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Seven, stupid, simple ways to be green and save green

lyved.com — You can be green today with these seven simple ways. It's common sense, people :)

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 16, 2008

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  • jggube, on 07/16/2008, -0/+31"Take it easy when driving" - definitely. Because of gas prices, I'm laying off the gas a bit more and taking advantage of acceleration due to uneven terrain. Though I haven't done anything super-scientific to quantify the gas I save, others have:

    "Drive Sensibly: It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town."
    From: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml
  • miccet, on 07/16/2008, -1/+21Most things in this article is based on saving water. Everything counts and it is important, but I'd rather see lists that are more focused on things that are really damaging the environment like collecting stuff like cans, batteries, electronic toys etc. And instead of tips on how to drive a car, skip the car! (Most of the rides you can take a bike and almost make no damage at all). It's gotta be more radical in order to really make a change.
  • AmyVernon, on 07/16/2008, -0/+17these are all pretty good tips... i told my son once that he was wasting water when he was running it while brushing his teeth; now he tells me all the time when i'm wasting water; out of the mouths of babes....
  • dogboi, on 07/16/2008, -5/+21Actually, it's a well known fact that recycling paper is useless, and in fact, causes environmental harm. Something like 99.9% of paper comes from tree farms (not from old growth forest). The chemical process for recycling paper causes some damage. Not to mention separate costs for processing (like transporting the paper to a recycling plant, which burns fuel. Yes, it burns fuel to take it to the landfill, too, but that's one trip you've known turned into two by having separate destinations.)

    There's an excellent review of much of this at

    http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hart110599.a ...

  • tcpip4lyfe, on 07/16/2008, -1/+15I burn leaded gasoline in my '77 nova on my way to my job at Exxon where I shoot aerosol cans with depleted uranium bullets that I mined in Yellowstone National Park. Also I heat my house by burning old tires and only wear my clothes once before I soak them in paint thinner and flush them down the toilet.
  • RivalJr, on 07/16/2008, -1/+13You can also become the hulk
  • Tomboys, on 07/16/2008, -0/+10I do all of these except 3 and 5 cause they don't apply
  • inactive, on 07/16/2008, -9/+16Save a tree, use less paper. You can buy "tree-free" 100% post-consumer recycled paper for everything from greeting cards to toilet paper. Paper with a high post-consumer waste content uses less virgin pulp and keeps more waste paper out of landfills.
  • Visual77, on 07/16/2008, -0/+6Sometimes not having a car just isn't practical. Most of the US desert southwest large cities are so sprawling that the average drive to work is in the 10+ miles range.

    In itself, 10 miles isn't bad, but consider that many of these roads aren't designed to accommodate bicycles and you put your life on the line cycling 10 miles each way to work. Add that to the fact that by 8:30am, some of these cities are already above 85 F in the summer and you find yourself a sweaty, stinky mess by the time you get to work, if you survive that bike ride.

    Public transportation doesn't always work either. These cities are designed around each family owning a car, and so subways don't exist, elevated trains barely exist, and busses are sporadic, unreliable, and typically only cover the central parts of the town.

    As much as I'd love to get a bike and ride it to work, my trip is 8 miles each way, with the nearest bus stop 4 miles away, and a mile-long stretch of road that is 1 lane either way with no shoulder and the ground is unsuitable for bike travel, with temperatures above 80 on my trip to work.

    Instead, I stopped going out to eat for lunch (save gas on all of those trips), I carpool every day (the two of us alternate weeks on whose vehicle to take), I changed the days I see my girlfriend and mom to shorten driving times and combine that with my grocery shopping and other errands.

    In the end, I went from filling up my tank every 10 days to every 20 days.
  • Calinthalus, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6Most of these don't apply to me. Number 1 is fine depending on the application. I prefer my water cold if I'm going to drink it (gotta let it run a sec), or hot if I'm going to shower in it (gotta let it run a sec). Other than that, it's quicker to follow this guys instructions. Number 2, I try. 3, no basement or dehumidifier. 4, ick, my bathroom trash bags are used by my teenage daughter...and I'm not reusing those bags for anything in the world. Besides, my bathroom trash bags are plastic bags from the grocery store. 5 & 7...I don't water anything. If Mother Nature wants it to live in my yard, she'll provide. Finally, 6. What? There are more trees in the U.S. now than there was 100 years ago. I don't care about saving trees locally.
  • theysayjump, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6"petal to the metal"?
  • ironhide, on 07/16/2008, -3/+8It's your money moron, feel free to piss it away in your penis extension.
  • pakruse, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5Keep a jug of water in the fridge instead, if you have the space - then you not only have cold water whenever, but your fridge runs slightly more efficiently when it's more full.
  • Hoogs, on 07/16/2008, -2/+6What if I want to be blue instead?

