Why Are We Wasting Energy on Idiotic Practices?

[Cyrus]

Today's rant is on energy consumption, and what I view to be idiotic consumer/societal practices.

Point 1:

The mail. I get lots of crap in the mail. Every day, I get mail for deals on Pizza, lawn care, Value Packs, Credit Cards, Insurance. I throw away nearly half of my mail every day. All this crap goes straight to trash. More to the point, all this crap takes a lot of energy to make and print on that nice glossy paper. A lot of chemicals go into those nice vibrant inks - that wind up straight in the recycling bin. On top of that, all that crap has to get trucked around by the mail man.

So, we wasted energy:
-Making It
-Shipping It
-My Energy throwing it away
-More energy to Recycle it

How about not sending this crap out to begin with! I never signed up for any of this, why are they even sending it. Make a law against it!

Point 2:

The grocery store. Paper, or plastic? How about you bring your own bags and have the guy at the counter fill them up with your crap as you checkout?

So, energy was wasted here:
-making paper/plastic bags
-shipping them
-costing the store money. Every bag you sell, means prices of goods go up to recover
-Recycling said bags

(We should note, Recycling means having a truck drive around town all day long collecting crap (like junk mail and paper bags) that never should be in the bin in the first place!)

Point 3

The grass. Why the hell do we have grass? Think about it. Does grass naturally grow where you live? Why did we decide that this is what needs to be in the front of our homes? It takes a lot of energy and money to cut it every time it grows. Then we waste water making sure it doesn't die. This water, is very important for the farmers. In fact, we always have public announcements saying not to wash your cars or water your grass because of drought (farmers get priority on your car/grass).

Why not get rid of the grass? Not only does it waste water, you put chemicals on it that washes into the water system that takes more energy to recycle (state water gets purified in a filtration plant: aka more energy used).

I bet if I paved the front of everyones houses with a reflective surface that bounces the heat back into space, it would have the same cooling effect as grass, without the hassle or use of resources.

(Plus I would stop getting that damn junk mail for the guy wanting to cut/fertilize the lawn)

Point 4

Trees. They should be planted around your house so that they shade the house in the summer. My physics professors farmhouse has trees that shade it. He never uses the A/C during the summer, except for a few excpetionally hot days. The A/C uses a lottt of energy.

Why do we build wide open neighborhoods with lots of grass, and no trees except the one that line the road.

 

[Pengwuino]

You certainly are on the rag this week.

 

[Cyrus]

You certainly are on the rag this week.

Your mother. + That's what she said.

 

[Borek]

Does grass naturally grow where you live?

Yes.

 

[Cyrus]

It was quite amazing to visit KALIFORNA and see all the BROWN BROWN BROWN in the air. Once you land, all the houses have grass! What an amazing feat of nature! (or not)

 

[Pengwuino]

Let me refute your argument point by point.

1. Shutup
2. Shutup
3. Shutup
4. Shutup

And shut up, grass looks nice, I don't want to live in a giant world of reflective pavement. Why don't we nuke new york or LA, that'll help the environment.

 

[Cyrus]

Yes.

Do you cut your grass, and add chemicals to it, and water it? I'm curious if this is purely an American phenomenon.

 

[Equate]

Point 3

The grass. Why the hell do we have grass?

Because it looks great, feels so good when you walk on it barefooted, and it sure as hell smells so darn good after mowing it.

Gotta love it.

 

[Cyrus]

http://sparklejet.typepad.com/exuberance/images/2004.10.Curson.Ave.Los.Angeles.aerial.jpg

Interesting where all the green patches are, no?

 

[drizzle]

I think the mail thing is really annoying, especially if you leave the house a week or so you get stuck, can’t get in and open the door [sure it depends on how you receive the mail, but still annoying].

now the grass, I don’t think so, at least you get the oxygen

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Today's rant is on energy consumption, and what I view to be idiotic consumer/societal practices.

