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Family virtually cuts the power, A/C, all but simplest cleaning solvents (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7000991.stm)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Green_Home.jpgBBC News - Kim Gattas - Sept. 19, 2007

It is mid-afternoon in an airy, lower-Manhattan flat, on the ninth floor of a posh-looking building with a doorman.

It is a bit dark and there are no lights on. There is a strange quiet feel to the flat, perhaps due to the lack of any appliances - no fridge humming, no TV interference, even no air conditioning, though it is hot and humid outside.

Walk into the bathroom, and you will notice that there is no toilet paper, no bottles of shampoo or toiletries… http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7000991.stm

His blog: No Impact Man (http://www.noimpactman.typepad.com/)

All I can say is - incredible!

I don't think I could go as far....

Yeah.... I think I'll stick with the 7th Gen recycled TP. :)

A glimpse of life after the peak?

The Amish, Mennonites and inhabitants of third-world countries all have us beat at this game.

Yeah.... I think I'll stick with the 7th Gen recycled TP. :)

Beats reused TP. :eek:

Correction: Recycled Paper Toilet Paper!

I think I could make a 50% reduction in resource usage in my home, but I'd need to have more free time to put into it than I have now.
I WILL continue to use Toilet Paper (made from recycled paper).
Part of my thinking in buying a Honda Fit instead of a Prius is that I would save more fuel (heating oil) by putting the savings into making my home tighter in winter (indoor storm windows, insulating shades, generally tightening up, etc.).
--Walter

Walter,
That's smart.

It is fairly easy cutting consumption by 50% from US suburban norms:

1) No A/C
2) Heat to 62-62 in winter
3) No TV (I haven't lived in a house w/ TV since 1977)
4) Barely any lawn care
5) don't buy any food that is junk (pop, chips, etc, etc)
6) recycle and compost (most) everything
7) one car (if your family cannot survive w/o 2 cars move or get a new family)


Any family who has more than 1 garbarge can per week to be picked up at the curb is pretty wasteful

if your family cannot survive w/o 2 cars move or get a new family
ROTFL

my good points as far as everything besides my driving go:

-I dont use my A/C much (I think I only used it for 5 days this summer (and it was set to 82 when I was here and 87 when I was gone))

-I only use one bag of trash a month

-I compost everything that is compostable/recycle everything that is recycleable

-I keep my computer off unless im using it (2 hours tops/day)

-All my light bulbs are CFL's besides 2 LED night lights

-I mow my front yard with an electric mower, but i do the back with my reel mower (the turf in the front yard is too thick)

-I unplug my stereo, TV, PS3, router, modem, computer, monitor, and computer speakers when they arent in use

things I could do better:

-get a new furnace (mine is really old and not efficient)

-get a new washer and dryer (really old as well) or do it by hand (eeekkk, I wont do that till there is no electricity to be had)

-use the stereo less, I don't know how much power it uses, but it can certainly make some noise!!! :Banane57:

-eat out less (I eat a lot of fast food (cut me some slack, im a terrible chef))

-stop getting and throwing away a plastic soda bottle everyday at work (mmmm...mt dew)

-read and stop watching movies/playing on the PS3 (but i love this hi def stuff!:p )

-use hand tools instead of power/air tools when doing yard/car/wood work

-I could fix up a room in the basement in order to keep from using the heat as much in the winter

-dig my underground dream home that is powered by a windmill!!!

The thing about such experiments is that they really strike me (and probably most people as fringish). I don't mind as they can do what they want, but if they really wanted to have an impact, it might be better to do something a bit more doable. For instance the book "Plenty" about eating local foods (that I reviewed elsewhere), did not make me think I could do this. It made me think how totally undoable it was. The diet eliminated many common foods and things like coffee and olive oil. The fact that coffee was no issue for them turned me off immediately. :-)


OTOH, the woman who wrote a similar kind of story, "Animal Vegetable Miracle" but made many more concessions (CA olive oil, Fair trade coffee, sea salt-- as opposed to "sinner's salt" that the first other family rarely used) struck me as possibly more workable. She also gives many more suggestions on how other people can follow along, even if not to the same extent.

However, it remains to be seen what kind of book they write.


--des