What is your environmental balance sheet?

[Oldmoparguy1]

My environmental balance sheet. Part 1.

I hope this doesn't sound like bragging, it's not meant to be. Just an accounting, more or less, of how I've lived my life for the last 69 years.

So far in this life, I've owned 43 cars. Only 2 were purchased new. By buying used cars I saved the natural resources and energy needed to build and market 41 cars. Some of those cars were bought
for parts, which saved more resources. All my cars are in the best possable tune. I've owned 3 homes, each was repaired and upgraded to be more energy efficent. I don't burn trash, yard waste, paper or plastic products. I recycle every thing that can be recycled locally . All yard waste, leaves, grass clippings are made into woodchips or compost. Coming from a farm family, I was raised to be frugal.

 

[Gary Allan]

In 50 years of life, I've owned 26 cars. 10 were driven off the dealer lot. The last 4 new vehicles were purchased since 86. The rest were purchased between 75-80. 2 of the four went 300k between them. I still own one of those two (175k). There's 100k on 3rd ...and 50k on the fourth.

We fill two 35 gallon trash cans with recycle items (not compressed). A sizeable amount of that is from the legal youngsters beer drinking (I can't, I'm insulin free diabetic ..and want to stay that way). We produce two kitchen trash compacted bags of non-recycled materials per week. Our house is lit up like a Christmas tree at night ..while the rest of the block is almost dark. I installed compact floressent lights to make that affordable. We go through 1000 gallons minimum for heating oil. It also heats our hot water. I use off peak/interuptable electricity to run big ticket items at a substantial discount. My average electric bill is $210 (with oil heat and hot water). My water bill is $620/quarter which includes the sewer fees. Most households are approximately 1/3 of this usage.

We define the word consumer.

 

[javacontour]

I barely spend $600/year on water and sewer (well trash is part of the sewer bill)

I think it works out to $300/year for sewer and trash and another $240/year for water.

My combined gas/electric bill is $165/month. I have switched to compact florescents as bulbs fail, and have combined several computers into one to reduce the electrial load from all my projects running.

I went from 7 always on computers to 3.

Of course, I still drive 40K miles/year, but both cars approach or exceed 30MPG on the highway, so that's not an outrageous amount of fuel, approx 1300 gallons.

I recycle as much as I can, paper goes to the school to earn more cash for my daughter's school, and the city picks up aluminum cans, glass and types 1 and 2 plastics. Leftovers are fed to the neighborhood critters, and everything else is trashed. Probably one 33 gallon can every week.

 

[k1xv]

I know an older guy who lives alone in a modular home in New Hampshire who uses 75-100 kwhr per month. He sits around in the dark a lot.

He uses about 400 gallons of heating oil per winter.

He drives no more than 1000 miles per year in a 25 year old GMC Jimmy. He seldom leaves town, and does most of his errands on a bicycle.

He buys no newspapers or other things to recycle or throw out. He gets meals on wheels, that he pays $2 a meal, so he cooks very little.

Basically, he is the Disciple of Frugality. He is a Rush Limbaugh dittohead. We kid him a lot over amateur radio. Perhaps I will suggest to him that his life style is that of a tree hugger. It will drive him nuts.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

I've used a LOT of toilet paper.

 

[mechtech]

I am 100% for America, but objectively, we do waste a lot, and are pretty self centered.
So far, we could afford to be, because we are such a great nation, but we should catch up with the rest of the world.
I've heard that even having everybody keeping their tires full of air would make a substantial dent in our oil/gas use.

 

[eljefino]

My house dates to 1915. Am putting in a garage and did substantial site work to make it fit on the land correctly. Side benefit, modern erosion controls were designed in.

Burn wood in a stove or two to supplement the oil furnace. Have antifreeze in the heat pipes so I can let it get cold in the rest of the house. Bump the thermostat a couple times a day to force the circulator pump to run in case I have a "cold corner." (Dang pipes freeze) Can do this better, can get a catalytic or soapstone stove that puts out more heat.

Our two saturns get 40 mpg. Truck (an anemic dakota with a k-car 2.5) gets 25.... and is driven 1000 miles a year on truckin' duty.

Own seven chickens for eggs and make my own maple syrup.

I buy/find used tires and mount them by hand in my basement.

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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I've used a LOT of toilet paper.

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The amount of toilet paper used is directly proportional to the production of... you get the idea. Maybe cut back on fiber in your diet.

By the way, last month's combined electricity and gas bill was $27, sharply down from $115 in January.

 

[Master ACiD]

i have never bought a new car in my life, probably never will. i have bought new motorcycles, 4 wheelers etc though.

my electric bill averages about $50 a month. my water bill is around $25.

i also dont recycle.

