Eco-Confessions

We NEED $4.00/gallon gas!

Plato, the famous Greek philosopher called necessity the mother of invention. Yes, only when there's a need for something will people get creative and start thinking about how to achieve that "something".

So, I therefore declare that we absolutely NEED to see gas prices reach the $4.00/gallon threshold and stay there for a long time. Without the pressure of expensive gas, there is no need to conserve what we have or to look for alternatives. People are complacent and enjoy the lifestyle they have gotten used to in the past 30 or so years.

Yes, it might hurt for the first few years, but don't say you didn't see it coming: China and India are consuming more and more of the global supplies of crude oil every year - with no apparent end in sight. Americans are still in love with their trucks and SUVs - that's not going to change unless it becomes too expensive, or carmakers are forced to increase gas mileage in their vehicles. The only way to make change happen is by force: if we're forced to come up with more fuel-eficient cars because the current ones are too expensive, I am confident that would happen.

Another side effect of this "innovation" period would most likely be a crossover into other energy sectors: solar and wind energy, passive heating and cooling designs in new construction, new technologies and materials to create, transfer and store energy.

We may not have a World War II, a Great Depression or a Race to the Moon for our generation, but I'm thinking that expensive gas might just be the catalyst this country needs to move our energy policies forward, into the 21st century...

 

Food, Inc. - the movie

Sheila and I watched "Food, Inc." the other night - I have to say I thought it was very interesting. While not all of the information presented was news to me, I thought it was edited well and gave lots of food for thought (pun intended here). It definitely made me renew my intention of utilizing the local Farmers Markets more this year. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the movie. If you have seen it, what did you think?

 

LED bulb dilemma

So, I have somewhat of a problem: I'm trying to replace a couple of CFLs in our basement hallway with LED bulbs, but am unable to find what I'm looking for. I have to say, I was somewhat unpleasantly surprised to see the meager selection of LED bulbs at the local Big Box stores. There are plenty of CFLs in all kind of sizes and shapes available, but when it comes to LEDs, the stores I visited seem to be very limited.

I'm looking for a 100-watt comparable flood light bulb, with an approximate 120 degree angle. It will go into a recessed light housing. I can find bulbs with those specs online, but would much prefer to buy them locally, so I can return them if they don't give off the light I need.

Any suggestions for a local source for LEDs in the size and kind I'm looking for? I would appreciate it very much.

 

Tubeless toilet paper

Apparently, in some parts of the country, you can now buy toilet paper without the cardboard tube in it. It's a trial for Scott's bathroom tissue, to minimize the millions of tons of trash caused every year by people who don't recycle their toilet paper rolls but throw them into the trash instead. While I do think it's a great idea, I also can't help but think that there are A LOT of packaging-related items that I feel should have gotten the axe before they did away with toilet paper roll tubes. Like these super-annoying "clam shells" that everything seems to be packaged in these days. Not only is the plastic used not recycleable (as far as I know), they are also a royal pain to open. I would much prefer my product in a cardboard box (or even envelope, so it can still be hung from a peg in the store), with a picture of the product printed on it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks there are items, packaging or materials in general out there that we could safely discontinue - how about it? What do you think we need to get rid of next?

 

Why we need Ethanol

Ethanol has been in the news again recently. Rep. Steve Drazkowski called for an end to all Ethanol subsidies, because "...we have artificially propped up an industry by initiating government-influenced control of the markets." While it may be true that the Ethanol industry has received a significant amount of subsidies over the years, I feel very strongly that it's more than justified. Aside from the fact that pretty much all energy-providing industries are receiving some sort of financial support from the government (be it in the form of tax breaks or actual subsidies), in my opinion Ethanol provides a valuable service: every Gallon of Ethanol burned in our cars is one less Gallon of gasoline we need to produce or import! That, to me, is the whole point of Ethanol. Of course, Ethanol will never be able to replace fossil fuels, but it can have a major impact on the overall consumption.

Opponents of Ethanol argue that it is not efficient, leads to a lower gas mileage when used as a fuel additive and poses environmental hazards during its production. I believe (and I know some people will argue with me on this) that, to beat the impeding dramatic increase in oil and therefore gas prices, Ethanol is a valuable tool, but only if manufactured responsibly and used in combination with CONSERVATION. Yes, you have read correctly - conservation. We have become all to accustomed to being able to drive whatever size car we want, whenever we want to. India and China are just now starting to use more oil for their millions of cars that are expected to hit the road in the near future - what do you think THAT will do to the price of a barrel of crude oil? So, the less we use, the cheaper it will be (or the less expensive it will get). Unfortunately, that concept only works if it hits a common nerve. Right now, there are too many people left that would rather spend billions on new (and uncertain) exploration to keep driving at all cost.

I also wonder what would happen if the Ethanol subsidies were to cease immediately. Some plants would most likely have to be shut down, consolidation might happen, but here's the kicker: without the subsidies, the price of Ethanol is very likely to go up. The price at the pump would as well. If Ethanol can't make it without subsidies and is discontinued, the 10% of it in our gasoline here in Minnesota will be replaced with GASOLINE, which would - you guessed it - make the price at the pump go up! So, in any scenario, drivers lose. I'm not sure the people who are currently asking for the removal of the Ethanol subsidies have thought that far...

 

Do you have too much light?

The other day I was sitting in our sunroom when suddenly one of the three CFLs in the ceiling burned out. No big deal, right? That's why I keep some spares in the basement (the burned-out bulbs, by the way, can be brought to Menards for recycling). I didn't change the bulb out right away, since we were in the middle of "play time", and guess what: I still haven't changed it. Turns out, I'm not really missing the light that particular bulb emitted. There are two more lights in the room that perfectly illuminate the area we spend the most time in. I guess I might just wait to see if Sheila catches on and notices that I still haven't changed the bulb.

