Has anybody gone further than is usual towards saving the planet by global warming?
My contributions of late are when I go shopping, before they can put the (usually packaged) goods in yet another plastic bag, to say in a loud voice "No Plastic bag, I've got a good bag here. Save the Planet"
The other one is that I have an ongoing project to collect all possible rain water in tanks at the far end of the garden which is sufficiently above house level so that this week I finally completed the plumbing to put the downstairs loo on rainwater, if the rain water runs out two stopcocks enable return to mains water. This has an obvious benefit financially as we are on metered water at about three times the cost of water alone as a means of estimating sewerage costs. An added bonus is that there is an additional tap so that rain water can be used in the house for odd jobs.
Allan
Save the Planet
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud
weve had solar panels on the roof for the last 14 years to help heat the hot water. there is an imersion heater in the tank with the stat set to 50 degrees on a timer to come on in the evening if the tank is cold. most of the year the solar puts it way above that and the heater doesnt kick in.
all the ceiling lights in the house are low wattage.
the bungalow is a 14 year old timber frame with 6 inches of fibreglass in the walls and ceiling and 2 inches of polystyrene in the floors. we use a bit less than a thousand litres of heating oil a year.
all the ceiling lights in the house are low wattage.
the bungalow is a 14 year old timber frame with 6 inches of fibreglass in the walls and ceiling and 2 inches of polystyrene in the floors. we use a bit less than a thousand litres of heating oil a year.
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oldherbaceous
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Since my career change three years ago into gardening, i now do all my work in the village so i don't use a car, i just take my barrow of tools with me, my furthest two jobs are right at the other end of the village, which is about three quarters of a mile, but what a lovely walk it is.
Lucky old me, don't you think.
Lucky old me, don't you think.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
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Chantal
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I do all the usual stuff at home and my neighbour and I now have less than half of one wheelie bin of rubbish between us each work. I've also hit on every one at work and ge them to collect all the office recycling in baskets and not the bin. We now shred all documents with personal details which go into my compost bin. Other paper, newspapers, magazines etc I take home and put in my recycling bins (no collection from work), the cans and bottles I also take home and the cardboard I take to the tip. We even have a jar for the used tea bags which I take back for composting. I also walk or cycle the 2 miles to work whenever possible (about 80% of the time)
My parents have gone one further and had solar panels fitted to their house. They are planning on moving soon and the company who fitted them will move the panels and system, free of charge, to the new house (only done if installed within 7 years of moving) but my mother is refusing to do this. She says that by leaving them there and putting new solar panels on the new house whoever buys their old house will be doing their bit for the planet too!
My parents have gone one further and had solar panels fitted to their house. They are planning on moving soon and the company who fitted them will move the panels and system, free of charge, to the new house (only done if installed within 7 years of moving) but my mother is refusing to do this. She says that by leaving them there and putting new solar panels on the new house whoever buys their old house will be doing their bit for the planet too!
Chantal
I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
We too were shredding non-glazed paper to go in between in the compost but we now have a pet rabbit so it comes in useful as litter and then the 'enhanced' litter goes into the compost which can't be bad.
You may have noticef elsewhere my notice re. Propapaks. My original were all bought long before we moved here and that was nearly 20 years ago. even most of the new design have had several crops through them. I now have some casualties where mice have nibbled away at them so if anybody knows the best repair filler for expanded polystyrene I would like to know. Polyfilla works but it is relatively heavy.
My wife collects aluminium drinks cans, eventually they will raise money towards the funds for the Hereford and Gloucester Canal Restoration. The footpaths between here and Town are regularly littered with them.
Allan
You may have noticef elsewhere my notice re. Propapaks. My original were all bought long before we moved here and that was nearly 20 years ago. even most of the new design have had several crops through them. I now have some casualties where mice have nibbled away at them so if anybody knows the best repair filler for expanded polystyrene I would like to know. Polyfilla works but it is relatively heavy.
