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? there's 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? there's 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.