Pondering the Potential of Pellet Stoves

It is cold outside today. The drop in degrees has made me think about energy consumption around my home and what further steps I can take to make this place more energy efficient and save money. I thought of the growing reputation among greenies for the pellet stove.

Even if you aren’t quite ready to take the plunge and go completely “off the grid” a pellet stove is a great source of heat at a reasonable price and reduce the size of a home’s carbon footprint.

Pellet stoves run at a minimal cost (after the initial investment of the stove itself) and make a heck of a lot less mess than traditional stoves and wood burners. Many feel the classic log burning stove can actually pollute the interior air of a home making them a potentially dangerous heating choice. Pellets are virtually smoke free and offer the chance for burning a green fuel.

The actual pellets are made from a number of materials including sawdust and waste left over from other wood related and agricultural processes. Some pellets are uber sustainable being made from corn kernels or soy beans. Seems to me, it would be better to breath in soy beans than new tree wood.

Some greenies consider the pellet stove a carbon neutral product and liken it to buying carbon credits. Whatever you call it, the pellet stove is a money saving, smoke eliminating, carbon and toxic reducing home heating machine.

But of course, nothing in this growing green world of ours is ever perfect.

Besides the initial expense, wood pellet stoves are complex machines which usually require the assistance of a professional installer. Maintenance can cost you some cash too, especially if you aren’t willing to work on upkeep and read the owner’s manual a few times until you “get it.”

As I open another alarming electric bill for my own --- low electric use, always switching off lights and unplugging cords--- home, I think a pellet stove is the way forward. It’s another old school idea that was pushed aside by modern pollution-laden industry.

But pellet stove, you rise again. This time you’ll probably be staying for a while.

Burn eco baby burn.

Freegans: Insane or Smart? (or a little bit of both?)

As I search online for the latest green budget information and details on how to lower your carbon footprint, I keep coming across information, and often jokes, about “freegans.” So I decided to write a blog on these folks finally. I am neither advocating nor condoning their lifestyle but I must admit, I am a tad envious of their low to no personal carbon impact.

So what is a freegan? According to the freegan.info website, a freegan is (and I quote):

“Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.”

These “alternative strategies” are vast and varied but do include the infamous dumpster diving. It’s not just food they look for but furniture, clothes, books, tools, and any other item that can be recovered rather than purchased. Now, I should clarify, not all freegans jump into dumpsters when no one is looking, many smart people ask for free stuff inside the stores before they get dumped in the trash cans.

Freegans are not fans of the “system” but they do seem to be benefiting from it. The items that gather save precious planetary resources, help useful and toxic items avoid the immortal grave of the landfill and role model a minimal waste lifestyle but they do not, in my humble opinion, live out of the system.

They are just clever about the way they utilize it.

It’s not just dumpsters, its swapping items, avoiding petrochemical use and actively attempting to help the planet rather than hinder it. All good things in my book. They may get a tad passionate at times but rather passion than apathy right?

Freegans try to live up to a high moral standard and may perhaps look down on the rest of us consumers. Personally, I’m a middle way kind of gal. If I can get it for free, second hand or use local sustainable products, I will.

But go dumpster diving in little ol’ Wyoming? Probably not going to happen.

Although I’m not completely averse to a quick trip to the city dump to see what’s there. I’ve heard there is a lot of furniture. And I could go late in the day when no one else is there. Just to peruse, to see just what harm people are causing to the planet with their uninformed dumping.

And maybe pick up a chair or two.

But not a sandwich. No, I draw the line there.

Coffee and the State of the Planet

Who doesn’t love a hot rich cup of Joe? Well, nearly most of us do but the impact our brown bean obsession has on the planet is pretty bad. No, it’s absolutely terrible. Every morning, millions and millions of people line up at coffee bars, shops, convenience stores, gas stations and hot drink dispensers to fill up on the nation’s most popular hot beverage.

The disposable Styrofoam coffee cup is a detriment to the planet and increases the size of any carbon footprint. Oh but what about the paper ones you say? Turns out most paper coffee cups are made from bleached virgin tree, meaning very difficult to recycle and not exactly sustainable. Bad bad coffee cups.

