I feel moved as well...I'm going to buy a bicycle. Granted I wont be using it for work...as there are far too many hills on my rock with steep gradients. I don't mind exercise but why try to kill me?

some more trash bags

It would suck to be in that front building with all those mirrors.

Apurimac
I'm glad you've illuminated the larger problem: possums.

Speaking of bikes, what's a sweet bike to get started with. I don't have one and I feel like I'm doing the environment a disservice.

Mark, I am getting my new bike in a few weeks and I am pumped! It will be my first "real" commuter bike and I'm very excited.

When I first started bike shopping, I was told to look at some major brands like Trek, Specialized, and Giant. So you could start there. The one that I am getting, however, is a Dahon, which I believe Cris is interested in as well. I am assuming you are both male so maybe you should talk to him, lol.

Also, I meant to tell you guys, I am a big NPR junkie and my favorite show is probably Marketplace, not because I'm into all the financial stuff, but because this show looks at all aspects of the world that affect the markets. It's a unique way of looking at things and the best part is that they have a "sustainability desk", and they have reports on "green" things nearly every day.

Last Thursday's show, in particular, was great...they talked about the cap-and-trade system and about a more environmentally friendly way of dry cleaning. Check it out if you ever think about it.....

alright - i didn't want to start a new thread about his, and GTC seems to be the place to go.

Sure, Architects and Designers may not all have much money, but we all still need to consider how to pay for retirement should that golden sunset ever arrive...

So...I've recently begun a conversation with an investment adviser who specializes in Socially Responsible Investing or SRI.

Anyone have experience with this? The guy I've been meeting with is from UBS, which is a huge bank.investment house, and that kind of creeps me out, but i figured, anybody who does this investing for you, n o matter what they are or who they do, they're putting the money into basically the same place.

not all stocks, but stocks, bonds, mutual funds, the whole gamut.

The thing is...they all need to pass the *screens* which they use to filter out the losers like Exxon/Mobil, Wal-Mart and Halliburton.

I'm got a bit of trepidation, and would love to here some other people's experiences if y'all have any.

-ml

I've got no experience with it, but that sounds like an awesome idea. Unfortunately I'm locked into a company retirement plan, but I love the idea of only giving companies you like access to your money. I refuse to shop at certain places, and many of my friends laugh about it, but I maintian that it's the only power I really have as a consumer- not to spend my money in a place if I don't like their practices.

completely agreed rationalist. i have a hard time buying coffee some mornings!

it's the only democracy left, sadly, but the power of the consumer choice is bigger than your vote...especiaklly when they're counted by the kind RNC loving folks at Diebold.

But that's another topic...

The guy who's doing this SRI program has been doing it for a little while, not too long, but more than a couple of years.

he's really nice, drives a prius, blah blah blah, but i think i'm cautious because i actually believe the entire financial sytsem as it's currently constructed will topple within the next twenty years. guaranteed. so i wonder what to do with what little money i have. bank? bad return. mattress? questionable move at best.

and i really don't like the idea that any random mutual fund i buy into might be supporting say...Brown & Root, or Home Depot, etc.

These SRI funds have all passed what i'm told are rigorous tests regarding employee access to healthcare, environmental record, OSHA records, etc etc. But still, Starbucks has apparently re-branded itself as friend to the little man. They have, I hear, great healthcare, high employee satisfaction and from the looks of it, lots of business.

But i hate them with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. (and their coffee sucks...but again, another thread.)

I'm just thinking aloud here and avoiding doing some stainless steel details here, and unfortunately if i avoid them much more it won't be retirement i'm worried about.

Breaking green news here: Blackle saves energy. As an afterthought to this: are architects' webpages more energy efficient as well, because of our love of black?

mightylittle!

Fantastic. I have been thinking about doing this lately too. Not this specific program that you speak of though. My problem is that I have a 401k plan, some stocks (separate from the 401k) and no savings to spend on buying additional stock. But I have noticed some companies that I would really love to invest in - note that I listen to Marketplace, as I posted above - and it's frustrating because I want to support good, environmentally conscious companies. In this capitalist market, it seems like the most accessible way to influence the green movement.

