Interesting that you bring up the corn bus today. The local news morning show had a report (I have not tried to look it up yet) that said that Ethanol creates more pollution than Gas does!

So is Ethanol going green too?

I am not willing to dramatically lower my family's standard of living in order to buy "green" products.

Very well thought-out, well written article, Jill.

The theory with Ethanol is that it is carbon neutral. That's for people who have decided that CO2 is now worse than sulfur and methane for the environment.

Hey, I'd buy an all-electric car if they would make one that was reasonably well supported, was comfortable, and affordable. But they don't.  I have a 6-mile commute. I suspect there are millions of people who drive less than 20 miles per day and yet even the hybrid-makers can't be bothered to add enough battery capacity to handle 10 miles of charge.

Most people really aren't serious about conserving anyway. I walk around the office at night turning off people's monitors. It's just not a priority item right now.

And why should it? When Al Gore, who claims global warming is going to be the end of the world as we know it, can't be bothered to conserve (living in his 20,000 KWH house), why should the rest of us?

Very well thought-out, well written article, Jill.

Why thank ya TW!  I am feeling particularly lucid today thanks to my baby girl finally allowing me to sleep for 7 consecutive hours.  Sleep makes a world of difference!

said that Ethanol creates more pollution than Gas does!

Exactly!

 

 

Nice thing about conservation is it really doesn’t require a huge change to make a huge difference. Not using disposable razors for instance. I just saw an advertisement for a razor that’s guaranteed for life never to dull.

Points being there are dozens of small changes you could make that are free or even thrifty that would have little impact on your life and could make a huge difference.

Who cares if celebrities don’t practice what they preach, none of us are perfect. We like the ones who don’t say anything because why, because they’re not a hypocrite? We all have a choice, if a celeb chooses to use there influence to affect a positive change it’s much better than not doing anything.

Good advice is good advice, even if it’s coming from someone whom can’t take his or her own good advice. I once got very good relationship advice from someone who’s been divorced 4 times, I’m glad I took it.

I would agree if that were true. Like I pointed out with the bus, change isn't always for the better. And I'm sure there are tons of little ways that don't cost anything to make changes but they aren't as sexy and they don't bring in the cash like all of the "green" products being pushed on these shows.

I've always believed in recycling and reusing. I've always been a waste not want not person. We've switched most of the lights in our house to flourescents. We have a very short commute to work and walk the kids to and from school whenever the weather allows. I'm just not convinced that sheets made out of bamboo or carpet made out of plastic bottles is going to solve any problems. I don't know what the cost discrepency is either.

I don't find do as I say and not as I do advice effective. It's like when your 300lb. nurse lectures you about being overweight. It just doesn't come off with credibility and I, in my faulty ways, can't help but resent someone who doesn't practice what they preach.

Change is always for the better eventually; it’s the only way you can make things better.

There will always be people willing to capitalize on good intentions but they will eventually be found out.

We still have to put one foot in front of the other to get where were going.

Like I said, good advice is good advice, if 300lb nurse tells you your overweight, you’re overweight. You can resent them if you want but you still need to watch what you eat. Are only skinny nurses allowed to give sound medical advice? Are only Doctors in peak physical condition credible enough to tell you to exercise? That is my point, the nurse “we all” have two choices. The nurse can ignore their patients weight problem or they can at try to help. Someone making a good choice is not really a reason to resent them, even if some of their other choices are not so good.

Like I said, good advice is good advice, if 300lb nurse tells you your overweight, you’re overweight.

Sorry, if a 300 pound nurse tells a 150 pound guy with slight love handles they're overweight, no they're NOT overweight. I would match up statistics with anyone on our environmental impact, stubby. Yet because I drive an SUV, the holier than thou GW evangelists declare I am NOT living a carbon neutral lifestyle, without taking into consideration our NEED for an SUV or the way we drive it. You can preach all you want, but until the 300 pound nurse gets her fat ass on the treadmill she has no right sending the 150 pound guy to the gym!

Change is always for the better eventually

There is no way I will ever agree with this.  My home town has changed from a quaint, loving community to touristville.  That will never be a good change in my book.

I understand what you are saying about good advice but it isn't necessarily so.  Al Gore for instance says that what is happening to our invironment is dire and that unless EVERYONE makes a change, the results will be catastrophic.  I don't buy it.  If he truly believes it, he would make the changes in order to at least save his own ass and those of his family members.  He is just trying to leave a legacy since he wasn't able to do it in politics.  He wasn't able to become president so he's trying to be lord of Global Warming.

Gid, I hear ya!

I think that we need to take the "going green" thing in moderation and actually look at what we are trying to change.

I try to live "green" in the ways that I can.  With that, though, I research to make sure what makes a positive change and what doesn't. 

Ethanol, though it decreases our dependence on foreign oil, is not a good alternative to gas.  Sure, it is CO2 neutral, but it still pollutes.  And (and this is a big and) it's not as efficient, so you will lose MPG when using it.  The newest E85 engines are better at economy, but they still lack.  Therefore, it pollutes more simply because you burn more.

I think with cars, they need to start looking at what the Chevy Volt is supposed to be.  Theoretically, you will be able to drive small commutes on nothing but electric, then use a smaller, efficient engine for longer drives.  It's not the same as the hybrids that we already have, since you can plug it in and use just the battery if you are only making small trips.  I'm actually pretty dumbfounded that we don't already have something like this with all the "advances" that the auto makers supposedly have made.

