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Got resolutions?Some ideas for green resolutions that are achievable, meaningful, and maybe a little bit novel
New Year’s resolutions, as we all know, are for the most part entirely pointless — made in one breath, forgotten in the next. So in that spirit of general futility, I offer a few ideas for green resolutions that, either through novelty or just ease of use, may inspire more than a passing commitment. Please leave your own ideas below. Idea #1: help make “livable streets” a reality in your community All politics is local, said Tip O’Neill, but most of us still don’t pay much attention to local politics. Issues at a community level are often driven by the triumvirate of homeowners, business owners and car owners — good people, no doubt, but narrow in their interests. This won’t change if you don’t help make it change. Happily, a thriving network of community organizers is doing great work to promote a people- and environment-centered development agenda, ranging from this new bus system in Cleveland to this bike-sharing program in Tulsa to this massive street festival in New York. Support their good work! A few ideas for getting involved:
Idea #2: eat more plants I’ll take it as given that no one is going to adopt vegetarianism as a result of this blog post. But, speaking as one omnivore to another, perhaps I can convince you that reducing the environmental impact of your diet is both easy and enjoyable. The carbon footprint of food is an insanely complicated topic, so I’m going to organize these food-related resolutions around a radically simple proposition: eat less beef. Some possible resolutions:
Idea #3: downgrade your gadgets I hesitate to post this, because, well, it smacks of treacly feel-goodism. But anyway: I recently lost my spiffy web-enabled cell phone. I replaced it with a comically out-of-date, refurbished flip phone, with the intention of riding out the last few months of my service contract and then getting a shiny, shiny iPhone. Here’s the heartwarming bit. Since switching to the junky, used phone, my quality of life has gone up appreciably. Turns out that when you’re stripped of mobile email and web, your heart rate decreases, you have more serendipitous encounters with puppies and wonder-filled children, and your bursitis goes away. I miss the mapping functionality of my web phone, but I find the survival skills I honed during my pre-mobile-internet years slowly returning. So no iPhone for me. The key to this act of voluntary simplicity was making it involuntary. Resolving to spend less time stating at little screens never would have worked. Do you have a love-hate relationship with any electronic encumbrances? Now is as good a time as any to cast them off (read: recycle them). The environment may or may not benefit, but your pocketbook probably will, and your sanity almost certainly will. Image by Flickr user booleansplit. Comments
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Adam, I find your downsizing on gadgets laudable, but when making a resolution, do take into account the “bigger” picture: I noticed that when I switched to my iPhone my general computer use went down significantly. I never imagined how much such a powerful pocket device could be employed as a full-blown computer. I use my iPhone heavily for email, notetaking, and Internet (along with several other ”apps“), and because of this I found my need for going to my MacBook Pro went down significantly. Since it uses a fraction of the energy of my laptop (not to mention a desktop computer), it netted a noticeable reduction in my carbon footprint.
I believe the strategic, intelligent use of technology is critical in addressing the energy/climate crisis, and on that note, my suggestion for a New Year's resolution would be ”Say No to a big screen television!“ These are wasteful energy hogs that consume a significant percentage of household energy. Better yet, just say no to television in general.
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by Monty on January 7, 2009 6:35 AM
I am not so certain that your energy reduction by having an iPhone is as fantastic as you might think. If you are just turning on your laptop to check something and then putting it back into sleep mode, depending on how often you do this it might actually use significantly less power than an always-on cell phone. Do keep in mind that cell towers use an extraordinary amount of electricity, and your use of the device is only part of the full carbon picture.
That said, people replace cell phones, on average, once every two years - which is two to three times higher than the rate of laptops and desktops. It only gets worse when we are talking about a new gadget like the iPhone 3G (which, by the way, uses more electricity than the original iPhone).
I am not saying to avoid using an iPhone, I am merely pointing out that thinking there is a carbon savings by using one may be a bit naive.
