Attempts at green living/gardening

[ladyjanelly]

 So we're trying to be a little more concious of our impact on the planet. 

I think our number one contribution has been the decision to not give birth to kids, thereby eliminating the lifetime consumption and waste produced by those extra humans. 

However we've started paying attention to what our household consumes and discards.

There's all kinds of questions.  Like: to recycle solid waste like aluminum, plastic, etc, we have to buy these special blue bags from the city.  And a seperate garbage truck makes the rounds to pick it up. And the thing belches this black smoke out of its exhaust pipe.  I mean...is that green?

To send yard waste to be chipped and composted, we have to buy specially made big paper bags from the hardware store (or walmart or whereever), and again, the big stinky truck comes to get it, and they compost it and I dunno where it goes after that.  

We decided instead to buy a few plastic 30 gallon garbage cans that we can use forever and recycle our own weeds and leaves and crap into compost and use it to top-dress our lawn so it'll use less water and look more healthy.  We started putting all of our vegan food scraps in the compost too. 

We pulled 120 gallons of weeds in the last week.  None of them more than 7" tall.  It's crazy how active the weeds get in the spring. Last week was the first warm one where we had the time to work outside.  The good thing is that the grass is still blah-colored so everything that's green is weed.  

Anyway, back to the green stuff--we've been trying to choose low-garbage-producing garbage and to recycle everything that qualifies and bring our own bags to the grocery store when we remember.  But--the fabric bags used a lot of resources and energy to produce too. Where's the break-even point where it's the ecologically superior choice to make? How many times do we have to use it to be good?

I got a permanent plastic cup for Chick fil A but really--how many styrofoam ones would I have to use to equal the heavier plastic one and all the water used to wash it each time?  

So many questions.

Comments

Green-ness

[vicdesty.livejournal.com]

My husband and I have just started to try and be more green also. It's so easy to go for convenience though. I guess we're lucky in that we live not to far outside of Boulder and there is lots and lots of green happening there. This year my we are going to try pot gardening. (Um...not the drugs.) Although, hey there's alot of that in Boulder too. So, we'll see if my husband and I are capable of feeding ourselves. (That didn't come out right either.) Okay, I'm tired and have the flu so it's off to bed with me. After I take a shot and a half of cherry nyquil, which of course is kept in a plastic bottle with a plastic medicine cup.

Re: Green-ness

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

plastic bottle with a plastic medicine cup.

Yeah, but what can y'do? Go without? Ugh.

Pot gardening is cool. There's a system called "Square foot gardening" that might work for you guys if you have room for a 1'x 4' planter or two. By spending more time on less plants you can maximize production in a small place.

I don't feel okay gardening a lot of things here in Dallas. The pollution is so bad. I heard one day on the radio when we had a level purple pollution day to cover plants intended for consumption. Just the yuck that gets on the cars and the house and stuff is scary. I'm growing onions and corn this year in the back yard because they have little contact with the air. Maybe radishes. :)

Re: Green-ness

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

Just butting in for a moment.

I've been container gardening for years. It's a lot of fun and it can be very productive. I highly recommend this book (http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bountiful-Container-Vegetables/dp/0761116230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204601875&sr=8-1). See if they have it at the library first, but it's well worth buying a copy if container gardening is something you'd like to continue doing.

Re: Green-ness

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

The book looks cool. If we were still apartment-livng, I'd be tempted.

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

I mean...is that green?

That's always been the big conundrum.

When I go to the grocery store - paper or plastic. Kill a tree/pollute the environment. Which one causes less impact? I settled on the heavy cotton canvas bags. Part of it's because I'd like to think it's more ecologically conscious, but mostly it's because I got tired of dealing with all the damn bags. *G*

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I keep forgetting my bags. And then I feel guilty. Is guilt green?

[lapillus]

I so know what you mean. My one big step this year has been finding a friend who will join me in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)share which, given that we are here in the frozen north starts in early May (weather permitting)and will run, with lots or winter storage crops like turnips and squash into December. At least it's local and organic and it already has me looking for interesting recipes for things like collard greens and burdock root.