Point 1:

The mail. I get lots of crap in the mail. Every day, I get mail for deals on Pizza, lawn care, Value Packs, Credit Cards, Insurance. I throw away nearly half of my mail every day. All this crap goes straight to trash. More to the point, all this crap takes a lot of energy to make and print on that nice glossy paper. A lot of chemicals go into those nice vibrant inks - that wind up straight in the recycling bin. On top of that, all that crap has to get trucked around by the mail man.

So, we wasted energy:
-Making It
-Shipping It
-My Energy throwing it away
-More energy to Recycle it

How about not sending this crap out to begin with! I never signed up for any of this, why are they even sending it. Make a law against it!

Make a law against advertising? What are you; one of them communist liberals?

We have a "no call" list, so why not a "no mail-ads" list? Of course this would probably drive the price of postage way up. Advertising is clearly big business for the post office. Note also that the postal service is cutting back to a five-day week.

Point 2:

The grocery store. Paper, or plastic? How about you bring your own bags and have the guy at the counter fill them up with your crap as you checkout?

So, energy was wasted here:
-making paper/plastic bags
-shipping them
-costing the store money. Every bag you sell, means prices of goods go up to recover
-Recycling said bags

(We should note, Recycling means having a truck drive around town all day long collecting crap (like junk mail and paper bags) that never should be in the bin in the first place!)

The first time I went shopping for groceries, in Holland, I was surprised to learn at the cash register that they don't supply bags at the stores.

Point 3

The grass. Why the hell do we have grass? Think about it. Does grass naturally grow where you live? Why did we decide that this is what needs to be in the front of our homes? It takes a lot of energy and money to cut it every time it grows. Then we waste water making sure it doesn't die. This water, is very important for the farmers. In fact, we always have public announcements saying not to wash your cars or water your grass because of drought (farmers get priority on your car/grass).

Why not get rid of the grass? Not only does it waste water, you put chemicals on it that washes into the water system that takes more energy to recycle (state water gets purified in a filtration plant: aka more energy used).

I bet if I paved the front of everyones houses with a reflective surface that bounces the heat back into space, it would have the same cooling effect as grass, without the hassle or use of resources.

(Plus I would stop getting that damn junk mail for the guy wanting to cut/fertilize the lawn)

It has become popular in Vegas and other water-challenged areas to plant things like cacti that are indigenous to the area. Consider the absurdity of growing grass lawns in the middle of the desert! The same is true for moderate climates in that there are many plants that can be utilized that dont' require the maintenance of a fine grass yard. But that brings up another aspect of a nice lawn: It has utility, esp if kids are involved. However, it is also true that we may be close to the day when, rather than covering an area with a reflective surface, one could just roll out a thin-film solar cell; or, one might even paint it onto your reflective surface.

Point 4

Trees. They should be planted around your house so that they shade the house in the summer. My physics professors farmhouse has trees that shade it. He never uses the A/C during the summer, except for a few excpetionally hot days. The A/C uses a lottt of energy.

Why do we build wide open neighborhoods with lots of grass, and no trees except the one that line the road.

Trees? I have over 200 of them. In fact we have made a real point of promoting the growth of trees on the property. It makes me smile a bit when I think of the amount of CO2 sequestered by just a few of the biggest trees. We have a 180-200 foot old growth fir, and a giant maple tree that probably has a maximum radius of seven or eight feet at the base of the trunk. The mass added to each tree annually is amazing. But even our twenty-foot redwood adds about two feet of diameter [to the branches] and height each year.

 

[Pengwuino]

Consider the absurdity of growing grass lawns in the middle of the desert!

I live in said absurdity.

 

[Cyrus]

I live in said absurdity.

You are part of the problem. Be a part of the solution and die.

 

[Pengwuino]

You are part of the problem. Be a part of the solution and die.

I'm turning my car on and letting it idle for the rest of the night with the AC on just for you.

 

[cristo]

I throw away nearly half of my mail every day.

That sounds pretty good. About 90% of my mail is junk mail!

The first time I went shopping for groceries, in Holland, I was surprised to learn at the cash register that they don't supply bags at the stores.

