Daily Impact: August 11, 2011

This is the third post in my blog.

I ended up doing fairly well yesterday as far as my impact to the planet. I had some shortcomings, but overall, I managed to keep my footprint pretty small for an August day in Orlando.

The amount of grid power used yesterday was 15 KWh. The usual amount for this time of year for me is 20, so the overcast skies helped quite a bit. I did a small amount of scooter charging at a parking garage downtown, but that should only amount to about 100 watt-hours. I went to Panera to do some studying of Spanish, but due to leaving my wallet at home (D-OH), I did not use any of their utensils or plates.

The Dreaded Take-out Container:


On Saturday night, some friends and I went to Il Pescatore Restaurant, and I brought home some leftovers in a Styrofoam container. Yesterday, I finished the stromboli within, and the container went into the trash (after Astro licked it clean). Publix used to have a container to recycle these things, but that is no longer true. Today, I will make it a point to put some containers in each of my vehicles so I can avoid this use of nasty Styrofoam.

Mi lavaplatos en siesta ( my dishwasher at rest )

No Such Thing as a Free Breakfast:


This morning, I rode the e-scooter to Ikea for a free breakfast. The store is only three miles from my house, and the price can't be beat. There are however the impacts of dish washing, the paper napkin, and of the food itself. Who knows where all of that food actually comes from, Sweden? I know that the bacon has a big impact on our planet because of the way pigs are raised in our country. The food it takes to feed a pig, and the disposal of the manure is a problematic process. There is also the import of the coffee from South America to think about. I did bring my own coffee mug again, so at least they do not have to wash my mug.

I think I will visit my friend Royce today. He lives 20 miles from me, and that requires the use of my gas scooter. I usually go several days at a time without using gas, but today will be an exception. The internal combustion engine will hopefully become a thing of the past soon. Beside putting out carbon dioxide, it also creates a lot of heat. I would like to see a reliable two-wheeled electric vehicle that has a range of at least 50 miles. Until then, I guess I will have to make due with my Honda at 115 MPG.

As always, I will update the rest of my impacts today as part of tomorrows post.