My Daily Impact: September 16, 17, and 18, 2011

This is the 22nd post to this blog.


Friday, September 16, 2011

I worked around the house most of the day, and got the van ready for my trip to DC next week. I bought a bike rack from the Habitat store, and I modified it to fit on my trailer hitch. It fits well, and will keep my bike out of the inside of the van so Astro can spread out.

I rode the Honda to my meeting on Friday night, and we went to dinner at El Piscatore Restaurant. I had the Tortellini de Stefano (a house special), and it was delicious. There was some meat and pork in the dish, but it was mostly pasta. I neglected to bring my own to-go container, and got a small Styrofoam one for my leftovers. Oops. The Honda's CO2 contribution was probably anout 4 pounds, and the container probably adds to that.

Total grid power use for Friday was 11 KWh. This is now the new average for a 90 degree day, and 75 degree night.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

I got up early to walk Astro, and to meet my friends downtown to walk. I was able to use the e-scooter, and plugged it in at the parking garage. I got coffee in my mug at Panera, and got a cup for my friend michael. The impacts of this were a cup, a lid, a sleeve, sugar packets, stir sticks, and of course the transport of the coffee from South America.

After our walk, we went to breakfast at Brians. Eggs, potatoes, and sweet rolls were my food, and the added impacts were plate washing a napkin, and more food and coffee transport. Maybe it is time to raise chickens for the eggs?

After Brians, it was to skycraft for some diodes for the windmill. The one I am using now is very small, and may burn out in a strong wind. I got home, and tested the diodes, and found that the volt meter registered voltage both ways through the diodes. Current should only flow one way, and I thought that the diodes were bad. Turns out they are not. More about that on Monday's post.

I rode the e-scooter downtown to meet with friends again in the evening, and we went to dinner at Too Jays. I had the Tilapia dinner... yummy. With all of the riding of the scooter (probably about 55 miles), I used about 300 watt-hours of other's power, and solar power at home to charge the little thing.

Total grid power use for Saturday was 12 KWh. I guess I ran the A/C a lot.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

I stayed around the house again getting things ready for the big DC trip. I did a load of sheets with some towels. I was able to use mostly rain water: completely in the wash cycle, and about 1/2 of the rince cycle. Although it rained a little bit, I was able to dry everything on the clothes line. The towels benefitted from the rain; they are soft instead of sandpaper rough like the usual line-dried result.

In the afternoon, Kenny and I went to Costco. He drove and the trip probably put about 20 pounds of CO2 into the air. We both had a sampler lunch while there, and then both got some goodies to bring home. I do not think anything that I bought there was produced locally. At least maybe the bigger quantities mean less packaging.

Later, I rode the e-scooter back into town for Thai Chi, and later dinner. We went to Jason's Deli where I had the salad bar. I am not sure where the food came from, but at least there was no meat involved. I had to ride with Kenny to the restaurant and back because I neglected to charge the scooter during the Thai Chi session. An extra 6 pounds or so of CO2 from that mistake.

Total Grid power use was 9 KWh. Thanks rain and cooler temperatures!

Monday, September 19, 2011

I drove the van up to Skycraft today. I wanted to make sure everything with the bike rack was OK before departing on my trip to DC. The bike rack is fine. I talked to Dale about the diodes, and we put them through the same test as I did at home. It turns out that digital volt meters are so sensitive that they will read voltage even though there is very little current passing through them. Now I can hook up the windmill using the new diodes until I get a new voltage controller.

I am now sitting at Panera with my mug full of coffee. I forgot to bring my knife and napkin for the bagel, so new ones will go into the trash. Oops again. Like Kermit the frog says " It's not easy being green" ! I'll head home and reconnect the windmill. The CO2 from my van trip is probably about 27 pounds, maybe a little less. For my trip, I will be putting quite a bit of that stuff into the air, and I would like to do better. The reality is that to travel with my dog, it is the only cost-effective way to go. It costs $ 25.00 per day to board him, and it will only cost me $ 30.00 per day to board both of us in DC. I will try to barter with one of my friends for future trips; maybe he can stay for free next time.