My roommate has recently been utterly fannish about "What Not To Wear" and this has gotten me thinking about clothing. I started poking around trying to find plus-sized women's clothing of a fair boring- neither hip, nor hippie, more like I was rading Dean's wardrobe- t-shirts, jeans, turtlenecks and finally after much searching and questioning various groups on line found one source that may work. http://www.rawganique.com/

[joannindiw.livejournal.com]

^^ I tried to join a CSA (I'm pretty sure that's what it was); the organizer never got back to me and didn't seem particularly interested in having someone else join in.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I think my garden is organic by default. I dunno what to buy for bug-sprays, but I know marigolds keep aphids away. Beyond that, the plants are on their own. :)

That's interesting. You could put the clothes in the compost pile when they wear out. That's kind of awesome.

Reuse (salvation army) is a good green choice too.

[allzugern.livejournal.com]

Ah, try living in Germany where it isn't a matter of choice! In my kitchen I have the following containers: compost (brown), recyclable (yellow), Glass - sorted by colour, paper (blue), rest garbage (black). Garden cuttings, any kind of electronic, metals have to be driven to the recycling center. Anything considered toxic, has to be taken on certain days of the month to an extra center (light bulbs, empty paint cans, etc.)

I need an extra couple of hours a week just for sorting and delivering all this shit, not to mention the space it takes up. I should feel better about doing it, but, really, after a while it's friggin annoying. Especially when I see all the crap the town buses and factories spit into the air. *sigh*

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Dude. That's a little much.

And I hate city vehicles that spit all the yucky smoke. It pisses me off every time because Dallas has restrictions on emissions and I can't believe those things passed.

[rjgrady.livejournal.com]

I don't think of humans as "extra." In any case, the birth rate is falling in the long run. So I would be inclined to think of the population of the Earth as problem solvers rather than simply consumers. Given the seeming inevitibility of gravitiating toward a 1.8 replacement rate per couple once a country modernizes, I think the human race can use all the help it can get in the meantime. I mean, for real, YOU aren't an extra human, are you?

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

We would have to be at 1.8 for a loooong time to get the US population down to sustainable numbers. And we're still at or around 2.

And yeah. In ecological terms, I am extra. Even with interior design as my primary career goal, and green design as a priority, I will not save enough of anything to make up for what I have/will use.

[frightened.livejournal.com]

I think our number one contribution has been the decision to not give birth to kids, thereby eliminating the lifetime consumption and waste produced by those extra humans.

Brilliant! I hadn't thought about it like that. That sounds so much better than my standard response: "I have no maternal instinct whatsoever. My pet snake gets fed once a week and my plants are all cacti. I don't actually like people very much, especially when they're small, dependent and loud."

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

I have a very strong maternal instinct. I nurse kittens back to health and 'adopt' 18 yr olds and volunteer to teach 15 yr old boys to sew. I just see no point in breeding. I'm not vain enough to think my DNA is all that freakin' special. If I really wanted a little one I'd adopt.

But yeah. America is still growing in population and eating up masses of resources in construction and land development. We are falling behind on our ability to get water to all the people who want it for their freakin' lawns in Las Vegas. We don't need more.

[tabaqui]

Yup, way too many people.

Can you take your recycling to the center yourself? I can put my recycling on the curb in the big blue box, or i can take it to the center myself and sort it into the various bins, etc. If your car/transportation is more clean and/or efficient, that might be the way to go.

No ideas about yard waste since I toss all mine over the fence, heh. We have a part behind us, and the part that runs along our back yard fence *barb wire* is just brush and trees, nothing landscaped or maintained.

You might try contacting someone like Greenpeace for answers about what's more 'sustainable' and what takes less resources. I know when i worked for them fifteen years ago, they had a lot of information and a really neat monthly publication.

Good luck! We all do what we can...

