My Daily Impact: August 22, 23, 24, and 25, 2011

My Daily Inpact: August 22, 23, 24, and 25

This is the tenth entry in my blog.

On Monday night, August 22, I drove the truck downtown to meet my friend Bret for dinner. I drove the truck for two reasons: It was threatening rain, and Bret often lets his roommate borrow the car. The plan was to go to Sweet Tomatoes, but we ended up having food at the center. There was a buffet set out for the HIV testers, and I was invited to join in. There was a nice pasta marinera, and fried, breaded chicken breast. This piece of chicken would be the first meat I ate since the big bar-b-que I finished on Friday afternoon. We went to Pei Wei Friday night where I had a meal with tofu and vegies. Saturday was Sweet Tomatoes, and Sunday was Jason's Deli for salad bar. I like to have such yummy vegie offerings.

Monday's grid power use was 18 KWh, and this did not include charging the truck. This is about average for a hot day with no rain. There was a little rain in the evening, but it did not cool off too much. There is also a problem with the central A/C unit. If it is allowed to turn itself on by the thermostat, it will not cool.

Unfortunately, on Monday evening, I neglected to shut the unit off before leaving the house. The fan ran the whole time, and caused about 3 KWh extra use. I will have this repaired soon.

Tuesday, August 23

I was back to motorcycle training class at the Harley Davidson dealer at 8 AM. I was able to ride the e-scooter  and plug it in there. Since it is only about 3.3 miles from my house, I apriximate less than 100 watt-hours of outside power use. I was responsible for some use of gas because we were on the range training with the motorcycles. We used 500 cc Buell motorcycles, and judging by the way they ran, are not very efficient. We were also just idling most of the time, and the exhaust stunk of unburned fuel. I would like to see a nice electric motorcycle produced in our country.

When I got home, I plugged in the truck, and turned on the A/C. I stayed home most of the rest of the day except to get some stuff from Publix, and get some chicken moggets from Mac Donnalds. I again rode the e-scooter, and was able to keep overall power use down for the day. Total KWh for Tuesday was 25 which included 10 KWh for the 24 miles driven in the truck.

Wednesday, August 24

Back to the Harley dealer for the last day of Motorcycle training. More gas, and more nasty exhaust. The same extra power use for plugging the scooter in there, and three Mac Donnald's hamburgers for dinner. I also had some Green Giant frozen vegies, a banana, and various packaged snacks. These snacks consisted of granola bars, gummy fruit, and some peanuts from a big container. It is hard to avoid packaging when dealing with snack food. I do try to minimize it whenever possible, but it seems that everything has so much wrapping.
Total grid KWh use for Wednesday was 14. There was a nice cooling afternoon rain whiched helped keep this number down.

Thursday, August 25

I took Astro for his morning walk, and his best girlfriend Snickerdoodle was out in her yard ready to play. She is confined to her yard with an invisible fence, but her yard is large enough for her and Astro to play without her getting zapped by the collar she wears.

It was time to wash my whites today. I was out of socks, and almost out of underwear. Because we have had so much rain lately, the water in my rain barrels is clean enough to use for wash water. This cuts the 36 gallon normal use of water down to about 18 gallons. I use the electric dryer to dry my socks and underwear, but today, I was able to catch the dryer before it ran too long. Three KWh got the load almost completely dry. I laid out all of the socks on my bed to let the elastic part of the socks dry completely.

After doing laundry, I e-scootered over to Ikea for breakfast. One napkin in the trash, and a plate, spoon and fork to wash. I used my mug for my coffee. I guess I could get my breakfast without bacon, but it tastes so good. I am trying to reduce my impact not trying to have no impact.

My friend Herb is having surgery on his shoulder today. I offered to drive him to the surgery center, and bring him home. I was going to use my truck to do the full trip, but because he is having work done on his right shoulder, I thought it would be better to use his car. Using his car means using gas, but it also allows him to buckle into the rear seat without having the belt go across his right shoulder. I am at the doctor's office now writing this blog. I did have to drive the truck to his house because there is the threat of rain all day today (thanks Hurricane Irene).

While waiting for Herb to have his work done, I walked over to Subway for a sandwich. I got the Buffalo Chicken Sub to eat there. The person behind the counter automatically started to put the sub into a plastic bag. I was able to stop her, and also return 4 of the 6 napkins she gave me. The sub was wrapped in a wax paper sheet, and that was plenty. It was a sloppy sub, so I got full use out of those two napkins.

