So, What will you give up to save the planet?

there are many things we can do. there is a movement afoot called 'voluntary simplification' that addresses many of them.

we could stop building bigger and bigger 'mc mansions'.. everybody does NOT need their own personal 1500 square feet.

we could bring our own bags to the supermarket as is done in europe.

the list is endless. i ride my bike a lot for short trips around town. we live in a small house and whenever we have had the chance, we have made it better insulated and therefore more fuel efficient.

we wear sweaters in the winter and keep the heat at 66

so many things that can be done

 

Republicans, religious fanatics, and all other reactionary nutballs :_>

 

I'd vote for a $0.50 a gallon gas tax, with the money being used to build up a mass transit infrastructure similar to Europe's. (Rail, light rail, etc.)

 

i second that.

 

I'm seriously considering getting solar panels.

Our roof is gonna need to be replaced within the next five years, and because it was the last layer, we have to start from zero and have the whole thing stripped.

I'd love to replace it with solar roof shingles/tiles. I'd love to be able to turn back the meter during the day so far that it more than covers my nighttime usage.

I should walk to work more. And maybe I will start next week.

Also, when we redo the roof, I'd like some gutters and downspouts and a cistern (rain barrel, or something) so that I can keep my tiny lawn watered (we eliminated most of our lawn on our quarter acre except for a 12'x16' patch).

I could probably give up more paper products - reuse paper bags even more, less packaging in products I purchase.

I am glad to say that I've reduced my paper consumption in my worklife dramatically over the past 5 years - and I credit it, oddly enough, to a good laptop which allows me to browse memos and other work stuff via email.

 

Too late [Broken External Image]:http://www.smailiki.nm.ru/sleep/mog.gif, new technology already invented [Broken External Image]:http://www.smailiki.nm.ru/przd/przd11.gif

[web:ec1587df6e]http://www.priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=20255#20255[/web:ec1587df6e]

 

I'd vote for a $2 gas tax, and I don't even have a Prius yet.

I'd also advocate more integrated city planning, with a greater mix of residential and commercial areas. An article in this week's Time talks about how Americans are more obese now, in part, because we have to drive everywhere (and thus walk nowhere). If more things were in walking distance, the theory goes, we'd walk more and be thinner/healthier. This would also cut down on car usage and traffic, among other things. thinner-healthier-less traffic-lower fuel usage = win-win-win-win

 

If you get a chance sometime, visit Portland, Oregon. I'm incredibly impressed with what they've done in integrating mass transit and bike traffic into the downtown infrastructure.

It's about as bike- and pedestrian-friendly a town as you'll find in the U.S., I think; and the light rail there has been very successful. Part of this is because they got a start on it years ago; part of it is very tight zoning regulations for new housing.

 

I'm extremely skeptical of their claim that until now there was no effecient way to convert waste heat between 300 and 800 degrees to useful power!

 

Like What?

Well, what do you suggest, twindad? All of us here are taking steps in the right direction. But isn't there ALWAYS to do? I mean, taken to its logical extreme, maybe the only real step we can take to save the planet is to bury ourselves up to our necks in a pile of compost and slit our throats.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for doing my bit. But I for one am going to stop well short of that! :roll:

 

What? Suicide?

Even that doesn't make much of a difference, unless you can convince a lot of us to do it.

 

It comes down to this: I really do believe that every little bit helps.

So while I may not be doing the kind of good I could do by moving into a commune or living in the forest, off the land (all of which have their own side effects), I am trying to do things that have a positive effect. And I'm looking around and seeing what other things I can do -- things that might cause some inconvenience to me, but still fit within my lifestyle and my goals.

If you set the goal too high, and insist that anything below massive shifts in your lifestyle won't help at all, it encourages people to do nothing -- to use it as an excuse.

Plus, I don't think it's true: every little bit helps. And the more people that do things like vanpool or carpool, or recycle, or try and consume (and spend) less will help the environment, their communities, their world -- and even themselves.

My opinion, anyway.

 

How about "giving up" a few hours a week to agitate for green legislation and programs? Tax incentives for renewable energy systems and hybrids. Expanded mass transit, recycling and energy-saving programs. BTW, doesn't Germany recycle something like 90% of all of their solid waste?

 

Okay, but this doesn't take into account what we're doing ...

My job (I hope) helps to reduce HUGE amounts of consumption and that's something I feel good about every day.

I work for an entertainment studio and it used to be that we would send out press kits comprised of slides and documents all in slick folders. They'd be packaged up (overpackaged, really) and sent via overnight shippers to clients all over the world.

Think about that. Millions of slides were duplicated for this process all using hazardous chemicals. Packaging using plastics and paper products were used to package it all up and then they were put on jets that went all over the globe.

Today we have a website where all of these things are provided digitally. No one uses film anymore for the new stuff and if anyone wants the old stuff, we digitize it and direct them to the files on our website. They get it as fast as they can download it - in a more useable form and we've actually reduced our storage space over the years and cut our shipping costs by 70%!

So I've spent the last five years of my life pushing for this digital change-over because I knew it was what was best for the planet, but I could sell it to my client (the studio) because it actually saved them money.

 

We don't have to give up much of anything except our fears and old habits. Solar, wind, and safe, clean, reliable nuclear are sufficient to meet humanity's needs for the indefinite future; we just have to build enough of them. We could start any time. How long will we wait?

 

Now I'm no rabid anti-nuclear zealot. Trying to keep an open mind and all that. But I have never heard anyone explain to my satisfaction what is to be done with all of the spent fuel and radioactive byproducts generated by nuclear power plants. And not to be too paranoid or anything, but what about the security problem of nuclear? I've noticed that there are a few nut cases out there... :crazyeyes: and some of them kind of scare the bejeezus out of me.

 

Solar and wind don't generate any pollutants, which I think is the main selling point. Nuclear might not belch emissions into the air, but there's still tons of toxic, radioactive waste to contend with. Furthermore, nuclear plants use river water to cool their reactors. While the water coming out is completely clean, its often several degrees warmer than usual, which can harm or even kill things living in the river.

And then there's the whole terrorist thing. Much tougher to plan a spectacular, deadly attack on a wind farm or solar field.

NOTE: I am not a nut.
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: )