 

[sprintman]

I clone Gary Allen but 53 against 50. Owned 26 cars most used. New when they were company cars. Subaru Outback we have now is by far the best. Maybe not the best though for fuel eonomy although I have improved it some 10-15% by judicious use of certain lubes/fuels/plugs.

 

[Al]

Well, the best of us can't say much. The average American uses 6.6 times as much oil per person than the average person in the rest of the world. And if you add the amoujnt of electrical energy and energy needed to produce the goods that other countries make for us its prob ably 10 times that of the rest of the world per capita So the most frugal of us is still doing our best to destroy the planet (us).

But in the vein of staying on topic.. I have had a 1200sq ft house that has been heated by wood or more recently from propane ( 160 gal last year.) I keep half of my house unheated (kids are gone). In the summer we use two 5500 high efficiency btu ac units (usually only 1 runs). Always have had small fuel efficient cars (2-4 cyl pickup trucks). Through my whole life, my commute was miles to work.

For my economic status (upper middle class), I'm probably in the upper 1% of conservers...but I'm still a global energy hog.

 

[keith]

If everybody bought used cars, who's buying the new cars to create the supply of used cars? Buying used is a fine choice for an individual, but doesn't make any sense on a macro scale.

I have owned maybe 5 cars over the last 25 years or so, and a couple of motorcycles. Two cars were new (dealer demos to save a few dollars). My current car is a '99 and I'll be driving it for at least the next 5 years, maybe 10 years if it holds up. As you can tell, I maintain my cars and keep driving them until they fall apart. Most times I only changed cars for a lifestyle reason e.g. going bigger as we had more children.

We only buy what we use, for example, not overbuying food and never needing to throw away old food that's gone bad. We recycle and have kerb side pickup every week, and they even accept used motor oil. Not that I generate much, because the cars have bypass filters.

It all about attitude. We aren't any less happy than the neighbors who drive new SUV's and spend like there is no tomorrow. We will retire comfortably when the time arrives, and the neighbors will still be working to pay for all the stuff they accumulated. Health permitting, I will be going fishing, thank you very much.

 

[Pablo]

I had a Volvo with the environmentally friendly engine wire harness.

 

[Kestas]

Before going to work, I place a can of beans over the stove pilot light. When I come home, dinner is ready.

 

[Schmoe]

You know, does all this REALLY make a difference besides money? For as long as the earth's been around, I really find it hard to believe that humans has had more of an impact this fast on earth throughout all the volcanoes, floods, tidal waves, plate movements, etc. etc. I also think global warming is blown way out of proportion. The things we are seeing are a natural order. I think the earth can take care of itself, it has been for ga-jillion years and all of a sudden humans are going to mess with that? Don't get me wrong, I recycle my used oil and other engine by-products, drive newer better for the environment cars and it's what I do for a living, but when looking at the big picture, I just don't see it, within reason.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

"The amount of toilet paper used is directly proportional to the production of... you get the idea. Maybe cut back on fiber in your diet"
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Nah, mostly due to the fact that I don't have a colon. My large intestine was removed 5 years ago. I eat mostly junk and could probably use more fiber.

Back on topic. We need to encourage minimalism and not consumerism.

 

[Razl]

Schmoe, I see your point, but that does not relieve us from respecting (and "protecting") the only planet within millions of miles of our solar system that can currently sustain our very existence.

I do feel our planet will repair itself from any damage we humans can dish out. I just don't want me or my kids to be there when it happens

Sorry, back on topic...

 

[Dan4510]

I do not have an enviornmental balance sheet. Nor will I ever. I will do what I want and pay for it as I go. Dont use credit and if I cant pay for it out of pocket I dont need it.

Dan

 

[OriginHacker21]

I think that conserving is definitely a good thing. At home my siblings are constantly leaving lights, tv, computers, and what not turned on all day when they arn't in use. Always spend a few minutes a day going around shutting off lights.

I've experimented with putting a few large pots in the shower to collect shower water for the lawn - gets boring real quick but keeps the lawn green if you have a small patch like we do out here in CA. Water is expensive here

At work we print out a lot of stuff we later throw away (screen shots, e-mails, etc...). Recently a co-worker and I have been collecting these pages and re-introducing them into the printers to use the blank side. We've also encouraged people to send e-mails to co-workers instead of printing. Office used about 5,500 sheets of paper every month - now it uses less than 500.

Always ways to save without being too extreme... Now to stop changing my synthetic oil at 3,000 miles.

 

[Jimbo]

1938 beach cottage, no insulation, drafty old windows and $5-20 gas bills, $7-13 electric bills, $19-22 water bills ($16 is the "standby charge" to have a meter). Climate (40-80F maximum range) makes a huge difference in houshold energy consumption. North America has some of the most extreme weather in the world. That has to account for at least some of the per-capita energy consumption.