Carbon neutral websites

[gaydemon_jr]

http://www.coco2.org/

Just interested to know how many people would offset their websites carbon emissions? What do people think?

[marcjacob]

I personally wouldnt. I dont think my carbon footprint is that high. Whenever I fly Im happy to offset that, but I dont drive, I try not to waste energy and never use a bag at the supermarket unless I have to.

I do my bit by trying to reduce, re-use and recycle as were told to, but compared to most people my carbon footprint is really very low.

Its very easy for a few of us to go silly offsetting everything, but everyone needs to share the burden and I just think Im doing my part. That probably sounds selfish but when you see people getting a carrier bag in a supermarket for one tin of beans you think "why do I bother when others couldnt care less about it".

[gaydemon]

I'm trying to stop using those plastic bags as well, but i keep forgetting to bring my horrid brown organic bags..

On the other hand, a lot of website owners work from home and dont have to travel etc, which definitly reduces their carbon footprint.


I personally wouldnt. I dont think my carbon footprint is that high. Whenever I fly Im happy to offset that, but I dont drive, I try not to waste energy and never use a bag at the supermarket unless I have to.

I do my bit by trying to reduce, re-use and recycle as were told to, but compared to most people my carbon footprint is really very low.

Its very easy for a few of us to go silly offsetting everything, but everyone needs to share the burden and I just think Im doing my part. That probably sounds selfish but when you see people getting a carrier bag in a supermarket for one tin of beans you think "why do I bother when others couldnt care less about it".

[Gaystoryman]

I'm trying to stop using those plastic bags as well, but i keep forgetting to bring my horrid brown organic bags..

On the other hand, a lot of website owners work from home and dont have to travel etc, which definitly reduces their carbon footprint.

We shop at four or so different stores, got the damn bags for each, and still we forget to take them at times, but we try, which is more than I can say for some.

Besides, all those plastic bags make a mess out of the corner, so now that I make the wife clean it, we seem to remember those environmentally friendly bags a lot more whistle

We also switched to cold water washing, which helps and the wife drives his diesel car rather than the other, so we do our part, not to mention the recycling.. five bloody containers worth every pick up.. :bang:

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

our carbon footprint is pretty small - the family put in solar at the Berkeley home over 13 years ago when everybody else was upsizing the square footage and putting granite counter tops in for "higher resale" -

we drive half as much as before and almost always travel two to a car - we bought and use "re-usable" bags for the market - and use those new energy efficient light bulbs - and we've always used low voltage high intensity as well - we no longer need any AC and use very little heat - we have all new appliances that are rated for high efficiency - we use drip system for irrigation rather than water wasting rainbirds - let's see, what else... oh yeah, and of course we recycle and since we don't use condoms... well... there's no extra there in terms of waste...

oh, and how could I forget... we're also in a special recycling program that takes our extra DVDs and plastic packaging and makes it disappear! along with the extra paper box covers and wrap and stuff... I wonder what our porn has been re-cycled into? Wouldn't that make an interesting video... OK someone out there - go with it and report back

[RottenRay]

Some carbon footprint thoughts...

1) Compact Fluorescent Lamps (those energy saving twisty things) take a lot more energy to manufacture than standard lamps. They contain more glass which must be "blown" (don't go there!) in a multi-part process and they contain circuitry to make them work. They also contain a lot of mercury and must be properly recycled - you're not supposed to chuck them out with the regular trash. I've given up on them for the moment; I'm back to using long-life incandescents but I've upgraded a lot of my fixtures so I get the same effective light from a single 60 watt instead of three 40 watt bulbs. When LED (solid state) lamps come down in price, I'll start switching over to them.

2) Plastic Shopping Bags are not entirely evil - if you reuse them. They're also free. Most of them now are designed to biodegrade, so if you use them for trash bags you're getting double service. They also force you to take out the trash more often, which is good for the ecology of your home or office.

3) The concept of replacing an older appliance that still works with a new one that's energy efficient is sort of backwards - manufacturing something like a refrigerator, a computer, a clothes washer, et cetera consumes a lot of energy. Wait until your 1980 Frigidaire quits before hauling in a new one.

