How Green are you?

How "green" are you?

  • Total voters
    19
I do what I can with what I have...so I only put a "3". I don't feel worthy of a 4...maybe a 3.5.

Pros
*For our garbage..our town recycles and has special bins for this when we put the trash out at the curb on Monday morning
*Try to turn lights off when we can
*We usually use "green" soaps...like dishwashing soaps and detergents to clean the house
*I'm anal about littering....whenever I'm at the beach, I leave nothing behind, and I'll often pickup other garbage that I see, even something washing up on shore. A few days ago, after our floods, when walking down on the beach..a bit of refuse was floating due to the flooding...I picked that up and plopped in the garbage cans in the lot. Near our house, if I see garbage in the street/sidewalks, I'll pick that up
*When out in my boat...if I see garbage floating...I'll stop and pick it up. Bags, cans, bottles, ..oh yeah..balloons...I see those all the time. Floating balloons are death to sea turtles...'cuz they think they're jellyfish.

Cons
*Yet, I drive a rather thirsty Jeep, and my boat is an older 2 cycle go-fast boat
*I'm a firm believer in leaving computers on 24x7 for their health...so I'm guilting in creating the need for more electricity
*I drive all over the place visting clients offices to work on their computer networks...I'm an exceptionally high mileage driver
*Wife 'n I are smokers
*I shower at least once a day....but I try to make it very short showers...usually under 5 minutes.
 
Rabid recyclers here.. paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, books, magazines, metal..
Also a litter fiend; heck on my daily walks I even return the shopping carts to
the local grocery store.(Walk goes between low rent apt houses and store... renters
abandon the carts in the woods after carting groceries halfway home).
Aside from my 24/7 porch light (energy saving bulb), I was hard wired by Dad to turn off lights. (He charged a dime; when allowance was $2.00, that was a chunk of change!)
When driving, I stay within speed limits, coast down hills, anticipate red lights and
such.. every little bit helps!
 
I recycle mostly glass. Any random newspapers are used to start the smoker or fireplace. I drive a large van and love two strokes. :mrgreen: I hate littering and too much developing.
 
I'm getting greener every year. We recycle everything we can and "try" to keep the lights off.

2009 - switched one of my cars to a Prius
2010 - will be buying a Samsung LED 3D TV in the fall. It's very green.
 
I chose 3 for the same reasons as YeOldeStoneCat - I'm not worthy of a 4, but aspire to it.

Luckily, my city recycles almost everything possible. I have a huge recycling bin, the size of the trash bin, and they pick it up once a week. Mine is always full.

Also, I always look for used items whenever possible. Not only does it keep stuff out of the landfill, it's less expensive, too! Likewise, I offer things I have no further use for on Freecycle or Craig's list or donate to Goodwill.
 
I chose a 4 for many of the same reasons as YeOldeStoneCat and Fisher's Mom.

  • We recycle & compost.
  • we use about half of a small garbage can eash week for garbage.
  • We use have solar outdoor lighting and use cfl's inside.
  • My wife's pretty good at hitting thrift stores & craigslist. I hate shopping, so I'm not, though.
  • Right now, we're a one car family and it's a compact sedan, but this isn't necessarily by choice =).
  • We don't eat meat and chose locally grown when we can.
  • I like to think that, though my blog, I encourage others to go meatless for a meal or two.
  • We buy in bulk when possible & use reusable shopping bags

Our biggest stumbling block is electricity. My wife has to have the bedroom window open, all winter and all summer, so we end up heating/cooling the outdoors. We also use a lot of water, as my son needs thirty showers a day, it seems. And he panics if he has a dirty sock, so he generates a ton of laundry.
 
We have been going greener over times as I'm seeing some savings from it. Electric and gasoline are the two areas we save the most on now. We drive less than other times in our life and with the new lights and induction cooking my electric bills have come way down.
 
I'm like Cat and FM. I voted 3, but it's more like 3.5.

We recycle. We use CFL bulbs. I drive a low emission vehicle with moderately good mileage. I do my darndest not to waste food.
 