Now, for what is in my control, I try to conserve energy where possible and buy products that aren't harmful to the earth.  Considering that I have a well and septic, some of that is for my own good.  I have a very high efficiency washer and dryer.  The washer uses less water and requires less soap.  Both of these things contribute to less that goes into my septic.  I also use vegetable based detergents.  Again, good for the septic and land.

We do heat our house with a corn burner.  I like the fact that it's not oil based and that it is renewable.  My favorite part is that is costs about 1/2 of what propane was costing.  I think corn burning is the only "green" thing that I do that costs less than conventional, though. Unless, of course, you count compact fluorescents, but they cost a lot to begin with, and we don't have tons of lights on ever, anyway.

I would like to get a wind generator since Wind is a good source of alternative energy in Michigan.  However, one that would power most of my house would cost $7,000 and there are only tax credits for solar power, which is not good in Michigan.

I think that recycling hard to manufacture (or easy to recycle) things is a good idea, too.  I mean, why throw out cardboard when it can be recycled so easily?  I think the garbage in the dumps will overwhelm us before man made "global warming" ever has a chance.

All great points and info Karma.  I think recycling and reusing is something we can all do and, like you said, garbage in our landfills is an undisputable problem. 

My procrastinating powers actually contribute to one form of conservation.  I do very large loads of laundry so I use less soap and less energy.  I dry one load after another which conserves energy because the heat from a previous load helps dry the next faster.

Being crafty is one way of recycling that I have always used.  One of my more recent favorites is using coffee creamer bottles to make snowman decorations with the kids.  Finding new uses for what would normally go right into the trash is a great way to keep stuff out of the landfills.

Sorry, if a 300 pound nurse tells a 150 pound guy with slight love handles they're overweight, no they're NOT overweight. I would match up statistics with anyone on our environmental impact, stubby. Yet because I drive an SUV, the holier than thou GW evangelists declare I am NOT living a carbon neutral lifestyle, without taking into consideration our NEED for an SUV or the way we drive it. You can preach all you want, but until the 300 pound nurse gets her fat ass on the treadmill she has no right sending the 150 pound guy to the gym!

Pardon me for saying but this sounds like your problem. Aren’t you taking her medical advice as a personal attack? What if she tells you your cholesterol is 220? Do ask her what hers is, and if it’s higher do you tell her to mind her own business? Sounds like your vanity getting defensive to me.

Someone telling you you’re a bad person because you drive an SUV is just the flaw of judging without knowing the whole picture; it’s a common flaw that takes many forms. We all do it in some form or another.

There is no way I will ever agree with this. My home town has changed from a quaint, loving community to touristville. That will never be a good change in my book.

The statement was meant to be taken in the context of the article. Your body getting older is change you could probably do without as well. Point is if you want to make something better you have to change it. You may take a step backwards along the way but that’s what has to be done.

Speaking of human flaws Al Gore needs a team of psychologist working in shifts. No self-esteem, no convictions of his own, it’s like he doesn’t exist without a personality to emulate. I think he’s an alien robot sent here to assimilate our culture.

Who cares if celebrities don’t practice what they preach, none of us are perfect.

I care because I am not convinced that humans are the primary cause of global warming and even if they are, I'm not convinced that a degree or two of temperature change is that bad.  And so, when I see those who are yelling that the sky is falling not behaving in tune with their words, it brings into question about whether they really believe it either.

I try not to waste energy. I believe in being efficient.  But I'm not willing to sacrifice to be "carbon neutral" purely on the basis of global warming.

To put a spin on JillUser's analogy, it is a bit hard to take someone seriously who says that we must stop driving SUVs or the world is going to end even as he drives the biggest least efficient SUV out there.

The issue isn't hypocricy. The issue is credibility. I'm more inclined to think that many of the most vocal global warming doom mongers simply like the positive media attention but privately think the whole thing is a load of crap. I can't think of any more plausible explaination to Al Gore (and other celebrities) gratuitious waste of energy and resources after having told the rest of us we must conserve or life as we know it will end.

 

Your analogy was imperfect anyway, stubby. I thought this was about the environment and not about you trying to "go nazi" as the weight police. That's a complete hijack and I will ignore it.

Now, back to your analogy, shall we? If the goal is to bring the weight loss of a collective group under a set amount, then yes, it does make sense to start with the heaviest and most overweight; they have the most to sacrifice while still maintaining the health of the community.

The fact that the "green" community feels it appropriate for their wealthy to live indulgent lives (while many of them simultaneously condemn class disparity, ironically) while the poor and working class are expected to live as luddites to afford the wealthy their excess is inexcusable any way you put it. Jill already listed several things that she has done to try to be responsible. On my end, I have listed several things that we do. Our consumption is FAR LESS than the average American's, and our family is twice the size.

And I think this is the key to how to go "green" affordably. Sure, not everyone can afford to drive a hybrid or buy VOC free paint (I had actually never even heard of that), but everyone can afford to turn off the lights when they leave a room, or turn the heat down a few degrees.

People can also look into additional efficiency methods that are designed to save them money--for example timed thermostats that program the temperature so that you don't have to keep the air conditioning on when you are away all day, more efficient lightbulbs that will save you money on your electricity bill, or even making a point to purchase EnergyStar products when you have to replace electric items like your television. [From my experience, EnergyStar products are equivalent in price with the other items--in fact, I purchased my television in college because it was the cheapest one available and only afterwards did I realize it was EnergyStar].

All of these things will reduce your electricity consumption which in turn will put money back into your pocket. Now, whether you use that money to buy sheets made with bambo fiber or put gas in your Hummer is completely up to you!