My wife collects aluminium drinks cans, eventually they will raise money towards the funds for the Hereford and Gloucester Canal Restoration. The footpaths between here and Town are regularly littered with them.
Allan
Chantal
I have recently been considering installing solar panels....with all the hype that goes with them I am reminded of the old adage that "if something is too good to be true it usually is"
Apart from the obvious evironmental issues have your parents found the solar panels to be effective?
I have recently been considering installing solar panels....with all the hype that goes with them I am reminded of the old adage that "if something is too good to be true it usually is"
Apart from the obvious evironmental issues have your parents found the solar panels to be effective?
I am in my own little world, ...it's OK, ...they know me there!
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oldherbaceous
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That just goes to show that even i can be wrong, 
i thought Allan had a really interesting topic here, and would be overwhelmed with answers. 
You never can tell, can you.
i thought Allan had a really interesting topic here, and would be overwhelmed with answers.
You never can tell, can you.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
We had someone come from Centre for Alternative Technology to do us a report on the ways in which we might be able to increase our self-sustainability. The report was thick, detailed and useful, looking at everything from having a wood-fired boiler (we have lots of wood, but it would also be lots of work!) to putting in a wind turbine (expensive and rather too seasonal) to different sorts of solar panels and where best to site them, plus all sorts of advice on conservation. We are currently musing on what to do next and will definitely get solar panels, but the grant situation is a bit unsettled at the moment.
We shop locally and grow as much as possible to avoid too much shopping. We tend only to take tiny holidays anyway - the odd 3 days here and there - as we live in such a beautiful place, it's a delight to stay at home. We have generally taken the long-weekend type of holiday abroad (went to Damascus last year for 4 days) but are now actively thinking of taking holidays within the UK, since there is so much of it we haven't seen yet, and I am also exploring where one can go by train, to cut down on air travel. Can anyone recommend somewhere to go in February by train, for a nice relaxing reasonably warm break?!!
Waste: Every possible bit of food waste is composted, and the bits that can't - mostly meat remains - is chucked along the field hedgerow (It's our hedge, I hasten to say!) and soon disappears.
Our big waste problems are: (1) computers. We have some elderly computers, heavy, outdated, and not working. I took them to the dump and he told me to put them in the General Waste. I felt simply awful doing it, but what can be done with them? (2) plastics: everything from plastic packaging wrap to clingfilm. Our local dump has no facility, so again they go to landfill. We shop locally for practically everything, and luckily our local shop sells everything loose, so there isn't too much. At the checkout, I use boxes rather than bags, and then re-use the boxes for all sorts of stuff and finally either put them in the cardboard recycling container at the dump, or spread them over a fallow bed as a mulch (our shrubbery is currently covered with boxes!) or tear them up and put them in the compost heap.
I'm very interested in the idea being put about, of Not Shopping at all, apart from food and private necessities. I couldn't possibly not buy books, they are my complete weakness, but confess that otherwise it sounds a really good idea - which would pay for itself!
Alison.
We shop locally and grow as much as possible to avoid too much shopping. We tend only to take tiny holidays anyway - the odd 3 days here and there - as we live in such a beautiful place, it's a delight to stay at home. We have generally taken the long-weekend type of holiday abroad (went to Damascus last year for 4 days) but are now actively thinking of taking holidays within the UK, since there is so much of it we haven't seen yet, and I am also exploring where one can go by train, to cut down on air travel. Can anyone recommend somewhere to go in February by train, for a nice relaxing reasonably warm break?!!
Waste: Every possible bit of food waste is composted, and the bits that can't - mostly meat remains - is chucked along the field hedgerow (It's our hedge, I hasten to say!) and soon disappears.
Our big waste problems are: (1) computers. We have some elderly computers, heavy, outdated, and not working. I took them to the dump and he told me to put them in the General Waste. I felt simply awful doing it, but what can be done with them? (2) plastics: everything from plastic packaging wrap to clingfilm. Our local dump has no facility, so again they go to landfill. We shop locally for practically everything, and luckily our local shop sells everything loose, so there isn't too much. At the checkout, I use boxes rather than bags, and then re-use the boxes for all sorts of stuff and finally either put them in the cardboard recycling container at the dump, or spread them over a fallow bed as a mulch (our shrubbery is currently covered with boxes!) or tear them up and put them in the compost heap.