    Seriously though, all of these tips are completely ridiculous and would do virtually nothing to help "save the world" or save you money. I almost laughed out loud at number 6.
  • dmbftp, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5Flower Power!
  • leerayIG88, on 07/16/2008, -0/+4I drink my pee instead of flushing it.
  • Frayed_Knot, on 07/16/2008, -1/+4dogboi has is right. If you want there to be more trees, use more paper. Trees are grown to make paper. And they eat CO2, so it's a win-win.
  • Skinner72, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Dugg for acurate title....Stupid.
  • Volkov137, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3For the good of the human race.
    To continue the hope for future generations of yourself to live peacefully.

    Also, studies say there is a direct positive correlation between decently priced prostitutes and average temperature of Earth. I like my nookie.
  • petard, on 07/16/2008, -2/+5This is ridiculous. It will save a few oz of water for each of these suggestions. Not worth the hassle!
  • roto3, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2These are all rather simple things you can do, but they have very little effect. Saving water by not getting any on the leaves of your plants? The losses due to evaporation are going to be minuscule, equivalent to shaving a few milliseconds off of your shower time. Plants *do* absorb water through their leaves, as well. Putting funnels in your watering cans is also pointless; unless you're using a monster funnel. If the funnel has the same circumference as the bottom of your watering can, and you get an inch of rain, now you've got an inch of water in the watering can. Woot.

    The one about going easy on the acceleration when driving is really the only point that might have a non-negligible impact.
  • dogboi, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Um, except for the nominal cost of electricity to get water out of my well, how does it save money???
  • marx2k, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2We also get energy from hydro, solar, wind, nuclear.... so it's not all about burning a ***** of coal
  • tomarocco, on 07/16/2008, -4/+6These are pathetically ineffective in the big picture. Most are borderline OCD (Save that first piece of TP and you save the world.). As far as driving goes, a better tip would be: "Ride your bike instead of driving a car."

    The most important thing people can do to go green is QUIT HAVING CHILDREN. The human population on this planet is the biggest threat there is. Imagine how much toilet paper you will save if you got your tubes tied and quit knocking out ***** machines that will eventually running around car keys drinking water out plastic bottles. Having children is the most incredibly selfish and destructive act a green fool can perform on this planet. Anyone who refuses to acknowledge this is a hypocrite. Put your conservation on your crotch.

    That being said, if you're not "green", GO FOR IT. You only live once and in the geologic picture nothing you do will make a damn bit of difference in the long run so you might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
  • jlab, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Why should we give up technology and progress? We should be advancing it in order to be more efficient AND raising our standard of living at the same time.
  • Rikkochet, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2You mean like the baby boomers are now?
  • ricksite, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Water is pretty cheap where I live. Nitpicking about water usage isn't going to save me enough to make up for the effort.
  • Tomboys, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2thanks
  • Calinthalus, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2I've tried that, but run out of space quite a bit. I have three kids, two of which are teenagers. My small, energy efficient fridge gets loaded up and emptied quickly. Lotta turnaround. I've actually started buying bottled water and refilling the bottles from the tap until they don't seem so fresh anymore. I can fit several of those bottles around the fridge instead of one big jug.
  • Rikkochet, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2#1:
    Yes. Use the water that's been sitting in the pipes and faucet all day. For god's sake, there's a reason they tell you to run the water before putting it in your mouth - there's all kinds of metals that the water contacts in your faucet (if not the house pipes - but if you have copper you can't do a whole lot about it) and it does slowly leech into the water.
    For what my faucet "wastes" by being turned on for 2 seconds before I dip my toothbrush under it I think I'll just be a planet-hating terrorist.
  • Tomboys, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2Yes please.
  • spin164, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1I liked this until I started reading your solutions. You sound just like them.

    In your case you sound like a "Do as I say, not as I do"
  • tomarocco, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1But it will be good for the environment. The economy is bad for the environment. Very, very bad.
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Fast driving takes more brain and experience to do it safely - it is about split second decision making capabilities and often experience and caution can save your life. At fast speeds the time to avert death is short.