4) Consolidate your trips, but also think about the time of day you'll be driving. Many of us are in the position to plan things so we're not out in rush hour traffic waiting at traffic lights. The less time you spend sitting at idle and the fewer times you have to accelerate hard to blend with freeway traffic, the more you save.

5) Use public transportation whenever possible. Those vehicles are scheduled to run, so there's no excuse not to ride on them.

6) Scavenge and re-use whenever possible. In most US cities, there are at least a few places you can buy excess construction materials, cabinetry, lumber, et cetera. You can also look around your neighborhood: Some time back, one of my neighbors tore out his redwood porch decking because it was worn and ugly. This lumber then turned into a planter which runs along my back fence, with the ugly side of the boards hidden by potting soil. It won't last forever, but no trees were harmed in the process.

7) You can save a lot of energy when cooking by planning your meals. When you grille something like bratwurst, burgers, chicken breasts, et cetera grille a lot at one time and freeze the leftovers - you can thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and then microwave them for a very short time and still have great flavor. If you roast a chicken or a leg of lamb in the oven, find side dishes you can also roast so you don't need to use more energy cooking them. (This isn't a new concept - people were adept at "hearth cooking" long ago!) Also, put a screen over your garbage disposal and throw out the junk instead of running a 1/2 to 1 horsepower motor to chop it up and a gallon or two of water to rinse it down. Run your dishwasher only when it's full.

8) Keep your freezer and refrigerator as full as possible. The more food in it, the less it will cycle because when you open the door, less chilled air escapes. Also make sure the evaporator coil in back is free of dust, so it can get rid of heat faster.

9) Try to plan energy intensive tasks to coincide with each other. For example, whenever I can I run the dishwasher and the clothes washer at the same time. That way, the water heater runs for about 30 minutes total, instead of 25 minutes twice.

10) Get good door and floor mats, and keep your entrance areas squeaky clean. This will let you cut down on the number of times you have to vacuum. Keep your vacuum's filter squeaky clean, too - that lets you vacuum much faster.

[TropixxxMichael]

Well, GW tells me I don't have to worry about Global Warming, so I don't.

666



You know what I'm gonna do?
I'm gonna get myself a 1967 Cadaliac Eldarado Convertable, Hot Pink!
With whale skin hub caps,
An all leather cow interior,
And big brown baby seal eyes for headlights.

And I'm gonna drive around in that baby,
At 115 miles per hour,
Getting one mile per gallon,
Sucking down quarter pounder cheeseburgers from McDonalds in the old-fasioned non-biodegradable styrafoam containers.

And when I'm done sucking down those grease ball burgers,
I'm gonna wipe my mouth in the American flag,
And then I'm gonna toss the styrafoam containers right out the side,
And there ain't a God damn thing anybody can do about it,
You know why?

'Cause we got the bombs, that's why.
Two words, Nuclear Fucking Weapons OK.

[HunkMoneyLuke]

I have always been a firm believer in eco-friendly lifestyles. Things like solar heated water, fans instead of aircon, unplugging "idle power sucking" devices like dvd players and TVs, etc....all of these not only are more eco-friendly, but also save you money!

[RottenRay]

I have always been a firm believer in eco-friendly lifestyles. Things like solar heated water, fans instead of aircon, unplugging "idle power sucking" devices like dvd players and TVs, etc....all of these not only are more eco-friendly, but also save you money!

I totally agree with you. Being green is more philosophy than it is simply using the latest "planet saver."


This will probably get a few of you laughing, but one of the best ways to teach yourself energy conservation is to

-- wait for it --

spend some time in a motorhome.


Go rent a 40' class A unit and spend a week in it camping somewhere without external hookups - you'll soon start remembering to turn off lights, take shorter showers, et cetera.

Or you'll be leaving ahead of time because you're almost out of something... A liberty we don't have [yet] when talking about Earth!

...

[TropixxxMichael]

spend some time in a motorhome.

...

Or come visit me on my boat. Even with my solar panels, the lights can't be on all night unless you want your nav lights or anchor lights to run out at 4am, which trust me, you don't.

[AlexManifestMan]

5890 sq feet and less then 30 bucks in electricity each month. It can be done and done beautifully.

By the way, no trees were harmed in the production of our latest solo jo vid.

[HunkMoneyLuke]

By the way, no trees were harmed in the production of our latest solo jo vid.

but i bet your boy did burn some wood ;)