That's the model we're trying to adopt here in the UK. Bags have now been hidden from view in a lot of supermarkets, and incentives given to bring your own bag and reuse it.

 

[Cyrus]

I'm turning my car on and letting it idle for the rest of the night with the AC on just for you.

Make sure you keep the Garage door closed.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Are you two in love or something?

 

[CRGreathouse]

I bet if I paved the front of everyones houses with a reflective surface that bounces the heat back into space, it would have the same cooling effect as grass, without the hassle or use of resources.

I would expect that creating such a reflective surface and replacing it when it dulls or is broken would exceed the resource cost of growing grass. (At least in states like mine where water is plentiful.)

Further, that would contribute significantly to flooding.

 

[Borek]

Do you cut your grass, and add chemicals to it, and water it? I'm curious if this is purely an American phenomenon.

Cut - yes, otherwise it looks untidy. The only other way to make the place look tidy is to put concrete everywhere, otherwise my yard will be full of weeds.

Chemicals and water - almost no need for these here.

 

[Cyrus]

I would expect that creating such a reflective surface and replacing it when it dulls or is broken would exceed the resource cost of growing grass. (At least in states like mine where water is plentiful.)

Further, that would contribute significantly to flooding.

Problem Solved

http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mvigeant/univ270_05/jake_aq/images/pont_du_gard.jpg

Aha, even better Idea. A home water purification system that collects your rain water in your property (see no flooding) and cleans it and stores it.

Less energy losses due to pipe flow losses going all across the city.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I do not water or cut my lawn. When we moved in the grass was dead and brown so we left it that way. When it rained we suddenly had tall pretty green growth in the yard. I actually kinda liked it. But then we got a letter from our property manager saying that they had a received a letter of complaint from the city and would be sending by some people to cut down all the weeds. Our lawn is back to being dead and brown again.

 

[Blenton]

I can't believe you didnt include street lights. Those things shine all night for no reason, make going outside bright 24/7. They should turn off at 12.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

The purpose of the lawn is so that you can see your enemy approach from a long way off. As for bringing your own bags to the grocery, I started doing that about a year and a half ago. They sold me 4 bags for 50 cents each and give me a 5 cent discount whenever I use one. The economy promptly collapsed.

 

[Pengwuino]

I can't believe you didnt include street lights. Those things shine all night for no reason, make going outside bright 24/7. They should turn off at 12.

Have you ever left your house after sundown?

 

[drizzle]

Have you ever left your house after sundown?

maybe he wants to get rid of visitors after sundown

 

[Borek]

Have you ever left your house after sundown?

What for? After sundown you should go to sleep, this way you won't spent energy for light. And don't tell me day becomes too short - you can get up at 4 a.m. with the Sun.

 

[Blenton]

Have you ever left your house after sundown?

Look. When I'm sleeping at NIGHT in a residential area, it should be dead black outside after 12. Who needs streetlights at 1AM residential? Theres no kids running around ~ you have headlights. Its just wasted power and an annoyance to all around.

 

[cristo]

Look. When I'm sleeping at NIGHT in a residential area, it should be dead black outside after 12. Who needs streetlights at 1AM residential? Theres no kids running around ~ you have headlights. Its just wasted power and an annoyance to all around.

What about people who are just generally walking to or from somewhere after 12am? The streets will be deadly black, and make crime a lot easier to commit! Just because you don't walk around after midnight doesn't mean other people don't!

 

[JaredJames]

Do you cut your grass, and add chemicals to it, and water it? I'm curious if this is purely an American phenomenon.

Our grass is natural (in the UK), it is cut by our rabbits (free to roam each day), no chemicals. Only cut it once a year in spring when it grows a foot within the first few weeks and the poor bunnies can't keep up.

There are products available for the grass though and soooooooo many people spend hundreds on them every year for no reason. They do all that to make it grow and look nice and then cut it right down each week. What's the f****** point?

We also have trees, two pine and an oak (tis a beauty). Although they are on the wrong side of the house for shade (not that the UK gets that hot in the summer).