After driving Herb home and getting him settled, I went home and had some of those Green Giant frozen veggies that I got on sale. I watched a little TV while the house cooled down, and went to bed. Total grid KWh use for the house was 17 which included 3 for the dryer. I only used two small chargers on the truck, so that probably accounted for about 1 KWh.

This morning, I got some good news. My wind generator has been shipped. I ordered it about a week ago, and they had to wait until they got one in before shipping it out. It will make a maximum of 400 watts, and be a welcome supplement to my solar array. If that thing was on my roof today, it would be making lots of power, again thanks to Hurricane Irene. I am looking forward to installing that windmill next week!

My Daily Impact: August 20 and 21, 2011

My Daily Impact: August 20, 21, and 22

This is my ninth posting to my blog.

On Friday, August 20, after posting to this blog at Panera, I went back home to do some chores. I rode the e-scooter downtown to meet with friends again. I was able to plug in once there, so I added about 150 watt-hours of outside power to my grid power use for the day. We went out to Pei Wei for dinner, and it was served on plastic plates which were then washed and re-used, as were the stainless utensils and plastic cup. The napkin, a large, thick napkin, came back home with me ( I used the same paper towel which I used to dry my hands from the bathroom). The ride home saw some light sprinkles of rain, but was pleasant. Grid power use for Friday was 15 KWh.

On Saturday morning, I went downtown on the e-scooter to walk with my friends. There was no flat tire to deter me this time. I got some coffee from Panera in my mug, and used a plastic stirrer and two sugar packets. We went to P-house for breakfast afterwards which meant more washed utensils and flatware, and a napkin and sugar packets for the trash. I then rode down to the flea market and got some (local?) plum tomatoes. Then it was off to Bass Pro Shops for some motorcycle gloves. These came from China, and included a plastic bag too small to use for garbage.  I charged the scooter twice for about 250 watt-hours of outside power.

I returned home to do some nice napping, and then went back downtown to meet with friends again. I was running late, and knew that charging the scooter was not an option, so I took my truck. I was at least able to give Kenny a ride to Sweet Tomatoes, so at least he saved some gas. Several plates and bowls went into the dishwasher with the utensils, and the paper napkin went into the trash. Truck mileage was 27 and KWh for the day ( not including the truck) was 14.

Sunday morning, I went to church on the e-scooter, then to breakfast at Shannons, then to the library. The usual washing of dishes and utensils, and one napkin into the trash. The e-scooter handled this 25 mile round trip with relative ease and 250 watt-hours of outside power.

I got home and did a load of laundry while the truck charged. I was able to use rain water for the wash, and line dry my shorts. The t-shirts and towels went into the dryer, and through my oun inattention went for the full cycle. I usually empty the dryer when my stuff is a little damp, and hang them on hangers to complete the drying process. I am estimating that the dryer used 3-4 KWh for the complete cycle as opposed to 2 for the shorter one.

I went back into town for dinner with friends on the e-scooter, and we ended up at Jason's Deli. I had a nice salad bar, and used one napkin with the waahed utensils and two bowls. The scooter ride home was very pleasant, and it was a big mileage day for my little electric two wheeler. Total KWh for the day was a whopping 28. This included 11 for charging the truck, 3 for the dryer and aproximately 14 for the house.

Monday morning meant the first day of motorcycle licence endorsement class. I have been riding the Hondas without the correct licence for a full year. The class is at the Harley dealer nearby, and I was able to ride the e-scooter there easily. Class was interesting, and I look forward to Wednesday when I can ride the Honda again.

Looking forward to riding again, LEGALLY! 

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be having the driving part of our classes. This means that we will be using the motorcycles and the gas in them. It has been over a week since I used any gas, and I like to go as long as possible without doing so. I guess I really should count the several times a week that I ride in others cars, but I try to offset this with giving rides in my truck. It would be nice if the truck would seat more than one passenger, but it does haul stuff pretty well.

Tonight, I am meeting my friend Bret for dinner. I will not be able to easily plug in, and the weather looks a bit threatening, so it is the tuck again. I must admit that it is nice to sit on a real seat and listen to music while driving, but I also like the open feeling of riding the scooter.

My Daily Impact: August 19, 2011

My Daily Impact: August 19, 2011

This is my 8th post in my blog.

Yesterday afternoon, I returned home from my errands, and took Astro for a walk. I wanted to see if his doggy friends from around the corner were available for play time before I took him to the dog park. We walked to Lucky's house, and the dogs were not out. I did see Mike working outside, and I waved to him. As we started back home, I heard Hanna start barking. Hanna is a St Bernard, and she is the alpha dog of the household. As I turned around, I saw Snickerdoodle and Duncen were with her. Snickerdoodle is Astro's favorite girlfriend, a Labro-doodle. She was visibly happy to see her friend was there for a visit. Duncan is a terrier, and also likes to play with Astro.

