Are you Green?

[Andrew]

If your friends are not seeing any lower consumption when using efficient appliances and such, maybe they are adjusting their habits in a detrimental way.  Another possibility is that one of their new appliances is misbehaving.  They'd have to check each to see draw and usage over time.  There are a lot of variables to figure it out.

See, the problem with incandescent bulbs is that they are just heat sources that happen to give off light.  That very fact is why it is a nice, warm glow.  Some of the newer CFLs are better about giving off natural light, plus a good shade can help the color cast around the room.

If I remember correctly, Home Depot and/or Lowes will now accept CFLs for recycling.  I'll try asking the next time I stop by one.

[CheezeFlixz]

If your friends are not seeing any lower consumption when using efficient appliances and such, maybe they are adjusting their habits in a detrimental way.

That was his observation and the observation of the test community (I can't find the link for) is that while the appliances, light bulbs, what ever used less electricity there consumption (kilowatts) went up or stayed the same and down for others. Mainly because some thought (the study) that since they where using less, they could use more, thus washing out any saving they might have realized.
The study basically concluded that it's human nature for some (or at least American) to think that if you spending less you can use more. Lights that the folks turned off they left on and so on.

I read this report months ago, but this past week I heard about it again on talk radio and what they concluded that the group net gain was nearly flat. Some people saw a decrease, some saw no change and some saw an increase based on lifestyle. The couple I know saw little to no change in number of kilowatts used and they are green to the core. They were at a loss to explain why or how they saw little change. Granted they use very little electricity to begin with, someone like myself that needs a power plant in the back yard might see some real savings.

[Killer Bees]

Here is what I've been doing for a long time now (at least 4 years)

1.   All fluoro light bulbs in my house.  I don't mind the light they give off and I buy the strongest wattage possible.
2.   Recycle all rubbish wherever possible.  Our city council provides bins, so it's easy.
3.   Buy all natural food wherever possible to minimise packaging and saving on making rubbish.
4.   I have a front loader washing machine.
5.   I rarely use my clothes dryer, maybe 2 or 3 times a year and only if it's been raining for 3 days or longer.
6.   All my appliances have the highest energy star ratings possible.
7.   I don't have aircon for summer and it doesn't get cold enough here to own a heater.  I usually just open the windows on hot days and we have wonderful cross breezes. Living at the top of a hill rocks!
8.   If I do feel cold at any time, I put on a sweater and/or socks.
9.   Any room not in use has the light turned off.
10.  I turn off the tv and DVD at the power button so there's no standby power on.
11.  I walk everywhere or catch public transport ( I don't own a car and probably never will).
12.  I use baking soda and vinegar where possible as cleaning agents.  Although Mr Muscle oven cleaner is the best, even if it does strip the cells off your lungs!
13.  When having a shower, I use just enough hot water to stop from feeling cold and then I turn the water off whilst soaping myself  up or shampooing my hair.
14.  I take reusable cloth bags to grocery shopping and if I need plastic bags for bagging fruit or whatever, I bring my own. These get washed and dried after use.
15.  I keep my clothes for as long as possible, mending and darning when needed.  When they get too worn, I put them in for collection to charities.
16.  I never dry clean anything. Ever.
17.  I don't buy that blue stuff for the toilet.  It gets too diluted and looks like someone peed wrong   

That's all I can think of right now.  My one vice is that I buy paper towels for cleaning.  I find them easy and they work brilliantly and it stops me from spending unnecessary hours doing housework.

I would also like to grow my own veggies and have a compost heap, but we live in an apartment.  Granted, it's on the ground floor, but apart from a little raised walkway to the front door that I use as a verandah for my pot plants, I don't have any yard space to do that.  I'd also like to have gas hot water and cooking, but I can't change that because I rent.  Same goes for solar power on the roof.  Not possible.

That might sound like a lot of effort, but it's really not.  I'm not one to go out of my way to make my life uncomfortable with changes, no matter how green they might be.  What I do saves money and it's a logical way to live - I hate waste of any kind. 

I believe we should be more careful consumers and there are changes you can make that don't interfere in your quality of life.  But I don't really buy into this "we are killing the Earth" mantra that's sprung up recently.

Green groups throw around all these stats and figures, saying the weather is "odd" blah blah blah.  But humans haven't been compiling stats for 10,000 years, maybe only a couple hundred, so how can we really say what havoc we're wreaking?

And I don't care how bad greenhouse gas emissions get, I will NEVER give up eating steak