|
|
|
Mom's List of Things That Are NOT Green
While Looking for easy Ideas to Go Green,
I also found a number of things that just
don't help the environment. Check this list
to make sure you aren't doing something that
is either not worth doing or possibly counterproductive.
Some of these may seem a little 'tongue-in-cheek',
but I'm just giving you something to think
about. That means this is a list of things
to not worry about! Does your Mom love you or what?
|
|
|
Cars:
Unless you drive a lot more than average,
replacing your old gas guzzler with a nice
shiny new high-mileage vehicle won't help
the environment in the short term. Unless
it's wrecked, someone else will start driving
your old gas hog. Getting a more efficient
car is a good idea, and it will help eventually
down the line, but to do this "to help
the environment" won't have an effect
for years. Get the most efficient car you
can and keep bugging your lawmakers to stop
the 'bigger is better" mentality. Now,
if you were to send your old car to the crusher...that would help!
Another myth from the mechanic is how much
gasoline is saved with a new oil and air filter. I can't track any difference, and I can't
find someone who can. 
|
Doing "Just ONE Thing":
I have seen TV ads and web sites
dedicated
to doing "just one thing"
to go
green. They tell us if 200 million
people
did just one thing we would save
bla, bla,
bla. Well, that ain't gonna happen.
Going
Green involves changing our life
styles with
not just one step, but one step
at a time. Some of these steps may take a generation
to change, but "just one" isn't
going to get us there unless there's a second step.
|
Electricity:
I hear much about "phantom
power"
which is the electricity used
by all the
little battery chargers, printers,
scanners,
TV's and all those things that
you think
are "off" but are really
still
drawing a little power. I found
that to be
very little, especially when you have mostly
Energy Star rated devices. After unplugging
things to make sure they didn't use any power, I was disappointed that there was
almost no savings. Instead, I was inconvenienced
by remotes that wouldn't work and electronic
gear that took too long to warm up.
|
Ethanol (Biofuels):
I guess this is not the ideal replacement
for high-priced oil. The current rise in
food prices is not really caused by farmers
switching from food crops to fuel crops,
it's caused by higher gasoline prices. However,
it does cause concern that it could happen.
In Brazil they switched to ethanol-type fuels
because of all the organic matter available,
supposedly created by deforestation. They
don't need to switch from food production.
E85 seems to be a good interim step for us,
but until there's a good way to make fuel
from organic waste instead of food crops,
we need to move slowly.
|
|
Light Bulbs:
There are a few light fixtures in your house
where Compact Florescent Lights won't help.
A room that you go in for just a few seconds,
like a pantry or closet, is still a good
place for a good old fashioned incandescent
light bulb. The florescent may not fire up
fast enough, and the short time the light
is on isn't enough to gain the benefits of
florescent savings. Actually, florescents
require a short burst of energy to get started
which means they are less efficient than
incandescent when used for less than a minute.
This is a good place to use up all those
old bulbs that are piling up in the basement.
|
Manual Transmission:
Automatic transmissions in new cars are more
efficient than before, and they do shift
better in city traffic. Otherwise, the only
people who can do better with a manual transmission
are those who always pay attention to the
exact time to shift. They do save you money
in the initial purchase, but I have replaced
more clutches than automatic transmissions.
|
Switching to a Laptop:
I found a web site that recommends
switching
your computer use to a laptop
because it
uses so much less energy than
a desktop.
I don't agree. Your desktop can
be set to
go to sleep and not use that
much energy.
But even more important, laptops
use rather
large and potentially polluting
batteries.
Users typically buy a new battery
every year
or so and toss the old one in
the trash.
Desktops are more readily recycled and won't add as many toxic metals to the
landfill.
|
Warehouse Stores:
The stores themselves, Costco,
Sam's Club
and the like, are fine. They
have efficient
lighting and stuff, it's what
they encourage
us to do. First, many of us actually end up
buying larger quantities than we can really
use, consuming more, and spending more money,
not less. Second, larger quantities mean
more waste. It's true you might buy one large
box of items, but just as often, one box
contains many more small boxes, forcing us
to deal with almost twice as much packaging.
And third, we forego shopping bags and take
out our purchases in those large store boxes,
which, along with the cartons that enclose
the smaller boxes, are normally recycled
by other retailers who have efficient cardboard
recycling capabilities. It's harder for us
to recycle those large boxes, so often those
big boxes just end up in our trash. We feel
lucky these stores let us carry our stuff
out in these boxes, when, in reality, we're
disposing it for them.
|
Whining:
Until you get rid of your gas-guzzling SUV
or stop leaving your air conditioning on
24/7, you have NO right to complain! It isn't
the Arabs, the oil companies or the government
causing the high price of energy, it's those
people who refuse to admit they are the problem. If it's you, stop whining,
and if it's your neighbors, take pity on
them. As long as you try to do things right,
there is room for an exchange of ideas. But
if you're driving a monster truck back and
forth to work, you've lost your ticket to
the debate. Of course, if you choose to get 10 mpg and it gives you pleasure,
that's OK...you just can't complain about
the price of oil.
|
Wooden Kitchenware:
Some people would have you believe having
a rack of pricey wooden spoons and such,
even if made from renewable resources, are
a better use of natural materials. The problem
is, you can't stick them in the dishwasher.
Most of us use a lot more hot water, and
time, washing these things in the sink.
|
Other Notions that are NOT Green:
- Premium fuel
- Gasoline additives
- Filling your tank in the morning
- Turning off your car's air conditioner and
opening the windows while driving
on the
highway.
|
|