I let my boy loose, and the three had a great old time. Hanna mostly barks at my boy, and sometimes chases him around, Astro is way too quick for her, and sometimes taunts her by sneaking up behind her and sniffing her butt. I really enjoy seeing them all play together.

Since Astro got some good play time in, we did not take the truck to the dog park. This saved about 7 KWh. After a shower at home, I checked the weather radar to see that I could probably sneak my e-scooter over to meet with my friends at 7 PM. I got lucky and made it there bone dry. Kenny and I went out for bar-b-que after, and I had a huge helping of pulled pork (there is that meat thing again). I have to admit that I let the special of the evening override my ecological side. Pork is especially troubling for me because they are so much smarter than cows are. I also had left-overs, and because Kenny gave me a ride to the restaurant, I got one of those small styrofoam containers.

My ride home was a little bit wet. The major downside of any two-wheeled vehicle is the vulnerability to the elements. I had a poncho, and I was able to keep mostly dry. The scooter sat charging at the meeting room while we ate, so there was about 200 watt-hours of power that were not included in the 12 KWh grid power use for the day.

This morning, I mowed the front yard. I have a pretty big yard, and I usually mow it over two diferent days. For our planet's sake, I sold my gas riding mower three years ago, and switched to an electric push mower. It does a great job, and uses very little power, but the width of 19 inches makes for a lot of swaths of cutting. I would like to see an electric mower with a cutting width of about 30 inches. I may try to build one myself.
After mowing and taking a shower, I rode the e-scooter up to Walmart to return one of the items I bought on Monday (when I lost my wallet). I bought a pair of shorts which were on sale, and this extra pair will help spread the time between summer wash loads. I did the same thing with socks and underware earlier this year so that I can always have a full load in the machine when I run it. Sometimes, it may be almost too full, but an extra rainwater rince/wash before the final fresh-water rince helps get everything clean and fresh.

I went to Panera Bread after returning home from Walmart, and ended up with a new plastic knife and napkin with my bagel. I forgot to order it without, and now have yet another plastic knife to wash. I did have my coffee mug, and at least saved that extra paper.

I will be heading downtown soon to meet with some friends, and will take the e-scooter again. I will complete my day's impact on tomorrow's post

My Daily Impact August 16, 2011 and August 17, 2011

This is the seventh entry in my blog.

Yesterday afternoon, I lost my wallet. That really sucks. I rode the e-scooter up to Walmart (serves me right for shopping there in the first place (because it is evil)), and ost my wallet either at the register, or somewhere along the way home. It makes me feel like such an idiot. At east it has been about 25 years since last loosing one. That meant an extra trip to Wamart, but at least it was on the most efficient ride I have. I made lots of calls last night to cancel credit cards, and at least no one had used them yet.

Grid power use yesterday was 16 KWh. Again, there was help from the skies above in the form of cool rain. I did not eat too much yesterday, and the thing with the most mileage on it was the package of Green Giant frozen vegies.

Today, I went to Ikea for free breakfast, and only used one napkin. The plate, cup, tray, spoon and fork went into the dishwasher. At least that store utilizes solar water heaters. I then went to Target for a new wallet. It is made of leather, and came from China. My new wallet certainly has some mileage on it already. It would seem that with all of the beaf consumed in this country that there would be a good supply of leather right here in this country, and even in this state.

It is time to have some dinner, and it wil be one of those bacon-wrapped filets from Aldi along with some more of those Green Giant frozen vegies (buy one get one free at Publix this week). After I finish my walk downtown Saturday morning, I will check out the farmer's market in Winter Park to try to get some local veggies.

Wednesday, August 17

I had a slow day. I caught some type of alergy or summer cold, and I did not feel like doing much. On top of the way I felt, the sky was overcast most of the day. Power use for Tuesday and Wednesday was 15 KWh each. The cooler temperatures due to rain again helped keep this power use down. Thankfully, there was still enough hot water in the tank to take a nice shower.

I did finally go out to the library and to Mc Donnalds. I used the e-scooter, and all of the charging was here at home. I got four hamburgers at Mickey D's because they are only 49 cents on Monday and Wednesdays. Here we go with that meat thing again, but what can I say.

Today, I am meeting my friend Michael at Ikea for breakfast. I will bring my own mug, and use only one napkin. Later today, I am taking Astro to the dog park. It has been exactly one year since I brought him home from the pound, and I wanted to celebrate with him. This means using the truck, and some extra power from the grid. We will see how much extra this will bring up average consumption.