I'm very interested in the idea being put about, of Not Shopping at all, apart from food and private necessities. I couldn't possibly not buy books, they are my complete weakness, but confess that otherwise it sounds a really good idea - which would pay for itself!
Alison.
I remember hearing on a radio 4 broadcast a few months ago that Swiss scientists had realised that burning rubbish was the most environmentally friendly way to go, as the heat /gas generated could be used more usefully than all the recycling efforts could produce. I was expecting a big debate on this in the media but never heard any more about it. Is it the case that it was stymied by the environmentalists or chancellor with an eye on tax revenues, I wonder.
Arthur e
Arthur e
Re. solar panels, are you referring to thermal i.e. hot water or photo-voltaic?
The former are relatively cheap, as far as I can make out the latter are too expensive for general use but have application where the grid system is beyond reach. I caught a cold on 3 large panels sold to drive fountains, they succumbed to rotting of the elements after 2 years, £300 wasted. I have 2 new ones at the farm, better made I hope but the essential batteries come out expensive even with battery protectors.
Be very wary of over-optimism from CAT, some good ideas but tending to be fanatical.
The former are relatively cheap, as far as I can make out the latter are too expensive for general use but have application where the grid system is beyond reach. I caught a cold on 3 large panels sold to drive fountains, they succumbed to rotting of the elements after 2 years, £300 wasted. I have 2 new ones at the farm, better made I hope but the essential batteries come out expensive even with battery protectors.
Be very wary of over-optimism from CAT, some good ideas but tending to be fanatical.
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Mr Potato Head
For train travel, you would find it hard to beat this website
http://www.seat61.com/
Written by a true lover of train travel. I've taken his advice on a couple of occasions and never been disappointed.
http://www.seat61.com/
Written by a true lover of train travel. I've taken his advice on a couple of occasions and never been disappointed.
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submariner
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From what I read in my morning paper, we had better shoot all bovine creatures!
Sorry, but I am completely sceptic about "save the planet". We, of course can be environmenty friendly,and save, recycle what we can, but, personnaly I do not think that it makes an iota of diference. This old world of ours has been through so many cold and hot periods that I think that this is one of our warm up times. The Romans were growing grapes in Northumbria, and Cumbria, for goodness sake. I saw a programme recently which said that the peat bogs in Indonesia, put out more CO2 in a DAY, than we do in a year. Why did we not implode in the 19-20th century, when even London was covered in smog several times a year, and all the industrial giants were just throwing their waste and CO2 everywhere? I honestly think that the FOE et al have jumped on yet another band wagon, just to show they still exist! Not all scientists think that the world is going to end tomorrow! We only hear from those that do because it fits the scenario to which the "environmentalists" have chosen to hitch their wagon. I'm sure that if I were to come back in 200 years, they would have turned it round completely, to suit their book.
Sorry, but I am completely sceptic about "save the planet". We, of course can be environmenty friendly,and save, recycle what we can, but, personnaly I do not think that it makes an iota of diference. This old world of ours has been through so many cold and hot periods that I think that this is one of our warm up times. The Romans were growing grapes in Northumbria, and Cumbria, for goodness sake. I saw a programme recently which said that the peat bogs in Indonesia, put out more CO2 in a DAY, than we do in a year. Why did we not implode in the 19-20th century, when even London was covered in smog several times a year, and all the industrial giants were just throwing their waste and CO2 everywhere? I honestly think that the FOE et al have jumped on yet another band wagon, just to show they still exist! Not all scientists think that the world is going to end tomorrow! We only hear from those that do because it fits the scenario to which the "environmentalists" have chosen to hitch their wagon. I'm sure that if I were to come back in 200 years, they would have turned it round completely, to suit their book.
Love veg!