I agree, hate spam, what a waste. Especially when I get charity ones, always makes me wonder how much it cost to make and run the campaign and what sorts of returns they get from it (is it worth it? doubt it).

We don't have paper grocery bags, just plastic, and they're getting tight on them. We get reward points for using our own again. And sometimes they charge us for new ones.

 

[JaredJames]

I can't believe you didnt include street lights. Those things shine all night for no reason, make going outside bright 24/7. They should turn off at 12.

That is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in a while (and I've said a few corkers). CRIME CRIME CRIME! It's bad enough with the lights.

 

[Astronuc]

1. I agree, the mail is stupid, since most of it is thrown away. Some institutions do eventually give up.

2. We use and reused shopping bags. We get a discount at one store of $0.05/bag.

3. We don't water the grass. It rains often enough. We use our own well water for some plants, but the well water comes from the ground water, which comes from the rain.

For the grass, we have used limited applications of corn gluten to suppress the weeds and add nitrogen. We mow once a week to keep the grass low. We have to monitor for ticks in the spring, summer and fall - until the freezing weather sets in.

4. We have trees. We have to replace one on the south side of the house since it was damaged by some insect(s), and is susceptible to a rust which also has damaged it.

 

[humanino]

crap crap crap energy make and print crap trucked crap
Point 2:

crap
-costing the store money. truck crap
Point 3 water very chemicals water system energy road.

Why do you make use of so much artificial emphasis in your message ? Making sentences having a point and remembering we are not all idiots should suffice. Otherwise it's annoying to read and borderline insulting.

 

[Blenton]

What about people who are just generally walking to or from somewhere after 12am? The streets will be deadly black, and make crime a lot easier to commit! Just because you don't walk around after midnight doesn't mean other people don't!

Im thinking the only people walking around at that time are either drunk or criminals. Either way its no loss.

 

[JaredJames]

Im thinking the only people walking around at that time are either drunk or criminals. Either way its no loss.

People coming off a late shift, police/paramedics/fire brigade, taxi drivers, 24hour courier services, insomniacs who just like to take a stroll (me), people on a night out walking home (drunk or otherwise it doesn't matter) and so on...

Do you really not think about what you write? Or do you live in a comic book world where only the criminals roam the streets at night?

 

[Moonbear]

Im thinking the only people walking around at that time are either drunk or criminals. Either way its no loss.

I need to be out that late when running some experiments, or just when working really late because of deadlines. People work night shifts. There are a lot of reasons people are out that late at night. There AREN'T street lights as you get further into the country. They are in areas with dense populations where people are both likely to walk/bike to nearby things and where crime density also increases.

Though, one option is what they had when I was in college...the campus had motion-activated lights lining all the paths. So you always had a lit path without leaving the lights on all the time (unlike the ones installed on my garage, they didn't seem to be activated by things like moths). It would also make it hard for a criminal to hide, since they would keep getting lights turned on around them.

As for Cyrus' rant, a lot of that is nothing new, actually. More than 50% of my mail is junk mail. Since I've opted for paperless billing (online) for most of my bills, I get very little mail at all other than the junk. It's getting worse too. I used to get one or two pieces of junk mail every day or two, and most days would come home to an empty mailbox. Now I'm getting a stack of junk mail every day. Worse, we don't even have curbside recycling, so if I want to recycle it, I have to lug it off to a recycling center at one of the malls. Needless to say, I don't think a lot of people around here bother recycling.

A long time ago, I had found a website with an address to request being on a sort of do not mail list that went to a lot of the direct mailers. It wasn't mandated by law, but if they know someone doesn't want the ads, most voluntarily complied to not waste money sending the junk to them. That was a few addresses ago, and it was pretty effective at the time in reducing the amount of junk mail I got. I need to look for that again if it still exists.

Lawns and trees. I like trees in the yard, and bought a house with them, and planted a few more. If you don't like those neighborhoods with no trees, don't buy a house there. I wouldn't. If there are no trees because the development was built on former farmland, plant trees.