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by Roger on January 7, 2009 6:54 AM
A computer is also connected to the Internet, so you have to consider the use of the broadband connection as well (Comcast energy usage, etc etc). I'd wager that an ”always-on“ iPhone still consumes less energy than standby on a computer (IPhones, whose tiny battery can run a full day under normal usage, consume much less energy, and much longer when not using their computer functionality). When on, laptop usage is around 20-40 watts (depending on peripherals, and even more with an external display), a desktop much more.
I'll stick with my claim that using an iPhone to replace communication and other computing functions consumes much less energy than the laptop or PC/landline/cell phone combination.
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If your electric utility offers the option, switch your household to 100% renewable, 100% wind, or 100% nuclear power. The renewable and wind options would probably cost more than what you use now, but any of the three would eliminate thousands of pounds of fossil CO2 emission every year (equivalent to thousands of miles of driving a car).
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Buying 100% carbon free power may feel better than the environmental benefit actually generated. The reason for this is that many states already require utilities to provide a portion of power from carbon free sources through a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). For a state with a 20% RPS, there would be no net environmental benefit from an individual switching to carbon free power unless more than 20% of customers make that same choice (i.e. 20% of customers would "receive" 100% carbon free power, the remaining 80% would "receive" full carbon power and the utility will have satisfied its RPS requirement). It is only when customers in aggregate demand more carbon free power than is required by law that additional green supplies will be built thus creating an environmental benefit.
Also, your utility has likely priced in the cost of supplying carbon free power in the rate base paid by all customers. Choosing to pay a higher rate without causing the construction of new green power supplies (see above) just lines the pockets of the utility.
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For the record, I agree that the environmental impact of downsizing is pretty marginal (I tipped my hand on that when I said "the environment may or may not benefit"). I do think that cutting down on electronic waste is a good thing, though.
Good points about the electricity consumption of laptops. Based on my personal usage habits, I'd guess that my mobile use was additive, not a replacement for my computer. But that may just be me -- I'm practically attached to my computer via umbilical cord.
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A useful tip is to use your Kill-A-Watt meter to compare your energy usage with computers. It helped to solve a debate my brother and I were having regarding laptops vs slim desktops/LCD displays. It turned out my MacBook Pro consumed much less energy (about 3x) than even a ”green“ desktop. When I have it tethered, it is using around 14 watts, as I recall. But it is important to add all the peripherals (including the Internet cable box, etc.) to get an accurate assessment of energy usage.
I agree that using an iPhone to replace some your laptop needs is not going to be a significant savings in the big scheme of things, but since I have switched over to the iPhone for general communications (email, blogging, twitter, etc) and daily activities, it has been enlightening to see how much of my being tethered to a computer was for such simple communication.
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Another idea/resolution: If you need to/want to eat out at any restaurants with plastic flatware, bring those plastic knives and forks home to recycle (and encourage a bin at the restaurant on the same visit!). Throw the items in a portable sealed container that you have slipped in your bag and wash everything in the dishwasher with the rest of your well-packed load when you get home. Now you just have to toss them in the appropriate recycle bin when the load's done and new landfill space has just been saved!
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live in Cleveland. check. (thanks for the props! glad to know all these years of traffic-inducing construction was worth it!)
read Michael Pollan. check.
don't buy iPhone. check. (i was coveting the G1, but you've given me significant reason to reconsider)
give me a challenge here!
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Already kicked in some green resolutions for this year, although they were intended for health reasons more than the environment! I decided to limit my meat intake to chicken and fish (all responsibly sourced) in order to trim my fat intake and I handed in my bus pass to force me to cycle or walk to work, shops, cinema, etc.
I also got myself an EEE PC as well which has some pretty nifty power settigs and certainly uses a hell of a lot less juice than my clunky old desktop with its enormous monitor.
I've also sworn off buying material junk like DVDs, unnecessary gadgets and anything else that's just going to take up space (except books...)
Bring on a green 2009!
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I'm already eating more plants, and renew my commitment to eating even less high-fructose corn syrup!
The latter is trickier than it sounds. It's in so many things.
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