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Well the recycle truck comes down our alley every week whether we have stuff out or not, so it's better than us taking it and the truck running too. We're like the 'big blue box' but we have to buy blue plastic garbage bags to put it in.

i'll see how my container compost works. I'm wondering how often is too often to turn it. Once a week maybe?

On some of the "is this really better?" items, I think maybe it's up to people who care to suck it up and do it the hard way so it becomes more mainstream until enough people do it the good way and it tips the scale over into green. Does that make sense?

A + for effort!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

Dear Janelly, I have been working for a long time to make our lifestyle as green as we can, yet in this American life, it's pretty difficult.

First, we live in a townhouse. Townhouse or apartment living is most efficient since you share heat/cooling with your neighbors. But a house can be very efficient too. My friend had a energy audit done to find out what she could do to improve the efficiency of her home. We have complications with our townhome association but I hope we can do that too this year.

Then, our townhouse was built in 1942. We feel like living in older buildings encourages less consumption. Besides preserving farmland (an issue in our area).

We do compost in our backyard all our foodscraps. Our town carries the yardwaste to a nearby compost pile that people can go and mine for compost. Plus our garbage and recycle trucks are green! (I think they might even be biodiesel) which is nice. Your decision to buy bins was a good one!

The bag problem. We do not ever buy garbage bags, so that whenever plastic bags make it into the house, they are used as trashcan bags. We generate about three grocery bags worth of trash in a week with family of three. I like to find cloth bags at yardsales, etc -- they usually have pharmaceutical ads all over them for some reason!

In a related story, use cloth! We use rags and cloth napkins instead of purchasing a lot of unnecessary paper products. The best rags are made out of the old terry cloth socks that have gotten holes in them. Plus cloth napkins are just very civilized! When we do buy paper products such as facial and toilet tissues, we go for recycled. Used to be a very cheap brand of face tissue called Marcal that was largely recycled (our store stopped carrying it) and CVS brand TP is 100% recycled (30% post consumer) yet is only $7 - 8 per bale of 12!

The offspring problem. I couldn't bring myself not to reproduce! but we just had one. I feel like if I had never reproduced I would have saved myself a lot of heartache ( I am a worrier and a pessimist by nature) but I do think his consumption level is justified by the good he will do in the world. At least I hope so.

Thrift stores. I almost never shop anywhere else. I have a local thriftstore that supports a local charity and uses all volunteer labor. If I can't get it there I try not to need it. Though every so often we do have to go to Old Navy for pants (the offspring problem again)! Plus we recycle our goods back into the thrift store when we are finished with them.

The clothes dryer. We got rid of our clothes dryer about 10 years ago and never looked back. If you can do 3 years of cloth diapers on drying racks, let me tell you, you can do anything! The dryer is a terrible waste and you will be proud if you can get rid of it!

The compact fluorescents. We replaced all our bulbs with compact fluorescents a long time ago too. But if you break them it is a hazmat situation because of the mercury! so you have to be careful to recycle properly when they finally burn out.

more in the next post>>>

Re: A + for effort!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

CSA. We are lucky to have a thriving and well organized CSA here that supports the Chesapeake Bay (we live in Maryland). We get about two grocery bags full of fresh vegetables of all different kinds starting in April and lasting into November. It's awesome and it forces us to eat in season and try all kinds of new veg. It costs $400 for the whole season, which comes out to about $15 - 20 a week, a bargain for organic veg. Some CSAs deliver too, so there is a chance you can find one even if you live in a big city.

Gardening: I have a black thumb, but we do manage lettuces and herbs and our own garlic! Fresh garlic is really good and you just let it grow under the soil!

Sorting recyclables. I live in a small city which is run in a very green fashion, so we have a great commingled recyclables bin -- paper, glass, steel, aluminum, and plastic bottles all go in the bin together. If you feel like your sorting routine is irksome, I'd urge you to complain to the city government -- maybe start with your neighborhood and work up? Commingled is the easiest and so the best I think... easiest encourages more people to join in.