The following picture shows how I try to keep the hot sun off of the front of my house. The extra shade curtain is only necessary August through October.

Daily Impact: August 13, 14, and 15, 2011

This is the fifth posting in my blog.

I had a busy weekend, and therefore I did not post individual updates for Saturday or Sunday. Here is an update of the impacts I had on the environment.

Friday: I rode my Honda downtown to meet with some friends for dinner. We went to Too Jays, and I had a nice Bistro Steak Salad. There was about 7 ounces of steak on this salad, and that gave this otherwise benign meal a fairly large carbon footprint. The amount of grain that a cow eats, the methane produced from cow farts, he processing, and transportation all add up. The meal was served on porcelain plates with stainless flatware and a plactic drinking glass. All of these had to be washed, and the paper napkin thrown into the trash.

The round-tip ride on the Honda that night was about 24 miles, and therefore consumed about 0.2 gallons of gas for 4 pounds of carbon dioxide. I also shared a piece of cake with a friend, and that put a plastic fork into the trash. The total power use for the house on Friday was 18 KWh.

Saturday morning, I rode the e-scooter to downtown to meet with some friends for our weekly walk. On the way, the back tire started to go flat, and I put some fix-a-flat into it. That stuff is nasty. It is hard to get it into the tire without getting a bunch of it onto my hands. It has a petrolium stink and a sticky feel. Yuck. It did get me to the parking garage where I plugged in for about 150 watt-hours of juice.

When I returned to the scooter, the tire was flat again. More fix-a-flat and some compressed air from the firehouse and Mears bus maintenance facility got me about half-way home. The other half was pushing the scooter along the side of the road. I got some good excersize that morning, but also spread some nasty fix-a-flat along my path. Other impacts included some sugar packets form Panera for coffee in my mug, and two plastic stir sticks into the trash. Food was PBJ and cereal, and one paper plate into the trash. I rode the Honda to Kenny's where we took his car to Royce's house for a card game. Carbon dioxide was about 20 pounds from his car, and about 4 pounds from the Honda. Total grid energy use from my house was 15 KWh. This was a little lower thanks to some afternoon rain to cool things down.

Sunday was a lazy day. I woke up at about 8:45, and took Astro for a walk. Astro is responsible for some global impact of his own which I try to minoimize. He pees and poops along the street in my neighbor's yards. Every so often, I take a shovel and bucket and collect his droppings which are then burried in my yard. I buy his food in the largest bag possible, and try not to over-feed him. Astro was a rescue from the pound, and even though he has some impact on our planet, he is very much worth it.

Breakfast was two eggs fried with cheese. The Publix eggs are most likely from a nearby farm, but the cheese probably has a few miles on it. I tried to make some grits, but the supply that I had left in my cabinet went bad, and had to be thrown out. I threw the grits into my yard because they are bio-degradable. I rode the Honda to downtown again for dinner with Kenny, and that 21 miles put about 3 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Our Dinner was a sub sandwich with roast beef served on a plastic tray lined with wax paper. There is that meat thing again, and the transport of all of those ingredients included in my sub. Total grid energy use for Sunday was 16 KWh. This number was again helped from some afternoon rain. I alos have put up the shade curtain for the front window; the light of the sun has changed to where it shines on the front of the south part of my house.

Today (Monday) I had some OJ and a banana, and fixed the scooter tire. I had ordered a new tire and tube about two months ago, and nursed the old patched tube and balding tire along since then. It sucked having to handle that tire and wheel with old, dry fix-a-flat all over it. I washed the wheel and old tire off, and installed the nice, new tire and tube on the scooter. I kept the old tube and tire for possible re-use. The tube has a patch and a new leak, and the tire is pretty bald. I will have to weigh my options whan deciding weather to re-use either of them.

I Rode the scooter here to Panera, and it seems fine. I ordered my bagel today, and it came on a reusable plastic plate (which Panera will wash). I did not get a plastic fork or a napkin because I asked that I not get them. The person who prepared my bagel just smiled when I pulled out my own knife and napkin. I did use a paper towel in the bathroom, and that will go into the trash with the napkin I brought from home. There are also the four sugar packets which went into the trash after the contents went into my two cups of coffee. If I was at Ikea, there would have been sugar from a jar, and hand drying from a jet blower.

What About Using The Toilet?

