Blessed with too much free time I have had way too much time to think of things that annoy me. Trying to figure out how to move closer into a subsistence living condition I think about gardening, water conservation, energy conservation and a reduced carbon footprint. Reading newspapers and internet articles and watching the tube you can’t eat two chips without “Going Green” being shoved down your throat. In a perfect world of caring and concern about such issues “Going Green” would be a concept that I would gladly embrace with the same passion as a loving cuddle with Salma Hayek. But “Going Green” seems to have a connate with the same color scheme yet a different goal – “Spending Green”.
After some frustrating research about how I could make a difference I have found out that in order to go green you must make Corporate America even richer. I read about $5,000.00 toilets that save water, about money saving appliances, about more efficient automobiles, about electric lawnmowers, about solar panels. All these things may help but how can my broke ass do any of them. I guess what I can do is not to buy a huge, gas guzzling SUV that I can’t afford. Wow, I feel so good about myself. It seems to me that our consumer driven economy cares little about rising temperatures and more about cramming a television into every nook and cranny of an American household.
I just thought with all the hype that quick and easy things for an average American douche bag, like myself, to do would be more accessible. Things like hanging the laundry on a line during the warmer months, using organic and eco-friendly fertilizers and purchasing more practically packaged household goods.
A Google search, the seemingly only way to garner information, got me to a related site. The tips were as follows.
Turn off your lights when not in use.
Use compact fluorescent bulbs.
Buy energy star windows.
Close blinds or shades to keep sunlight from heating the house in summer.
Tune up the HVAC system.
And several recycling tips with the same type of revelations as the tips above.
I wonder if the geniuses who created this website know what a condescending jackass is. Gee thanks for going lowest common denominator. They didn’t tell me not to crap in the front yard. Does that mean not to or is that the trick that will turn the tide. Nothing like somebody assuming I’m a dumbass to keep me coming back.
I hope to shed a little light on some of the things I have come across in the coming weeks. Things like the Eastern Trash Patch and recycling. I hope that some of you actually read this far so I can plead with you for comments and commentary. In the past I have asked that my stuff be held close and not distributed and more importantly not corrected. Now I ask for all you got. If you think, as I do, that I am a loud gasbag that needs a job, a wife, a clue, a salad and maybe a week at Betty Ford let me know.
Thanks
3 comments:
Jeff,
I have to agree with you. I don't see how normal people can jump on the Go Green bandwagon. I hear a bunch of the buy hybrid, install solar panels, wind generators, etc. but frankly that is all way out of my price range.
However, I see one group of people that have the Go Green down to a science. The homeless. Zero emissions shopping carts, endless recycling, very low carbon footprint. Maybe that is the answer...
Thanks,
Just another average douche bag.
Jeff,
Excellent Blog!! You pose very good questions. I have many of the same questions. How can we be expected to go Green when it's so damn expensive? With the high cost of fuel and no end in sight, not to mention the increasing cost of materials, food, health insurance and you name it, life is getting hard.
I did live in a school bus for a couple years. It was actually pretty luxurious. It had a 12 foot roof with solar panels. I had a TV, computer, stereo, kitchen with a sink, stove, oven and refrigerator, as well as a wood stove, sofa, large bed, lots of windows, which I had made nice curtains for. I had a clothes line, which I used year 'round. We also had a windmill. We never lacked for anything living like that - always enough sunshine and wind to keep us flush with energy to run our appliances. We hauled our own water and that was the hardest part. But it was good, FREE mountain water and we only needed to haul water every other month. Living in a bus was not a bad way to go. Unless you count the freak wind storm that came along and blew our solar panels off the roof. Luckily, no damage was done. There was a lot of sweeping desert sand out the bus too and the occasional pounding of rain on the metal roof during a rare thunderstorm. Other than that, it wasn't a bad way to go.
I think if one is intent on finding a way to build green and live green, they can. But, it requires a lot of dedication and work! Here in Moab a lot of people are building straw bale homes with solar and wind. I even have friends who have built their homes using RASTRA, sandbags, mud and dirt as well as recycled material from the dump. It might be easier to build this way here in the West where there is more space and land available. But, where there's will, there's a way and I've heard of a lot of people back East figuring out ways to go Green.
I also have a friend who lives in a cave and has refused to touch money now for six years. He has a blog titled: Moneyless world. I swear, he lives so much better than anyone I know!!! His cave is up one of the most spectacular canyons and has running water year-round as well as beautiful views of mountains. In the winter he gets his food from grocery stores and bakeries that are throwing out perfectly fine food. He train jumps his way to Portland Oregon each summer where he has communal-type living and food growing opportunities. What a life eh?!
I myself am looking for a cheap piece of dirt to build a small straw bale home with wind and solar. I will research and figure out ways to go green and do it on the cheap. Your blog is a great start for ideas for people like me - thanks!
Dana in Moab
bikedana@gmail.com
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