Could you ask your "guy" if there's a way to buy stock with existing stock without actually selling the existing stock (which would result in gobs of tax payments next year for me)? Maybe by using the dividends? I should probably get my own "guy" too, huh?....

WonderK - It's not really a defined program, but the investment advisor that i've been talking to has a specialty in SRI. He does personal investment management now, but prior to this he was working for both non-profits and small companies working with their 401K programs and what-not.

i've (gasp) never had a 401K before, o i don't know how they're structured. can you make requests for your portion to be invested in certain funds, or is it completely at the discretion of someone else?

most SRI's go through some combination of about 100 different "Socially Responsible Mutual Funds" and are spread across the risk specturem like any other group of funds.

What i like about it (aside from putting my $$ where my mouth is) is that all of the companies involved have to go through extra screening for their social factors, so maybe they're getting a closer financial loo-see also.

ask your human resources dept. or office manager or whoever it is that runs the 401K and find out if you can get the $$ switched over top these funds.

performance for SRI's has apparently edged slightly higher over the S&P 500. But wtf do i know, really.

Here's one.

Here's two.

Here's three.

OK, of all the "good green" bags that we've posted:

Alchemy Goods

Freitag

Lovelife


..... who knows if they have extra padding for laptops? And do they have the stabilizing strap so you can wear them on your back while riding a bike and it doesn't fall off? I am leaning towards a backpack for commuting but I could be persuaded to try one of these recycled bag models if they have what I need....

So my husband was driving home from Chicago last night listening to an NPR program on permaculture. He's decided we need to change how we live, and he's ready to do solar panels (we're hoping for Citizenre), rainwater catchment, gardening (we do a little already) and...pigs. He wants to raise some pigs.

I'm totally onboard with these ideas, except I'm very conflicted about the pigs.

Also, he's ready to sell his '63 Ranchero to buy a '32 highboy body and turn it into an electric car. I'm not ready to let go of the Ranchero yet, even though it gets about 10mpg, because it was a labor of love for 4 years and I hate to see that personal craftsmanship leave our lives. (And I look wicked cool in it at jobsites....except for the 10mpg thing, which actually makes me look like an idiot.)

Yep, being green is full of difficult choices, we can all admit this!

I think the messenger bag by Alchemy comes with a stabilization strap, and Frietag sells separate laptop sleeves that are fit to Macs. Maybe the solution is Frietag sleeve + Alchemy bag?

Although I plan to get a neoprene sleeve from Apple with my laptop so that I can toss it into any bag of sufficient size.

lb, could Mr. Bell convert my (future) gas scooter to a gas-electric hybrid? I found some cute electric scooters but the fastest they go is 35 mph. Admittedly, this is probably the fastest I will ever go on a scooter but I'd still like the option to go faster.

Also please help me understand how raising pigs will help the environment?!.....

like a garden, you can grow them at home and then eat them. I would rather have laying chickens and a neighbor with pigs who is willing to barter...

Are the pigs really intended for you guys to slaughter yourselves and eat? Or just for nibbling the grass down?

I think I'd prefer a cow, myself. They keep the grass short, provide milk (lots of people are drinking unpasturized these days), and yes at some point they make very good eating, though I don't think I'd have the heart to kill any animal myself.

i lived rurally for many years in northern vermont. all of my neighbors had laying hens, meat birds, pigs, cows, the whole thing.

my one neighbor across the street would buy a cow every year, then slaughter and eat said cow.

after three years of this, they got one cow that they became quite attached to. needless to say, that cow still lives.

they also had a tough time explaining to the neighborhood kids every year where the cow went!

y'all are tired of me talking about 'back when i was a chef' but i've always been a big supporter of people gaining closer connection with their foodstuffs.


LB - Pigs are messy buggers, but they're so darned cute and friendly! (And delicious...) They're great for eating everything out of your kitchen. scraps and everything turn quickly into pork butt, shoulders, picnic hams, bacon, sausage, the whole works.

you know what the italians say...you can eat everything but the OINK!

but it may turn you into a vegetarian in the process. slaughteriing animals is not for the faint of heart.

i say go for it! post pictures for us all to see...

and if you're really adventurous, i'll share my recipe for Head Cheese Made Easy.