Now, I'm not advocating going through your house and taking out light bulbs, but the next time a bulb burns out, consider if you really need to replace that particular light source. Is it one of many in a room you don't use that much? If you can live with having a burned-out bulb in a light fixture, it might save you a few bucks during the year.

 

The bitter cold is a great time to check for drafts

Yes, if there's one upside to the sub-zero temperatures we are currently experiencing, it's the fact that they really help in finding those tiny little drafts in your house. The colder it is outside, the easier it is to feel the cold air entering your house.

Run the back of your hand around your outside doors, windows and outlet covers or light switches located on outside walls. If there's an air leak anywhere, you should easily be able to detect it. There are various products available to seal those leaks: caulk, spray foam (for larger gaps), or even foam pads you can put behind the wall plates of your outlets and switches to seal them.

Another thing to keep in mind: if cold air is entering your house, it most likely means that warm air is leaving it somewhere else. A good place to check is any ceiling fixture, like a light or ceiling fan. Also, attic hatches are notorious for leaking warm air into the attic. One easy way to prevent that is to use removable caulk to seal around the hatch. If you need to get into your attic, you can simply peel off the caulk band.

Good luck with your detective work, and stay warm, everybody!

 

How do you wrap your presents?

At this time of the year, the annual dilemma of wrapping Christmas presents crops up again. In our house, we have become huge fans of gift bags: they are sturdy, time-saving to fill and 100% reusable. In fact, we have a couple of large gift bags filled with probably 30-40 smaller gift bags in the basement.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy wrapping presents (especially when they are to be mailed - gift bags are not very practical in that case), but most of the time I know that the paper I'm using is not going to be used again, and depending on the material, cannot be recycled. So, the gift bags are a great alternative. If something is too bulky to be wrapped OR bagged, a nice red bow will do the trick...

Another thing I really enjoy at this time of the year are  home-made Christmas cards we get from some of our friends. I admire their dedication to cut out Christmas trees or snow men from wrapping paper, glue them to the front of a card, then stamp the inside of the card and enclose a little note. Right now, our schedules do not allow us to be so creative with our own cards, but we did start making Birthday cards for friends and family, with the help of our three-year-old. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like some balloons drawn from a toddler, trust me!

So, how do you handle your gift wrapping? Newspaper, kids drawings, or nothing at all? What do you do with the paper you and your family tear of the presents you receive?

 

Are outdoor Christmas lights a waste?

The other day, I stumbled upon this website with a neat little calculator that allows you to figure out how much money it costs to operate Christmas lights. I thought it was pretty interesting, even though we don't have any lights outside. Not necessarily because I'm concerned about cost or impact on the environment, but simply because I have more important things to do than putting up those lights and then take them down again in January. That's not to say I don't enjoy looking at our neighbors' displays - I just don't think we need to put anything up right now. Even though I just don't have time for putting up lights right now, the factor of "wasting" electricity is also in the back of my mind when thinking about Christmas lights. Sure, a few strands along the gutter don't use that much power (especially when using LEDs), but some homeowners put up thousands of bulbs for their displays. How much is enough when looking for "warm fuzzies" during the holiday season? Or is it about the competition with the neighbors, a la Clark Griswold in "Christmas Vacation"?

Have you found a compromise between decorating the outside of your home and not wasting valuable resources? How do you deal with the neighborhood "pressure" to participate? Do you have any non-electrical ways to spruce up your front door? I'd love to hear bout it.

 

Is your Christms tree real or fake?

With Thanksgiving almost here, the annual dilemma is bound to crop up again pretty soon: real or fake? Plastic and chemicals from overseas, or a cut-down living organism that might pose other health risks? It's a quandary as old as "Paper or Plastic" - fake trees are usually manufactured in China and take a lot of petroleum, chemicals and energy to produce. Real trees are grown locally, but need to be disposed of after the season and sometimes take just as much gas to get, considering a fake tree might last ten years or more.

I will never forget the wonderful memories of getting our first real tree - we had gotten married and moved into a small apartment the summer before. We drove to the tree farm and picked out "our" tree. I cut it with a bowsaw, and we then tied it to the trunk of our car. The smell in our apartment was just like what I was used to growing up with a real tree back in Germany. Two years later, we got a great deal on a fake tree with the lights already in it. We used that tree for 13 years, until we inherited Sheila's parents' old tree this year.

So, I don't have a problem with using a fake tree - we definitely get our money out of it - we're even planning to sell our old tree at a garage sale next spring. But I also understand why people get a real tree - the ambience just can't be beat.

What about you: real or fake?

 

All I want for Christmas is Betty's Pies and Russ Kendall's Smoked Fish...!

If you've ever been up to Minnesota's beautiful North Shore, you most likely stopped at either Betty's Pies or Russ Kendall's Smoked Fish, or even at both places. These two landmarks carry undoubtedly fares of epic flavor and deliciousness - the downside is, they are four hours away. Fear not, hungry Southeast Minnesotans; your prayers have been answered. I will drive up to Two Harbors on December 23 to load my car with selected pies and fish to be picked up in Zumbrota that afternoon. The pies will be freshly made that morning; there are 5 of their most popular varieties available to choose from! This Christmas, why bother making your own pie if you can proudly serve the best Minnesota has to offer, from the original location just North of Two Harbors? And if you ever had Russ Kendall's fish, it will most likely be a no-brainer to add it to your order (to either share with your guests or enjoy by yourself after everybody else has left). All of the proceeds from this event will go to TEAM GLORIA in the Zumbro Valley Stroll Relay For Life 2011. Download the order form with all the details below - but hurry: the order deadline is December 14.

Download Fish 'n' Pies Run