I don't water the lawn. It can fend for itself (though, this summer, it's more at risk of drowning than drought). But, unless you enjoy rats and mice and other vermin in your yard (ticks, mosquitoes), you do have to mow it. The grass also prevents erosion (go look up Dust Bowl in your history books).

Though, I'm shocked your solution to lawns is to pave over the land. Another way that people solve the problem of mowing lawns without risking soil erosion is to plant other types of ground cover. Though, grass is easier on bare feet than ground cover.

You don't want a yard full of reflective material unless you like getting sunburnt from your windows.

Let's see, bags at the grocery store...haven't you noticed the racks of reusable bags for sale right next to the registers now? If you want to bring reusable bags, bring them. I'd be content if the people working at the stores would just learn to FILL a bag so they didn't try packing the cart with 20 bags for 20 items. I'm not sure about the reusable bags yet...they only help if I remember to bring them with me every time I go to the store. And, since my trips to the store often happen when there's opportunity, not by pre-planning, I'd probably just end up with a large stack of bags.

We do have one store that doesn't provide any bags. If you don't bring any of your own, they can pack your groceries into cardboard boxes...reusing the cartons things were shipped to them in. I think that's a better solution than adding more bags, use the cartons and boxes that are otherwise getting dumped straight into dumpsters behind the grocery store.

Okay, now I don't even remember what else you were ranting about. It's hard to keep track.

 

[JaredJames]

Oh and surely paving over every garden would increase flood problems. We have the problems now where water can't drain fast enough due to the tarmac roads etc. So removing large areas of grass which provide some absorption is a very bad idea. In fact, the grass out front is the only reason my house doesn't flood. The run-off from the drive itself in heavy weather is enough to cause a 6 inch build up of water when the drains get overwhelmed.

 

[Topher925]

I'm guilty of not using reusable grocery bags. My local grocer charges $8 a bag, offers no discount, and the bags are so small they can barely hold on a gallon of milk. So far I have been recycling the plastic ones though but I need to find a decent reusable ones.

Cyrus and Penguino, the Love Shack called, your room is ready.

 

[JasonRox]

A lot of people with no lives actually go through all the junk mail. I'm serious, so they would get mad. And then the government would be afraid to ban it cause they can lose votes. I'm serious.

Well, the grass... I don't have any right now. None of our family used chemicals. Who the hell uses chemicals?!

If there was no grass and we just paved everything... wouldn't that be worse for the environment... like much worse?

 

[JaredJames]

Well, the grass... I don't have any right now. None of our family used chemicals. Who the hell uses chemicals?!

Yeah, if you fail at growing grass you should just give up the gardening game right now!

If there was no grass and we just paved everything... wouldn't that be worse for the environment... like much worse?

See my previous post.

 

[turbo]

You can sign up with Catalog Choice and opt out of receiving catalogs from many retailers. That alone cut our junk mail significantly because the person that we bought the place from was getting every catalog you can imagine - mostly loaded with overpriced gimmicks and junk (like the Topsy-Turvey planter - yech!). Now when we get junk mail, it is mostly small cards or flyers from businesses, or pleas from charitable organizations. The money spent by the latter is dismaying. We have more personalized address stickers, note-pads, and adhesive gift tags than we will ever use in our lives. My wife and I made the mistake of making non-anonymous donations to a couple of charities and were suddenly swamped with non-profit beggars. If you want to minimize these mailings and still make donations, pay an extra buck to get a cashier's check from your credit union or bank and send that to them with NO return address.

 

[Office_Shredder]

Lemme try this

Point 1: I can get really angry and feel self-righteous about other people's lifestyles. It's easy to question how other people live their lives without trying to put real understanding into why they do some of the things they do, or even any of the possible drawbacks to stopping those things.

Point 2: Just because I'm angry and self-righteous doesn't mean I'm correct. This is an important point to understand, so you don't make the mistake of paving over every patch of grass in the world

Point 3: After considering the possibility of being wrong, I should do some research on google to see whether my assumptions about how the world works in grocery stores is correct. Furthermore, I might realize that things like the cost of a paper bag are negligible and the energy and time cost of making this post outstrip that.

