My feet are shrinking! This is an emergency! Just kidding. My feet are still size 10.5. However, my carbon footprint is getting a little bit smaller. Last weekend, I switched the remaining lights in our apartment to fluorescent bulbs, thus lowering our energy usage. Well, I would say that our apartment is between 90-95% fluorescent light. There are still a few that aren’t—such as smaller sockets and bulbs (in the fridge, lamps beside our bed, etc). I should admit one guilty pleasure because I left two bulbs in the living room because I prefer the yellow light. I don’t prefer white light, but I do prefer doing good for the environment, the world, Canada and my electricity bill (hopefully).
I got to thinking after Christmas that I needed to start doing more. More of everything, really. Which is part of the reason for launching Epiblogger. Leah and I already recycle pretty much everything we can. I really want to start a vermipost, but Leah won’t let me do it in the apartment (because she hates the earth or maybe she hates worms beside her bed, not sure). I am hoping that at some point in the next year or two Leah and I will find ourself in our own home and we will have the room (distance?) to do more recycling and green activities—such as vermipost. I like the idea of geothermal heating, high-end insulation, energy saving windows and appliances, high-efficiency furnace, etc. I recognize all these things take lots of money (some more than others), but I think in the long run it will definitely make sense to me on a moral and economic level.
Leah gave me a great book for Christmas about how to be greener in Canada. I can’t remember the title of it right now, but I put it up when I get home. I am hoping to start reading it soon and get even more ideas.
What sort things are you doing? I am looking at you Curtis.
Laura and I recycle. Once we have the money again, I will pay for curbside recycling (www.calgarycommunityrecycling.org), because they even allow recycling of all plastics (does anyone know where I can recycle plastic in Calgary?). I have about 30% flourescent bulbs… When old ones burnout, I replace them with energy efficient ones (rather than throwing out perfectly good bulbs). I have a laptop, which takes less energy. I turn lights off habitually–to Laura’s annoyance. I carry a reusable waterbottle.
I generate wind, which maybe could be put back onto the grid.
I also tell Laura be an earth-F***er (hummer-driver), despite her life goals.
i meant not to be. serious. i should work.
Leif you are insane and I rarely know what you are talking about.
I have no idea where to recycle plastic. It is a major beef of mine. I also cannot do the curbside recycling because I am in an apartment.
Great Post Rhett!! – hopefully it will generate discussion, thought
Home – recycling through Crown Shred, also have Tara signed up and my parents and 1 uncle/aunty
-biking still 25% of time in winter
-recreate behind large kite
-garden and can until hands burn with tomato and hot pepper juices with my parents
-currently in huge debate with Tara over the Ethics/Environmental cost of flying for a warm vacation (verses all the little things we do or don’t do they are basically negligible for the rest of your life if you go on hot holidays via airplane…) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/21/travelsenvironmentalimpact.ethicalliving
-new mid eff furnace -in process of plasticizing windows -program thermostat
-write and help out for Regina Ecoliving (enviro group in town)
-less meat -local bison -avoid shopping/buying as much as possible
-Recreate via reading and $ex as much as possible
-bin compost -trying to get my condo complex to sign up for recycling as a group
Work – writing my LEED exam http://www.cagbc.org/
-green cleaning, recycling flouresents,batteries,phones, vermicomposting, LEED buildings and certification, Footprinting individuals and business as well as footprint info, composting at Siast, Energy Analysis for buildings, stewardship planning
Do I feel like an enviro hypocrite though – everyday…
Check your footprint:
http://www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/gallery/life_sciences/footprint_mx_2005.swf
Mine is 7.3 Hectares – give or take – worldwide we can alot about 1.8 hectares / person if we neglect all other living species…
Great link Curt. Mine was (if I did it right) 2.5 hectares. But I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I live in an apartment building and rarely travel anywhere. I bet it would actually be quite a bit higher with my in-depth questions.
2.5 is excellent!
Did you read the article on airplane travel? – blog it??
Also Briarpatch covered the Politics/Ethics of travel about a year ago… very interesting!!
cd
I haven’t. However, after all this conversation, I thought it would be a good idea to bike to work this morning. It was not a good idea.
Well I know that I am not the Curtis you were looking to Rhett, however like the other Curtis I have a long list of “green” things that I am doing, also like the other Curtis I feel like an enviro hypocrite. I am lucky enough to live in a community that is quite environmentally minded, and making green choices are relatively easy. You can recyle everything (for the record though I don’t really count recycling as being green, I think it is just part of being, and non-recyclers should be treated like smokers) it is small enough to walk everywhere (except the ski hill), heaps of locally owned businesses to shop at, lots organic options, and the burning of the hands that Curtis spoke of is so worth the delicious salsa that you get out of it. I just checked my footprint and it was 2.5. So thats pretty good, I am going to go turn up the heat and have a steak to reward myself. Actually, good work everybody, but we can all do more, and we need to cause we have messed up this planet pretty bad.