That's disgusting. I love animals. Both to pet and to eat. It may not be very environmental of me but I prefer a disconnection with my bacon, thank you.

Anyone else have an opinion on the bags? Before I lose my appetite for dinner?!?

Sorry if I am a little late for the bag discussion, but I wanted to let you guys know about Voltaic bags....I didn't see that anyone mention them yet. If so, sorry for the repeate.



I have had one for the last year. My iPod and cell phone are only powered by the sun now!!!
It is a small thing, but I feel that any little bit helps, plus I get a lot of people asking about it and that will raise awareness of solar power.
They can't do laptops yet, but they are working on it. The technology gets better very quickly.

Entasis79> fantastic! Thanks!

I think when I am finished, I will be a walking manifestation of green consumerism, ha. Gotta start somewhere....

Yes, the notion would be one pig a year (or two:"In case one gets lonely" so there we are already anthropomorphizing/expressing concern for the emotional well-being of our food) to grow then slaughter. Since we live in the burbs the slaughtering would take place at a selected local farm/butcher.

We used to be very connected to the meat we ate, as Brian's best friend lived in upstate New York on a farm and dealt in local organic/grass fed meats. Brian constructed a chicken plucker for the farm and did a couple of seasonal chicken slaughters there, though I did not go up for those trips!

So yes, the idea is to have local meat. I too would prefer a few chickens, but they can be noisy and dig up the lawn too much, too.

mightylittle, the pigs are indeed adorable and smart! I don't know if I'd have the heart to do it yet, I fear when the temperature dropped pre-slaughter I'd be wanting to bring them into the house.

It's sad to me that when I lived in downtown Philadelphia I was much closer to my food sources than I am here in the heartland of America, the greatest agricultural land in the world. I am doing a local CSA but haven't found a good meat source yet.

Entasis- yeah, I posted those a page or so ago, as well as my preferred brand, Juice Bags (who, btw, apparently make an attachment that will allow their bags to power 'some laptops'). What area are you in? I like these a lot and have been considering it, but am worried about whether or not they'll even work in Seattle. Not exactly the solar-power mecca of the world, y'know?

Sorry WonderK...Maybe a little TMI, but i'm telling you...If you're gonna' eat 'em, you should have the stomach to kill 'em! 8-)

Am i wrong there?

Though the head cheese with a little truffle, some pistachio...SUBLIME!

While we're on the subject though...This raises some pretty important questions about the environmental impact of eating conventionally raised meat and poultry.

A staggering amount of potable water goes towards the production of beef in addition to staggering amounts of grain. I'm not going to throw out any random stats, but the numbers are pretty insane here. Beef, in general, is a highly delicious but extremely inefficient source of protein, from an energy standpoint.

And pig farming is ruing the Carolinas. Acres and acres of fetid *lagoons* which are supposed to hold the toxic run-off from spraying down the feedlots..and they all break and flood the neighboring watersheds. It's quite a travesty actually.


Wow. This was a real downer post.



Back to the bags.

I use a great shoulder bag designed by the now defunct bagmakers called NewSun. Really great, small time hand-made shop run by an old boyfriend of a lady-friend of mine. Too bad they're not around anymore.

What i'd like to see is a bag that has a re-charging station that's connected to the pedalling of the bike. No worries about cloudy days, and you'd probably generate enough juice to power a laptop.

Batteries dead? Time for a bike ride!

Agreed re: lambs, tumbles, that's a good suggestion. They are indeed dumb as a stump compared to pigs, and lamb is delicious.

Rationalist,
Sorry, I didn't see that post.
I looked at the Juice Bags...very cool. They seem like they have a larger panel area, maybe thats why they can do some laptops?