I put down 3. ;) A tank of gas usually lasts me over a month. I recycle all the time. I am going to led lights little by little.
 
I know based on how many lights we have here for security at night the change is really saved us about 25% of our electric bill. They cost more but they also last longer than regular bulbs too at least they have for us. The main problem with them is what they are made out off which has some bad effects if disposed of improperly.
 
Well, I voted 2.

We've been using CF bulbs for years, but still do have a few incandescents around. We've even switched over to LED Christmas lights.

I will occasionally make a "meatless" dinner, usually beans and rice pilaf, to save money. The kids don't exactly like it, but their bellies usually convince them to eat.

I drive more than she does, so she gets the v-8 gas-guzzling truck (unless I'm hauling my boat or getting firewood), and I drive the v-6 van. Granted, a small, compact four-banger would probably be better, but we need people-movers for the kids.

Last year, I bought a boat. It's a kayak. I AM the motor! No gas required.
 
AllenOK said:
I AM the motor!
Click to expand...
I love this, Allen! I think this should be your new sig!

I forgot - I have had only cfl bulbs in my house for probably 10 years. I'm so glad they have gotten inexpensive. I'd love to get some LED bulbs, but they are still a little pricey here.

I've had a front loading washer for 10+ years which uses way less water. I hope it makes up for my teen boys who take really long showers......
 
It kind of reminds me of a T shirt I saw once. It said if you hear bango music paddle faster. :wink:
 
I actually bought one for a buddy in Texas when I saw it. It was in one of the many little shops in Blowing Rock, NC. One of my favorite places on the planet.
 
FM, funny you should mention changing sig's. I just created a new "Pirate"-style flag graphic, and use that as my signature, plust the make/model of my kayak.

Here's what it looks like:

paddlerackamsm.jpg


Perception Search 13

______________________

joec: Several times I've seen a graphic with the words, "Paddle Faster. I hear Banjos" used as an avatar.
 
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I would love to be able to deserve a 4, but I don't think I'm there yet. Much of the 'green' that I do is built-in, so I don't have to think about it much.

We put radiant barrier in the rafters of the house. Extra insulation. I have a converter on my heat pump that heats my hot water all summer long from the heat pump, so I basically get free hot water from April - October when the air conditioning is on. Upgraded variable speed air handler. We painted the house a very light gray and put on a white roof (that's the best in Florida). All of my lights are on dimmer switches, yes even fluorescents with special ballasts (I haven't had to change a light bulb in 5 years). Ceiling fans are everywhere to reduce air conditioning. We keep the air set to 82 in the summer. Low-flow shower and toilets. Cork flooring (insulating, pest resistant, non-allergenic, joint friendly, environmentally better than wood or ceramic). Florida-friendly landscaping.

We have a compost bin and I have a compost collector in the kitchen. We use a rain barrel for garden water. We grow our own citrus fruit, herbs and some vegetables. We recycle glass, plastic, paper, metal and yard waste.

We try to buy as little packaging as possible and always use cloth shopping bags, not just for groceries, even at the Mall.

I try to cook almost everything from scratch and avoid foods with additives and preservatives.

WHEW!!!!! I'm making myself tired! But there's so much more we could do, and when I start doing more, I'll earn my 4.
 
That reminds me last year we put a spray foam on top of the metal roof on the apartment and office. I've really seen a difference in cooling and heating the building since. Less cycling at the same temperatures the year before we did it. It also is more comfortable year around regardless of the outside temperature. I also forgot about the new heating and cooling system we put in two years ago that work so much better than the old system.
 
I voted 5 but shouldn't have...we have an SUV, and small pickup truck, and we don't have a gray water system, or solar yet. I will build an earthship one day and be off the grid for sure.
 
I live in a tiny 150+ yo house in an inner-city neighborhood with public tranist

BUT I drive 2 guzzlers (an older benz and a jeep), use paper towels with abandon.. have 2 dogs (which are very bad for your carbon footprint) take long showers and like my AC at meat locker temps. Guess I'm a 2.

I do recycle
 
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