But when these unrecyclable coffee cups end up in landfills, things go from bad to worse. The plastic coating on the inside of the cups that prevents the liquid from leaking out? Well when the paper corrodes, the chemicals in the plastic coating off gas releasing methane into the atmosphere. Methane is an uber greenhouse gas that is directly related to the heating of the planet and climate change. Bad bad methane.

So what to do? How can we enjoy our favorite wake up liquid without harming the planet? It’s really quite easy: make your coffee at home. These days, you can find everything for a coffee shop style Joe in the supermarket. Get a coffee maker, a grinder if you must, a few flavored syrups and voila! Home made coffee.

Home made coffee has a much lower impact on the planet (remember to unplug when you are done), saves a lot of money and taste just as good as the planet killing stuff. But there are still areas where things can go wrong.

For instance, making your coffee at home is great until you buy beans from Arabia and carry the coffee around in an off gassing plastic container. We make coffee in the states. If you have to go further a field choose Mexico or Canada over exotic locales. This reduces the transportation footprint and reduces the chance of purchasing unfairly traded beans.

So choose a steel thermos or travel mug for your locally produced made at home coffee. This will lower your costs and your planetary impact. It may also help reduce the amount of trees destroyed each year for cups and force coffee shop owners to make wiser choices in their beverage containers. Remember consumer consume and smart consumers consume at home to instigate change.

Be a carbon reducing coffee warrior and do your part.

Anyone else thirsty?

Making Green Children

Kids, I assure you, are expensive. Every time you turn around they need something else. There are a number of ways to offset your carbon footprint while keep your child as carbon neutral as possible.

Buy children’s clothes at the thrift store. If you start this when they are really young they will never think it odd to receive clothes without tags. In many cases, the clothes at thrift store are from this year’s fashions, have been worn once or twice and sometimes not at all. If you have a child that just must wear designer labels to fit in, then take a longer time at the second hand store. You will be able to find every name brand at super low prices if you take the time to look.

If you must buy new, make sure to get multiple uses out of things. Pass stuff down to younger siblings (yes we all hated it but did it do us any harm?) or give to family and friends with children of the same age. At the very least, put clothes out for freecycling to take worn out clothes down to the fabric recycling bins.

Feed your child locally grown organic produce whenever possible. Getting children used to a diet heavy on the grains and beans earlier will not only improve their overall health, it will save you a lot of money. Remember prepackaged over processed food increase greenhouse emissions in the atmosphere and costs a lot of money.

Pack your child’s lunches for school. This is a big money saver. The school lunch system can be very pricey, depending on your district, and it is always cheaper to pack your own. Just make sure to role model and pack your work lunch as well. Be sure to use reusable containers or reuse plastic containers from around the home.

Teach your child to think green. Place an emphasis on home education and teach your child how to plant seeds, tend to compost heaps and make their own food from scratch. All these green skills we are learning as adults must be passed down to our kids in order for the changes to continue.

Most of all, make your child into an advocate for green living. Don’t brainwash them of course but help them see the logic of protecting their planet. Let them watch the news and visit forests, learn about the ozone layer and carbon footprints. Children are the future and green children will make sure that there is one.

The Ice Caps Are Melting Faster Than Expected

We know the ice caps are melting as the world gets warmer because of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Now a new report out of Cambridge University explains that the ice caps are melting a lot faster than earlier than predicted. If you weren’t doing it before, it really is time to reduce and offset your carbon footprint.

The team from Cambridge has spent several months measuring the thickness and spread of the Arctic ice region and state that much of the ice will completely disappear in the summer months. Within 30 years, the region could be little more than open sea.

Without the Arctic, the whole world will change.

The temperature will continue to rise, changing weather patterns, affecting animal and insect ecosystems, changing crop growing patterns and availability of food sources. Flooding will become a major constant for a number of countries, costing lives, homes, and millions in damage. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere will increase rather than decrease.

A melting icecap situation will change everything.

And all the little things we do, like offsetting our carbon footprints, reduce our waste, recycling materials and trying to leave a better lifestyle is great. It will make a difference. But without the assistance of federal and international laws that force countries to act like smart green citizens, it may not be enough.