I love my Voltaic, I would recommend them to anyone. I live in NYC. The sun power was only a problem here in the winter. I don't know what exactly the science is behind it, but the bag was barely charging all winter. But now in the spring it is no problem at all again.
I would imagine that Seattle should be fine, but you could email them and ask. The cutomer service there is one of the best I have experienced with any product. They answer emails right away.

Mighty,
I love the idea of a bike adapter to hook up to the backpack! That is great! Do you have any pictures or web sites for the NewSun company?

mighty- did you hear the recent story on the Korean bunnies? Apparently, in North Korea where there are lots of people starving, someone bred giant rabbits, thinking it would solve the food problem. Logic: rabbits breed like wildfire, start with two rabitts end up with 40, but rabbits are too skinny to make good food, so break really big fatty rabbits and we'll have enough food for everybody! Unfortunately, the bunnies ate more than their weight in food (by quite a lot), and the scheme could not be supported.

Yes: meat is a terribly inefficient food source. That can't be disputed.

Sorry to derail this to a food discussion (though I think food choices are key to living gently on the earth).

So: anyone have a good source for rain barrels? I haven't googled yet, just trying to get the discussion back to built infrastructure...

i worked with a farmer a while back who had a worm box below his chicken coop...the combination of the chicken poop and the worm castings made for some outstanding compost, he kept the chickens off the lawn, and the resulting tomatoes were also amazing...

lambs and goats are also kind of noisy, aren't they? and have a tendency to eat EVERYTHING around them.

you got a nice pen to keep the little menagerie in?

and tumbles you're right about the age of most animals at slaughter. pretty young. pigs within the first year, same with lamb. chickens way lower...maybe 4-5 months.

the europeans tend to let their animals grow slightly older, makes for more strongly flavored meat.

LB - have you ever seen the french puolet de bresse with the blue feet??

now those are some amazing birds.

LB - if you ask me, the way we eat is one of the most important aspects of sustainability.

but now back to the regularly scheduled program...

speaking of rain barrels...i'm also looking for a decent source on installing a simple home grey water system. to catch run-off from my kitchen sink and the laundry...i've not had too much luck in locating a good straight-forward system.

mightylittle....I don't have the stomach to kill anything. I can't even kill spiders, and I loathe spiders. If they cross my path and there's no one else around I'll usually just try to capture them and take them outside. Failing that, I run away.

Therefore, using your logic, I would starve to death, lol. I firmly believe that we all have a purpose in life....which is why, if you don't have the heart to kill your own food, it's good to live in a community where you can find someone else who can :o)

PS. I agree with the comment "the way we eat is one of the most important aspects of sustainability".....I think any type of discussion relating to sustainability is fair game here.....besides, variety and diversity are key elements of the green movement, and we don't want the discussion to grow stale!

words to live by, WonderK...no doubt.

I've had luck in the past getting rain barrels from a Coca-Cola plant. Big (50-55 gal), with two threaded holes on top, and the used to contain food grade syrup, rather than some nasty(er) chemical.

They were either translucent white or an unfortunate blue, which is easy to deal with if you dont like it.

hmmm, news in carbon offsets from treehugger. Remember we talked about carbon offsets being mostly bunk but having the potential to be a good thing? Apparently an Indian tribe in Idaho is selling offsets, and using the money to plant trees and restore their reservation. Sounds like one of the better offset programs I've heard of. And I had no idea what to price of carbon offsets were until now- not too shabby for Americans.

Wow, it only took me two days to read the whole thread in between CADing.

So my footprint:
FOOD 3.2
MOBILITY 0.2
SHELTER 1.5
GOODS/SERVICES 1.2
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 6
We live in an apartment, we have a garden, get our other fresh veggies and fruits from local growers, the meat probably nailed us on the food. I bus to work and run home. We have 6 in my fam and live in a 1000 sf apartment with solar hot water and super windows. The grocery store, hardware store/pharmacy/chinese restaurant...are across the street. And we would still need 1.4 earths if everyone lived like me...sad.

Anyway, we get our rain barrels from the vintners, we also cut them in half and use them for tree pots and gardening. Some emergency preparedness company sells the plastic ones online, but we only use this for potable for human use in an emergency storage.