 

[JasonRox]

If all humans stopped farting, that could help the environment.

 

[turbo]

If all humans stopped farting, that could help the environment.

You first.

 

[JasonRox]

You first.

We must all work together as a team. I'll start but I'm known to cheat.

Regardless, join me now.

 

[Cyrus]

As for the street lights, you could do that. Put motion sensors on them. When someones walking by, they turn on.

There is a bit of a practicality issue with this though, since street lights use fluorescent tubes they don't just turn on at the flip of a switch.

 

[humanino]

There is a bit of a practicality issue with this though, since street lights use fluorescent tubes they don't just turn on at the flip of a switch.

Don't worry, it's easily fixable. Use a switch[/size]. As you know, they're more efficient.

 

[Cyrus]

Don't worry, it's easily fixable. Use a switch[/size]. As you know, they're more efficient.

A switch on an outdoor lamppost?

 

[chroot]

Cyrus,

Your arguments are good, but they aren't original ideas. Out here in Cali, at least, sustainability is a major economic driver. (Paradoxically, the green movement actually creates more jobs and grows the total economy and infrastructure, making the problem... worse. But, I digress. At least they mean well.)

I'd say about half of the people out here use canvas bags for groceries. Plastic grocery bags are banned in San Francisco, and other communities are sure to follow. Most grocery stores charge you for using their bags (or, equivalently, they give you a discount for using your own).

Sustainable landscaping is huge out here. Everyone wants to use native plants for ground-cover and decoration. These plants thrive in the natural environment here, need no irrigation or maintenance, and in many cases are very pretty. My girlfriend is a commercial real estate developer, with an emphasis on sustainable design and operations, so I hear quite a lot about this.

I have to take issue with some of the things being said about street lights, though. The truth is that lighting and crime are not directly related. The International Dark Sky Association, a group focusing on light pollution and its effect on astronomical research, has done countless studies on crime that corroborate this fact.

I also have a big problem with disposable plastic water bottles, since a reusable metal bottle is almost always a better choice. Many people have a misconception that using a plastic bottle, then recycling it, is pretty much the same as not having ever used it at all.

- Warren

 

[JasonRox]

Cyrus,

Your arguments are good, but they aren't original ideas. Out here in Cali, at least, sustainability is a major economic driver. (Paradoxically, the green movement actually creates more jobs and grows the total economy and infrastructure, making the problem... worse. But, I digress. At least they mean well.)

I'd say about half of the people out here use canvas bags for groceries. Plastic grocery bags are banned in San Francisco, and other communities are sure to follow. Most grocery stores charge you for using their bags (or, equivalently, they give you a discount for using your own).

Sustainable landscaping is huge out here. Everyone wants to use native plants for ground-cover and decoration. These plants thrive in the natural environment here, need no irrigation or maintenance, and in many cases are very pretty. My girlfriend is a commercial real estate developer, with an emphasis on sustainable design and operations, so I hear quite a lot about this.

I have to take issue with some of the things being said about street lights, though. The truth is that lighting and crime are not directly related. The International Dark Sky Association, a group focusing on light pollution and its effect on astronomical research, has done countless studies on crime that corroborate this fact.

I also have a big problem with disposable plastic water bottles, since a reusable metal bottle is almost always a better choice. Many people have a misconception that using a plastic bottle, then recycling it, is pretty much the same as not having ever used it at all.

- Warren

In our area, stores must charge for grocery bags. Minimum 5 cents. City hopes some peoples start using canvas bags, and then they plan on banning plastic bags in some cities in the new region.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Many areas now cycle the street lights off for periods of time so that out of any four lights, for example, at any time, one of them is off.

One thing that annoys me is the energy wasted by refrigerators. In the summer, we run the fridge which then blows hot air that has to be cooled again by the air conditioner. In the winter, we heat house, which in turn puts a greater load on the fridge. The condenser coil should be cooled using air from under or outside of the house, and exhuasted out again. I had the chance to implement this idea in new modular [steel] homes, but the company making them just went bankrupt.