Legislation on climate change has to go beyond admitting it exists and something should be done about it to actually doing something about it. Good intentions will not save the planet. Living green on a budget is a fantastic concept: we just need the nations of the world to join in.

Its time to offset your carbon footprint and buy some carbon credits. Tell a friend to try it too. Maybe this whole climate change fixing, ice cap melting reversal thing is a matter of role modeling.

We can only hope.

Choosing Green: The Water Bottle Debate

We all know that the traditional convenience store plastic disposable water bottle is a big no no and does nothing to improve the size of your carbon footprint. But what is the best way to deal with that pesky hydration issues? Everywhere I look I’m being told that every “green” choice isn’t as green as I thought and plastic bottles cause cancer and offsetting and toxins and this and that and ….what to do?

I know the convenience store PET plastic bottle made from fossil fuel by products that off gas carcinogenic chemicals and spends centuries in a landfill are not for me. These disposable single use containers are so bad for the planet and our precious natural resources. No matter what the global corporate big wigs say, oil is finite and therefore running out and who wants to make the problem worse because they were too lazy to remember to bring a refillable bottle?

But which refillable bottle? There are a number of plastic reusable bottles on the market but how do they really help? Sure they reduce the amount of plastic but not the use of plastic. Not really a long term solution.

So the choices are metal or glass. Glass works great for the home but not really convenient or safe for travel. It certainly wouldn’t work in a gym bag or for little kids. Glasses and tap water stay at home.

With metal there are two basic choices: aluminum and steel. Aluminum is one of the most recycled metals on the planet, just look at the success of the can recycling program. But aluminum water bottles are kind of expensive and have suffered some bad pres. Namely, that the liners inside the aluminum outer cases can leach and off gas seeping chemicals into the water.

The smart green planet saving choice is the stainless steel reusable water bottle. Cheap and widely available at home stores and camping stores, the stainless steel container lasts. Its durable, contains no liner and doesn’t need any liner.

What about corn plastic I hear you say? Corn plastic is great but maybe not the best choice for a durable long lasting water bottle, at least not yet. Corn plastic usually cannot stand temps above 110 degrees. So you leave it in a hot car on a sunny day and well….

So a steel bottle will reduce carbon emissions, saves money and keep you hydrated. End of confusion and worry. It’s kinda funny though. Stainless steel canteens are nothing new. Neither are aluminum bottles. Sometimes we forget that green isn’t new, its always been the practical choice.

Green: An Old Fashioned View of Living?

Over the weekend I made about 30 jars of apple jelly. I used glass jars I had collected from past purchases and about 250 fresh apples I got through the freecycle network. People think I’m dated because I like canning. It made me think about some of the old fashioned ways of living that work well with a green lifestyle.

Taking fresh locally grown organic produced and pickling it, making jelly or preserving it for future use is a great way to save money and lower your carbon footprint. Canning reduces the amount of prepackaged foods that you consume, reduces waste and provides a healthier non toxic diet.

Mending clothes seems like a phrase out of the dark ages but it’s a great way to reduce consumer spending and in turn your effect on the planet’s oxygen supply. The less new clothes that are produced the lower the carbon emission from factories. Sewing a tear, hemming pants and patching up jeans are great ways to save cash. Wear your clothes with a sense of green honor and keep the needle and thread handy.

Fixing things is another simple way to save money and reduce your footprint. When the bed rail breaks, don’t throw out the bed, repair the rail. Maintain your home with regular maintenance and clean appliances thoroughly to extend their life. Repair and reuse has always been the name of the game for the thrifty and the green.

Barter with friends and family rather than throwing things away or paying for things up front. Swap skills with neighbors and trade a mowed lawn for a new deck chair or a serviced boiler for a few jars of canned vegetables. This helps lower the community carbon footprint, extend the sense of societal unity in your home town and saves money for everyone.

Think before you buy or use something. Our grandparents generation lived through worst economic times than we are facing now and learned quickly what was necessary and what was frivolous. Before buying or doing anything, consider the real cost both in carbon and cash. Living frugally in a poor economy helps everyone.

It may be a little old fashioned, but it turns out, so is being green.