On bags, we get ours secondhand, not very stylish but very functional.
j

You know it's passed the tipping point when you see articles like this:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/citigroup-pledges-50-billion-fight/story.aspx?guid=%7B094D7724%2D960B%2D4275%2D8B13%2D83C1666A062D%7D&siteid=yhoof

Citigroup and Bank of America duking it out to see who can pay the most to fight global warming.

j

joshcookie, where do you live?!? Utopia? Seriously, 6 people in 1000 sf....bravo, sir.

seriously...and i thought i was livin' small.

Santa Rosa, CA. All but one city in the county has an urban growth boundary, we live on the edge of town, It is a 4 mile run into the center of town. The prices are so high, if you don't fit 6 people in 1000 sf, 3 of the six have to have a full time job.
Seriously, our "greenness" is half ideology, half necessity. We really can't afford to live any other way here on one (soon to be) architects salary.
j

i hear you jc - i used to live in napa. same idea.

though i'm in the east bay now.

i like santa rosa. it's a cool little town, though i haven't spent too much time there.

So this is my first post to this thread, and please don't behead me for my question; you did say that everything was game.

If Joshcookie lives his way and still needs 1.4 earths, couldn't the problem be fixed more quickly, and effeciently by simply elimating some of the population? I realise this seems harsh, and that a mass killing isn't the most ideal situation, but maybe population control is something to be looked at. With other species, there is always something to keep the population in check, but with humans, anything that curbs our numbers is fought by science.

Is this even a valid path to consider? It seems that even if we got our footprint down to only needing one earth, in less than one generation, we'd have to half our footprint once again to cope with the growing number of people.

A side note on living small, my Dad's childhood home was 800sf, 6 people. My childhood home was 1600 sf (they excavated a basement under a 800 sf house), 9 people (up to 11 when we had exchange students and then my nephew). I found in dumbfounding that a family of 3 would need more than 1000 sf.
j

sarah, i was thinking about that too.

i wonder just how many people this planet can sustain.

isn't population supposed to explode to 8 billion by 2050?

there's this guy, but i have to say, reducing the planet's population to 1 billion seems pretty out there...

The house I grew up in was 800sf for 3 people. It felt a little small, but that's partly because it just wasn't a very efficient use of space.

Sarah- I think it's a viable thing to examine, but not really the problem. The countries with the smallest population growth (US, Japan, Euro-countries) are some of those using the most resources per person, and some of those with booming populations use tiny amounts of resources per acre (most of the undeveloped/developing countries). So controlling the population seems like it would bring more inequity between the haves and the have-nots, to me.

well sarah, you may have a bit of a draconian tendency, but you have definitely touched on the biggest elephant in the room.

hands down.

population explosion will ruin us all, potentially. it will exacerbate every single scarcity we face, as it will also no doubt highlight a further separation between the haves and the have-nots as we all scramble for resources.

hope this image works...


from wikipedia's page on pop'n growth. shows percentages for pop'n growth by country. why is sub-saharan africa slated to grow by 300% i don't know...maybe i'm reading it incorrectly.

and also, some countries have been experiencing a decline in poulation - Italy for one.

While not a country (though it would like to be) Vermont has been dealing with the effects of population reduction too. nobody to milk the cows and grow the weed apparently. 8-)

how might we reduce the population though?

or at least slow the growth?

china did it for years...but it's kind of both draconian and anathema to a free society. must people choose to only have one, or possibly two children??

should there be a lottery to decide who gets to have any children?

those are some tough questions.

amen, tumbleweed!

hmm, wait, I need an edit button! I put that badly- population control=good, as long as it's applied considering the relative situations of the different areas of the world. Population elimination or any sort of one size fits all approach = bad.

Population does not equal consumption, take my family of 6 using less resources than the average family of 3. No one knows what the planet can sustain because their really is no direct relationship between consumption and people. Obviously there is a limit, but the US and Europe make up a small proportion of the population of the world, but are responsible for most of the consumption. Italy has increased it's energy consumption by 19% since 1980, but has a declining population.
I don't think killing people would work, as simple as it seems.
j