, but a big project to make my land accessible and productive. Land is cleared but apart from a few herbs and lots of blackberries getting it to produce might start this year.
Otherwise I've also managed a 15% drop in energy use at home (all renewables) mainly by reducing hot water usage and line-drying clothes. Positive work for the environment has been continued volunteering on beach cleans and new volunteering on a woodland survey and a pollinator project.
This year I need to continue to work on plastics, soya and car miles and make a start on a productive garden. Our parish council has declared a climate emergency and I need to ensure that it is followed through in our actions over the next year - we have a spend of £45k a year and input on local development, all of which should be aligned with that policy.
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So, 2019 is done, anyone want to check back in?
"Nothing of significance." Annual energy emissions are roughly 8 tons CO2/yr, fairly stable from last year. The truck dominates fuel use, even though it has very few miles driven annually, and the Urals now consume more than the car (Volt, so most of the trips into town are on battery - that's been a success, using about 70 gallons this year instead of the nearly 400 the previous car would use). An electric motorcycle of some variety would reduce fuel use further, but short of building an electric Ural, which is more project than I really need at the moment, there's not much out there that's both affordable and covers my needs. The kids aren't tall enough to ride on the back of a standard two wheeler, and the limited cargo capacity on them would mean I'm still taking a Ural frequently. The sidecar is quite useful.
Unfortunately, long range BEVs are still quite expensive, and we do still take some longer trips every now and then. Plus winter is a problem - we occasionally have temperatures below zero, which would make it questionable if a short range BEV could actually make it to town and back. So... probably going to stick with the Volt for a while. Fuel use is up due to the home school coop moving from fairly close to about a 45 minute drive away, which can't be done round trip on battery.
I did install 240V charging for the car, which will reduce winter evening battery use, but we still just put a lot of miles on (10k-12k/yr on the car). My wife does a trip into town with the kids 3-4 days a week, and most of our activities involve heading into some town or another. On the other hand, we're quite sane and happy out here.
- I spent the whole year stuck in a massive decision-fatigue rut on what "big project" to do first to start making our house really sustainable. This shit is complicated. I have a bit of a better idea now, but ultimately, we sat on a big chunk of cash all year without doing anything.
I did roughly the same, though mostly due to being trapped in red tape with solar permitting. I wanted to do something complex, and the red tape that exists to fund the red tape just kept saying "No, it doesn't appear you meet the requirements of NEC 2017." No details or anything, nothing actually helpful, beyond "No, try again." So solar isn't in. I'll do a crappy grid tie setup in the spring and get my backup power sorted out separately, instead of trying to do something grid friendly and combining them. NEC ends at plugs, so I'm going to add plugs and a manual transfer switch.
So, 2019, another year of just consuming a lot of energy, producing zero for the grid, working from the property in a solar powered office. No actual change.
(translate as "total and complete failure" as I have)
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Most of my work travel is now by train.
My Hubs commute is 6km round trip and is made 80% of the time in our BEV, 5% in our old acura, and 15% by bicycle.
We car pool or use the BEV for fetching our oldest from college where he lives on campus. He comes home once a month for a rest weekend.
Our daughter takes a school bus or car pools to high school.
40%of basement walls are now R24 up from R2 last year. (The difference is already noticeable and we have yet to have some serious cold this winter)
10% of basement walls are still R2 - but are on tap for next summer.
The remainder are somewhere around R10. We are currently debating the merits of thickening them up with studs and roxul - and capturing the opportunity to add more electrical receptacles.
Basement forced air heating is now more efficient with the abandonment of the poorly supplied in floor ducts (very little air came through the run and by the end it was only cold air. The best we could do was some new 'whisper vents' of the main run. The can pump out a lot of warm air but it is not near the big window so not idea. Next solution would be to thicken the exterior wall to make it super warm and to make a screen to completely stop air leak up the chimney.
Main floor:
Wall between house and garage is now R18.5.
Dining room is now R18.
Lots of air sealing happened.
New door between the kitchen and the garage.
Planning our 2020 vacation as a none flying holiday somewhere - currently looking at a combined drive / train trip.
Dialing down on food waste and increasing the percentage of plant foods in our diet.
Plastic waste is still being generated but the entire family is working on reducing.
We are eating something I grew and stored or harvested from a farm at just about every meal - whether that is pickles or condiments or potatoes and canned fruit. I am dreaming about my gardens for next year already.
Lighting in the garage is changed to LED's.
House is electrically ready for converting to 100% electrical heating once our natural gas furnace is done. (new in 2011 so this is pretty far out) We will be replacing the natural gas hot water tank with electric on demand system when existing tank is pooched)
Most of my cooking is none done on the single induction cooking plate or our very ancient oven (1980's). It is not a huge oven but it holds heat so well and my baking turns out great. I like to bake.
We have a great set up for drying clothes inside in the winter and outside in the spring summer and fall. I do the laundry in the evening when power is cheaper (and cleaner) and then hang it up in the basement that night or outside first thing in the morning.