Over two months has passed since we started our compost bin. We used a plastic pail that came with 40 pounds of soap. Since that time we have filled the pail several times but never have emptied it. As the material breaks down, the bulk shrinks so we can add more scraps. It is amazing how much the material breaks down and how quickly. It was also a bit unnerving when we opened the top one day to pour in scraps and the surface was pulsating. It seems that the sow bugs had taken up residence. At first my grandson wouldn’t add any more scraps but now he is best friends with the bugs. I’ve made a video that I’ll post of the sow bugs doing their thing. Eventually, I’ll have to come put with a more elegant solution but getting started was the priority and we have stopped almost all food scraps from into the garbage can. We don’t eat much meat so we have very little food scraps that can’t be put into the magical compost pail.
As part of our household “Simple Steps” program we are working to reduce the amount of trash that goes from our house into a landfill. First, we are recycling everything that can be recycled - easily. So cans, jars, newspapers, bottles, and other stuff that can be put into our local curbside recycling bins. There is still more to figure out what to do with but unfortunately and sadly we missed one important opportunity to recycle. You see, until today we also threw out food scraps. Yikes! What have we been thinking. Well the simple case is that we have been on autopilot for way to long and we weren’t actually thinking.
Determined to recycle our kitchen scraps, I spent a little bit of time last night search the internet. I found a short article on WikiHow about bulding a simple compost bin for kitchen scraps. Today I went out to the garage and found everything that I needed for the project and in just a few minutes our composter for kitchen scraps was ready. How simple was that?
Our kitchen waste was only a small part of our garbage - most of it is packaging that doesn’t go fit the description of what is allowed in out recycling bin. Our solid waste output is not very great but now it is just a bit less. Our goal for this year is to have empty garbage cans on collection day. Imagine if entire blocks of homes, neighborhoods, and towns could meet this kind of challenge with the curb side collection only for things to recycle.
At the first of this year I signed up for Austin Energy’s Green Choice program. By doing so I was able to purchase green power generated from natural sources such as wind, sun, and methane gas released from landfills. Yes, I pay more for this green energy but over time that should change. My rate has been locked in for 15 years. Since everything always seems to get more expensive I should be on the down side of rates after a period. With costs exploding due to high oil and gas prices the “reduced rate” just might get here much sooner.
Now if only I could use this energy directly. You see the energy I pay for is not the energy I get to use. All the the electricity - clean and otherwise flows into the grid and is all mixed together. It’s not possible to sort out the clean electricity from the other and direct that to my house. So how do I benefit? My subscription helps to increase the percentage of electricity that is generated from natural sources. Perhaps in my lifetime, I’ll see most or even all of my electricity coming from natural sources. This is my step in that direction.
If you live in Austin, TX, I recommend that you get on this bandwagon. Don’t wait like I did - get started saving the world now and perhaps save some money down the road. Find out more…
We are attempting to make more things at home. When we make something at home using basic ingredients we cut out lots of consumer packaging and it has a positive impact on our household budget. Currently we make our yogurt and a growing portion of our bread. The most frequent bread that we make is a traditional Indian flat bread called Roti. We make in Trini style and if wikipedia has it right - the specific kind of roti that we make is Sada Roti. Wikipedia lists 4 different kinds of Roti that are made in Trinidad. I suspect as you go about the world you can find many more ways of making roti.
Making roti was a common household task in Trinidad and Tobago when my wife was growing up. The way she makes it now is the same way she learned as a child. She combines white or wheat flour with some baking powder, a pinch of salt and water. Next, she kneads it by hand into smooth round balls about the size of her fist. Then with a large rolling pin she’ll roll out the dough into a flat circle about 12 inches across. Once it is ready she’ll place in on a tara - a flat round piece of cast iron - and will cook it for a few minutes. As the air is heated the bread will puff up into a nice dome . As she takes its off the heat the bread flattens. It is best eaten right then while it is hot. Making roti is a favorite time for us. It is fun to watch, fun to do and great to eat. My 7 year grandson has been helping since he was tiny. I suspect that he can make roti better than I can.
As part of our keeping things simple - we’ve committed to making our own bread. As my grandson points out - If we make it we don’t have to go to the store to buy it.
Benefits:
We reducing packaging waste
Everyone likes homemade bread
We save money
Making bread is fairly simply. We aren’t trying to win baking contests just trying to make our life simpler and better.
Here’s how one household makes roti. It’s not the way we do it but seeing how other people make things that we make is part of the fun. How else can we learn other stuff than to see what other people do?
What can you do that will reduce your energy consumption, help cut back on cooling costs, reduce green house gases and cut back on packing and landfill waste? It turns out that it is as easy as changing a lightbulb.
You can switch your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). According to the the Energy Star website run by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, CFLs used 75 less energy and last 10 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs. Using CFLs can make a big dent in saving energy costs and preventing greenhouse gases.
“If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.” (1)
We’ve replaced our incandescent bulbs with CFLs. The choice is not perfect - CFLs contain some mercury. The amount is suppose to be small and has been reduced since CFLs first came out. The key factor is that incandescent bulbs use more energy. Most energy is still produced by coal-power plants which are the primary source of mercury polution.(2) Our current ecological system is quite complex. The choices we make can involve a compromise or lesser evil. I’m sure there will be better choices in the future. Look for choices that don’t contain mercury or other toxins to start to show up. LED light bulbs will be seen more and more. Expect LED lights to last longer and to use less energy than CFLs. Plus they don’t have any mercury in them. For now I choose CFLs.
I’ve always been interested in living simply and in things that were sustainable. Sure I bought used clothing, used cars, used books, used furniture, and participated in the local recycling programs. Early on I even raised my on food but like many people I got busy living life and lost focus. This past January I resolved to live in a more sustainable way. A catalyst to my thinking was the realization that life for my children and grandson might be much harder unless I started to think differently about how I consumed resources.
Resolved:
reduce consumption of consumer goods
reduce waste - goal - zero-waste
reduce energy consumption
reduce water consumption
Like everything important the first step is to get started. The easiest thing I could do was to turn down the thermostat when it is cold and up when it is warm and to keep unused lights off.
