the next step

[the_siobhan]

Every resource I've ever seen about climate change gives the same basic instructions. "Turn down the AC. Get a more fuel efficient car. Buy locally."

We don't have air con. We bus and bike everywhere. We eat vegetarian most of the time, and every lightbulb in the house is compact fluorescent. We patch, repair, reuse and freecycle.

Now what? Where is the environmentalism 201?

*sigh*

I guess I could always write more letters.

What I'm listening to right this second: Knucklehead

Comments

[shara.livejournal.com]

Well, "sustainability" is basically a life-cycle thing... in a broad sense, there's consumption, use and waste.

So you can either look at what you have in your life which consumes, and try to reduce that consumption - electricity, "raw" resources, what have you. You probably have heat - the best way to cut down on heat energy consumption is to optimize latent heat generation in the house so that as little as possible needs to come from "other" sources. So, get windows which point the right ways, make sure the house is VERY well sealed and insulated, invest in tripple-glazed windows and so on. Then get a heat system which requires the least amount of actual generation - radiators against inner rather than outer walls, or radiating floor systems. You also need good circulation - the amount of energy used is equal to the cube of the rate of flow (this is a piping thing).

Or you could limit waste. Look at what you have in your life that still generates truely end-of-life material. How much garbage, recycling and compost do you put out? Can it be reduced? What can be bought in bulk which you don't already use? Can you use cloth napkins/paper towls/ hygenic products?

Unfortunately for us 21st-century types, technology is a great source of waste... computers and their bits don't really have a post-consumer life. But you can still do little things, like have a flat-screen rather than LCD monitor (far fewer toxins) and make sure you have a machine which can be broken down so that you need to replace only small bits at a time.

I'd also like to second the "educate" plan...

[siani-hedgehog.livejournal.com]

So, get windows which point the right ways, make sure the house is VERY well sealed and insulated, invest in tripple-glazed windows and so on.

note: this is often a really, really bad plan in an older home. older homes are built with different materials (lime mortar rather than cement, for example) and work on the principle of managing, rather than excluding, humidity. sealing them too well will result in structural degradation on a rapid scale, as moisture is trapped in them. you just have to suck it up and wear a wooly jumper and keep them cooler in winter...

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

In our last house, the previous owners put in a raised wooden floor in the basement. Great idea in dry areas, as it traps a layer of insulating air. Bad idea here - the wood rotted out from underneath.