When I am at home, I use water from my rain barrels to flush my toilet. It took some practice to get the right technique down, but I can usually get a good flush with about 3 gallons of rain water. I also use toilet paper. I use it sparingly, but I use it, and will continue to do so. My friends at Dancing Rabbit use it too, and it is just plain cleaner than the left hand and a bowl of water (yuck!). I do admire our Indian friends for not using paper, but I will stick to my Charmin!

My house happens to have a septic tank. I try to take good care of it (by using only minimal amounts of bleach), but I do now know how it affects the water quality around my house. I know that the Rabbits way of reuse is much better, but I am not quite ready to do that either. I am lucky to be a man, and to have a private back yard. That really saves a lot of flushes.

Daily Impact: August 12, 2011

This is the forth post in my blog.

Yesterday's grid power use was 18 KWh. This was about normal for a day with a high temperature of 95 degrees. I also used about 0.35 gallons of gas going up to my friend Royce's house. Riding the Honda was the most efficient way I could go there because the round trip was 41 miles, and the electric scooter would not make it. We had fun swimming in his nice, cool pool. It was truely refreshing.

I bought some goodies for us to munch on while there: dried cranberries, yogurt-covered raisins, and some fruit punch. I am not sure of the origin of any of these items, and this will warrent further research. The packaging was plastic for the food (will go into the trash), and an aceptic container for the punch (which will be recycled). I enjoyed the swim, the company, and the ride despite the 7 pounds of carbon dioxide produced by the scooter (0.35 gallons x 20 pounds per gallon).

Later yesterday evening, I met with some friends, and had dinner. I had two slices of pizza, and used two plates, a knife and a fork which had to be washed. I also used a paper napkin and a paper towel from the bathroom. I must say that the electric hand driers (especially the new jet-air type) save a lot of paper without using too much electricity. The round trip of twenty miles to dinner was on the electric scooter. Most of the charging was included in the 18 KWh at home, but about 150 watt-hours was from an outside source.

Laundry Day

This morning, I washed my sheets. I do this every 7-10 days. This time it had been 10 days, and my sheets were still OK. I do make sure that I am clean when I go to bed, so there is not much stank ot build up. We have been blessed with a lot of rain lately, so the water in my rain barrels is plentiful and clean. This clean rain water makes for great wash water in the machine, but I still use municipal water for the rince. This means a savings of about 18 gallons in my 1986 model Kennmore.

Sheets are perfect for the clothes line. They are easy to hang, they smell and feel great after they dry, and using the line instead of the dryer saves about 3 KWh of electricity. The clothesline is the most cost effective energy saving device I have installed at my house.

This morning, I got up, walked Astro, had some OJ and cereal, and rode the e-scooter to Panera. Today, I got a bagel. The bagel came on a plastic plate (must be washed) with a plastic fork (which I will wash and reuse), a napkin (trash), and two butters (plastic containers, trash). I brought my own coffee mug, and I guess I will start bringing my own knife from now on. Get ready Panera servers, here comes the guy who just wants the bagel on a plate with no napkin or knofe; what a weird-o!

I have now become that guy who comes into the restaurant with his own utensils and to-go boxes! Look-out its the crazy green guy again! Don't let him catch you throwing away a perfectly good napkin!

What The Heck Made Me Start This Blog?

I am a mad scientist. Actually, I enjoy collecting data, and taking steps to improve the numbers. Years ago, I watched a program called "Thirty Days". This program was part of a series created by Morgan Spurlock. The premice of the series was to take a person (or people) from the comfort of their normal life, and insert them into a new environment. The particular episode I saw took two people from New York City, and placed them into an ecovillage called Dancing Rabbit.

Dancing Rabbit is a community of about fifty people who live their lives in the most sustainable way possible. The only connection to "the grid" is a phone line for DSL internet. They grow most all of their own food, they live in housed made of straw bales and clay (along with some other materials), and share three vehicles among themselves (which they use very sparingly). Any electricity they use comes from the sun or the wind, and they utilize locally-grown wood for heat in the cold Missouri winters. Water comes from the sky, and is stored in cisterns  and their poop gets recycled into natural fertilizer (a process which is time-consuming and labor-intensive to remove harmful bacteria).

Three years ago, I had the privelige of visiting these champions of the environment, and I found them to be some of the nicest, down-to-earth people whom I have ever met. They also have great attitudes, even when the relentless rain turns their pathes into straems of mud! I almost considered trying to become part of their community, but Northeast Missouri is a little too much of a change from central Florida.

If you have a curiocity about this village, subscribe to their weekly newsletter. You can subscribe by visiting WWW.Dancingrabbit.ORG, and signing up. I always enjoy seeing a message from them in my indox, and I hope you do too.

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.