- Since December, 2012, I have commuted to work via train*.
According to the EPA, only about 5%
of the U.S. workforce uses mass transit, which puts me in a very elite environmental group
right up front. As an added environmental and personal bonus, I am permitted
to work from home one day per week.
When commuting, most days, weather permitting, I ride my bicycle to/from the train station and take it with
me on the train. Once at my destination, I ride the bike to work. There are some weeks I park
my car on the driveway on Sunday and there it sits all week. Imagine the energy and greenhouse
gasses that is saving. As an added bonus, I get some much-needed exercise riding over 3.5 miles to/from work plus often putzing around at lunch time. Best of all -- it's fun!
* Since March of 2020, I've been WFH full time, using zero non-renewal
energy to commute.
- When at work, I use a t-towel to dry my hands and lunch dishes. Easily,
a dozen PTs/day (over 2400/year) are being saved by this one act of environmentalism.
- I use a programmable thermostat. I love this thing. It's simple and yet very effective
at saving energy -- and my pocketbook. The picture to the right shows the inside temp is 77
and that the AC will turn on when the temp reaches 79.
- Decades ago, I bought a water-saving shower head and have taken it with me everywhere I have lived.
I estimate I've used at least 200,000 fewer gallons of water over a 35-year period.
- It did not seem like a good idea to constantly heat water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
So, I purchased and had installed a tankless water heater (to the tune of about
$2500. Yes, I put my money where my mouth is) that uses Natural Gas. In short,
it heats water only on demand. Imagine how much energy that saves.
- My recycling far exceeds what I throw in the trash can. These pictures
represent an average two weeks' worth of recycling/trash. You can't tell from
the picture on the right but your arms aren't long enough to reach the trash
at the bottom of the container whereas the recycling bin is nearly full.
- I purchased (and gleefully assembled -- NOT) a composter which has almost eliminated putting food waste in the landfill. Hooyah!
- On a touchier subject, I raised only one child. With all this concern about
over-population,
and its environmental impact, shouldn't couples max out at two? That way, since
not everyone can reproduce, the population would naturally decrease.
I know a man who advocated for every environmental cause yet had eight children
and lived in a very large house (Do as I advocate, not as I do). Don't get me wrong.
I liked the man and visited him upon occasion but I wonder if he ever considered
which six of his children he should not have had.
Sadly, it's common thinking among some in the enviro-crowd that children
are not blessings, but rather,
are pollution.
I wrote a
response to Greta
which included the opinion that her existence is not pollution but I don't know
if she read it. To suggest my daughter is pollution is fightin' words. Raising
her has been my greatest joy.