    Insurance companies base their premiums on statistics of accidents and faults and guess who has the highest (young men), and who have lowest.
  • jamestwisleton, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1save green - don't put so much in when you roll!
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1You are right on the leaves and the watering cans but other than that every little thing helps - every person doing a small thing brings awareness up, which is the main need.
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Your ideas are very good.
  • Clark3934, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1The reusing trash bags makes no sense to me.
    Let us assume that a trash bag holds a set amount of trash and you only take out the trash when the bag is full. What would you accomplish by emptying your small trash bag into your larger one? Nothing. You're simply transferring trash from one collector to another. Because of what you "saved" by reusing your bathroom trash bag, you have "taken away" from the life of your kitchen trash bag.

    It is nothing but transferring your waste to a more condensed container. In the end you still have the same amount of waste. Why not provide a better tip, like ways to make *less* waste?
  • marx2k, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1So your idea of living life is just standing around whistling your favorite tune while watching the tap water run?
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Don't be so terrified. If someone tries to hit you you don't play dead (unless it is a grizzly bear - then it helps) and when WTC happened people were terrified and crying but did not give up. All those that walked down step by step and helped others made a difference. So can you with every little or big step. It is not about giving up living but rethinking what are needs and what is waste and what will help. At WTC some must have left their wallets or briefcases behind. Life mattered more. Now whatever is needed to save planet matters.
  • dogboi, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Um, but I don't want to invest in Green solutions or any of that jazz. I simply mentioned those options because they are the only changes that will matter. I don't want to do them, however. I love my computer, love my gaming machines, my MP3 player, and I'd much rather take a car for a mile than walk it. Definitely not a hippie, lol.
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1And how are you avoiding it now while washing your car or your cleaning clothes full of chemicals or your hair with shampoo or your dishes and your bathrooms with chemicals?
  • smurfsahoy, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1When the trees grew, they sequestered that same CO2 from the environment. Growing trees and chopping them down later is a zero net CO2 process, minus what it costs to fuel the chainsaw and make pulp, etc.
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Most of these are good ideas, except 4 - kitchen garbage could feed farm animals and should be recylcled separately - and 7 could use a slight different wording - water roots more than leaves and flowers, butthe latter do need some watering too.

    As for 5 it is either funny or a bit shortsighted - how about using better rainharvesting techniques, a bucket or tub if you are in an apartment or rented house, and a fullfledged tank or pond you can dig out and let your roof rainwater or snowmelt etc. go into as well? Rainharvesting techniques are old, use them. They work.

    And while it is true that a huge difference either way is and would and should be made by industries - now they are contributing to bad stuff, if they trunaround it would contribute to saving the planet, which would save them too, and their money is no use without the planet is it? - while all of this is true, still, every little thing everyone does will make a difference.

    It is more than anyhting a matter of your consciousness awakening, and that would make more difference than anything else. If you were aware of planet and needs of conserving resources you would waste a lot less and industries would have to follow - stop throwing cans and bottles, so stop buying what you can live (in good health) very well without. Just an example.
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1U.S. had more trees before it was U.S., your houses are still made of lumber unnecessarily - it was ok in the beginning when people needed immediate shelters to survive but now the romance of log cabin should give way to farthinking of brick houses, and Texas and other southern states could have solar brickbaking all over the place. There is your green economy.

    You SHOULD care about saving trees. Trees can save our planet. There is no other for your children or anyone else's.
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Driving well is not driving slow or fast, saving fuel is not oppsite of driving fast but "not tailgating", not braking and accelerating all that often unnecessarily, and generally saving fuel. Good driving saves your precious car too, or would you rather see it totaled soone?
  • dho331, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2Global Warming is a lie. There is no scientific evidence to link CO2 emissions to increase in global temperature.

    |2Sunspot fags

    also, SAGE
  • DrJG, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Also, look again at your assumptions os what a good car is, and what good driving is.

    In Germany it is Mercedes that is considered the best, the flagship, the revered. No one using a Mercedes races a Porsche or a BMW, though the latter is definitely lower on the prestige rung and the former a toy of the young idiots. But a safe one.

    I have just given the three best names of cars - and few of them have either owners or drivers that would risk the cars. They have no speed limit on Autobahns, too, the only nation in the world. Could you drive there? You might be surprised, at the reality of your driving fast or well. Especially about the ability to drive fast-and-well.
  • marx2k, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1But Co2 is produced by taking those trees down and shipping them to the mill
  • gdha, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Great list. These are very simple.
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