PV Gap

Amanda Said:

Science /// Ecology project HELP!?

We Answered:

Sustainable development: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable…
Carbon Footprint: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_foot…

Just try Google mate. :)

Keith Said:

Do most people who try to be "green" only do it up to the point until it's an inconvenience or too costly?

We Answered:

Star for you! I 100% agree with you! I was feeling pretty cynical yesterday, when I answered a question about someone wanting to be "green."

Here's the link to THAT question:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;…

For my husband and I, who really DO live very "green" lives, I get pretty tired of the folks who do one little thing, and then think they have saved the earth.

CFL bulbs happen to be one of my big pet peeves right now. I too was suckered into them. When I found they were not holding up to their promises, I did some research, and found they are made in China, use more electricity to produce than they will ever save, of course are shipped over the ocean, are toxic waste, since they have mercury in them, last only about 7 months in my house (vs 3 years for the incandecents!), and certainly not the seven perdicted years, and to top it off, are packaged in plastic clam shells instead of the highly recyclable cardboard of incandecents.

And yet people are trying to pass LAWS that state I MUST use them (here in the U.S.)? Oh please!

No vehicle my husband and I drive is newer than 20 years...not a single one. Some are over 40 years old. The tractors we use are even older than that (1930's for some).

Our vehicles all did their manufacturing environmental damage more than a generation ago. Every one of them can run on the biofuel we produce right here on our farm. If my husband and I needed or wanted to, we could become nearly totally indepentant of foreign oil. Of course funny enough their are laws that prevent us from driving our biofuel on the roads, so we don't. Be green! Oh no, wait...it's illegal to be green!

Shall we talk about the fact that I produce very humanely raised and cared for meat goats, and meat rabbits? It is however totally illegal for me to butcher an animal for our customers, right here in very clean, very sanitary open air, and sunshine outdoors. I can however take my animals to be butchered at a slaughterhouse that processes 400 or more animals an hour and allow my customers to pick the meat up there. Of course I know which is cleaner, and much more humane, but that does not matter...it is still illegal for me to butcher for my customers in environmentally green ways. Thank heavens in my state it is still legal for customers to come to my farm and butcher the animals themselves....I'm sure that loophole will be closed eventually.

I agree with you, that a free market is great. Funny thing is, the greener your lifestyle, the more likely you are to run into laws that make it illegal.

Let's face it....the Government only wants people to become so independant. If people were suddenly driven to become very independant, living green lives, in a mostly agrarian way, it would drastictly lower the taxes the Government brought in, and there-by lower the amount of power the Government has (just think of it!). No, wait...don't think...it makes the Government nervous when people turn off the TV and think for themselves.

What really drive me nuts are the hypocrits. People who tell me I'm cruel and heartless for killing and butchering a cute widdle bunny wabbit, or widdle goat I've raised....while freely admiting they eat meat! So they will consume the flesh of some animal they have no idea what was fed to it, what drugs were pumped into it, nor how it was treated...yet I'm the cruel one?! Oh please!

I hate the hypocrits who preach living a green life, and yet do not do it themselves, indeed spend time jetting about the world (think Gore). I am really botherd by the new trend of people and companies toward buying "carbon credits." What a HUGE load of horse pucky! Bloody well clean up your own act, don't pretend it's all better, because you purchased carbon credits from someone else who REALLY does live a green lifestyle!

Ok....I think I'm going to stop right there, before I say something I shouldn't.

Great question!

~Garnet
Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Ian Said:

Why don't we heat our houses using heat pumps from ambient air?

We Answered:

Many people do. An even more efficient method is the use of a geothermal heat pump that uses ground water as the heat source.

Kenneth Said:

Need some suggestion: Free/Efficient Alternative source of Energy(electricity)?

We Answered:

rainbow energy

Tammy Said:

eco friendly town design?

We Answered:

First of all, designing eco friendly alone probably won't win a reward, because even though a power source next to housing would be good for less transmission line loss and such, no one wants to live next to a nuclear power plant or see those crappy wind farms asthetically messing up what would otherwise be a pretty landscape.
However, things you might want to consider.
Homes mostly exposed to an open sky on the southern side of the house to take advantage of solar radiant heating. A park for asthetics for people and green space to help hide the utilities, water treatment plants or power plants to the city. A well designed roadway system to minimized travel times, green technology used in large city buildings to minimize energy costs - including roof gardens/plantations to cool roofs, LED street lights, centralized services like bus terminals to cut down on congestion (not rail systems since statistically speaking they do not pay for themselves), Sufficient police and fire stations, A power grid layed out so high tension power lines do not pass directly through park play areas or neighborhoods (due to the ill effects possibly linked to cancer),