The worst is cars and travel. In this big country it seems like our whole lives are organized around freedom of travel. We have two cars and seem to need them. We try to drive the most efficient cars we can afford (we have Echoes that get about 35 mpg). Biking/ public transport would be better but is not very helpful in our area...

Anyway -- whatever you do helps! Try not to feel guilty and instead think about the good you are doing with every good choice you make. As the new agers would say, as we change our consciousness we change our reality!

Also, thanks for your post and to everyone who posts with their own efforts!

My favorite enviro quotation is from Pokemon the Movie 2000:

"We've all got to work together to save the Planet! And the Pokemon know that better than any of us!"

Re: A + for effort!

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Biodiesel is cool, but I have problems with what it's doing for the price of foodstuffs that are needed for people (and wanted for animals to feed people).

You guys do great with your trash/recycling ratio. I guess we get too much convenience food and stuf. We're down to about 3 regular size garbage bags/week/3adults. 2-3 of the same bag of recycling stuff.

One offspring is cool, I'm not saying nobody should have kids, but I wish more people would be happy with the ones already in the world, y'know?

Arg. Dryer. I know I should get a line. Just living in Dallas the air's so dirty it just doesnt' seem clean, even if outdoor air is almost always cleaner than inside, no matter where you are. And I remember stiff laundry off the line growing up and I like my fluffy soft clothes.

CFL's. Yes. Done. Someone was bitching on the radio how it takes them half a second to warm up. I love that feature. A blink for my eyes to adjust, especially in the morning.

Re: A + for effort!

[tabaqui]

I loved buying 'Greenmark' toilet paper, but they don't offer it around here anymore. In fact, they don't offer *any* recycled paper products like that, which sucks.

[annawick.livejournal.com]

hee, Dave calls me a big ole hippy, which I am. I recently bought some mesh bags (from www.reusablebags.com) and keep them in my car. I've been doing pretty good about using them. Dave's just happy that I'm not bringing more damn plastic grocery bags home (which I refuse to throw away unless they are full of trash).
We're also using rags and napkins instead of paper towels. That'll save money in the long run anyway so that was easy to sell Dave on.
Oh, and the stuff that the city takes to compost goes into a big pile and anyone in the city can take it. At least that's how it works in Fort Worth. I still don't know if there's one in Arlington.
On organic gardening... Howard Garret. Cannot recommend him enough. He's specific for Texas gardens. I'd loan you our books, but we're about to put our garden in (renting a tiller next week)

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

heh. I dig your gun-totin' hippieness. You're awesome, know that?

I'm trying to be better about the bags and I'll keep that in mind about rags. We use a lot of paper towels. We started putting them in the compost though since they're fluffy and biodegradable like that.

I'll have to check out richardson's compost. Still, seems like a waste to have them carry it away and compost it and then I go out and get it back. Y'know?

Oh, do you know anybody who needs some dirt? Just crappy texas clay, but I'm pulling buckets of it out of the flower beds and fluffing them with peat moss and I have a crap load of dirt left over (like 30 gallons?). Dirt is free. I want my buckets back.

Hmmm. I'll look up howard garret.
Thanks. :)

We'll have to share gardening stories. I'm not planting much edible this year. corn, onions, maybe some radishes. sunflowers for the birds. As dirty as our cars and the outside of our house gets I feel funny eating veggies that grew in that.

[sprotte.livejournal.com]

they compost it and I dunno where it goes after that.

I work at the Cologne Botanical Garden, Germany. As other public green areas (parks, grave yards...) we get our (flower) soil from the local composting plant. So, that's where the our green waste goes: back to us :).

Sprotte

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Have you read Barbara Kingsolver's newest book, 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle'? It's all about the year when her family first moved to their farm and started raising their own organic food, trying to live as much as possible off what they raised themselves, and buying organic from local markets otherwise. Very good book, both well-written and informative.