Why Are We Wasting Energy on Idiotic Practices?

[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.

 

[JasonRox]

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.

Now that's a valid thing to argue. Or the heat the fridge produces can help warm the water... who knows. I'm no engineer.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I also think that that new homes could be designed to utilize ground temperature sinking and sourcing for climate control. They are doing this with the active systems [heat pumps], but it seems to me that a semi-passive system might work well during some months of the year, and in areas having a relatively mild climate.

 

[Cyrus]

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

Oh, I'm not claiming originality to my ideas. I'm just ranting about things I notice.

Point 5

SUVs. You don't need to drive your kids in one to soccer practice. No one did in the 80s/early 90s. Did kids suddenly become 10x bigger? There should be a law that states to get an SUV you must show a NEED for one and get a special license (Like a truck license) since people who have them don't seem to know how to drive.

SUV drives who don't have a need for one should get a special tax.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Did kids suddenly become 10x bigger?

Yes. See Supersize Me.

There should be a law that states to get an SUV you must show a NEED for one and get a special license (Like a truck license) since people who have them don't seem to know how to drive.

SUV drives who don't have a need for one should get a special tax.

I keep telling you guys the way to kill SUVs. Regulate them [say any vehicle over 3000 or 4000 Lbs] like heavy trucks and require that they drive at 55 mph in the rightmost lanes. If you have ever been next to one of those $50K monsters while driving a Corolla, the logic in such a law is immediately obvious - SUVs and other large vehicles are dangerous to those of us who choose make responsible automobile purchases. I shouldn't have to put my life in imminent jeopardy in order to drive a high-mileage vehicle.

 

[Cyrus]

I keep telling you guys the way to kill SUVs. Regulate them like heavy trucks and require that they drive at 55 mph in the rightmost lanes.

WRONG: The correct answer is run people you see driving SUVs off the road. BYE BYEE

 

[Ivan Seeking]

WRONG: The correct answer is run people you see driving SUVs off the road. BYE BYEE

Cyrus, are you a nut or do you just like to pretend to be one?

 

[JasonRox]

WRONG: The correct answer is run people you see driving SUVs off the road. BYE BYEE

 

[turbo]

WRONG: The correct answer is run people you see driving SUVs off the road. BYE BYEE

Ah, yes! Vigilante in a Corolla tries to run a Hummer off the highway. Occupants of Corolla: "Aiee!" (crumple of metal and crackle of flames) Occupants of Hummer: "Honey, did you feel something back there?"

 

[Pupil]

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!

The other points I could see a debate for, but the first point I totally agree with. I hate going to the mailbox to find 80% of my mail is glossy, bright, flashy ads screaming "BUY NOW!" Then walking up to my front door to see a bunch of ads dangling from my door handle and littering the ground around my doorstep. Now I have to weed out the ads in my mail and clean up the small junk yard of ads accumulated throughout the day by what looks like an army of jackasses taking bets on how much crap they can fit by my door. It's insane. I never read the ads. No one I know ever reads the ads. You know what I do when I want to go somewhere to eat or to buy product X? I go to the internet and find out what the best reviewed/priced store is or check out a place a friend told me about. I do a few quick Google searches or rely on word of mouth, I don't read the hundreds of shiny ads being stuffed down my throat.

Oh, and if I'm gone for a few days, I can be sure any thiefs would know, too. The four day old pile of ads on my door step will tell them all about it. Thanks generic Italian pizza place!

Screw you, Cyrus. Got me all worked up and pissed off.

 

[cristo]

Right, all posts triggered by one insult have now been removed. If insults/"sarcasm" continue, then more punitive action will be taken.