How far out of your way do you go?

I stopped drinking Mott's apple juice. I found a metallic taste to it and checked the fine print and low and behold...apples from China. I now only buy Martinelli's which is made from USA grown apples.
Does that really have anything to do with this topic?

 

I'm obsessed.

Food seems to be a theme running through this thread and that's exactly what I'm trying to conquer next. There are no food coops near me so I've contacted my village to see about renting a public parcel of land on which to grow my food. Not surprisingly, they have scrapped that program but I did locate a neighboring suburb that does rent out land for this purpose. This phone call is slated on my list of things to do and as a matter of fact, this thread just reminded me of the urgency.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lefat1 @ Nov 21 2007, 10:28 AM) [snapback]542371[/snapback]</div>

Regarding local apples:
In Kalispell MT we have co-op's where we get our local grain, beer, pears, cherries, cheese, meet, etc. ... and apples. I haven't seen local apples in the grocery stores, but for the co-op. Weird.

 

We switched to 100% wind power from Green Mountain Energy. It costs more but it's carbon neutral, so we can run our A/C all we want guilt free.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lefat1 @ Nov 21 2007, 09:28 AM) [snapback]542371[/snapback]</div>

Yes. And now that I know Mott's imports apples from China, I won't be buying their apple sauce.

The most extreme thing I've done so far is put PV on my roof. They upgraded the service to the house and left the old cables, which are copper, so I'll be stripping the covering and recycling all of that copper as well.

My New Year's resolution last year was to recycle more. Our blue can recycling changed to accept more materials, so I've been putting the rinsed out metal cans from food and all sorts of paper and cardboard in there. (The alum. cans, glass and plastic bottles *I* take to recycling to get $$ back.)

I've been having trouble shopping local. There is a "Farmer's Market" in a side street near my grocery store, but when I went there, they said their produce isn't local either. So still looking.

Of course my best local source is my parents. They have a large lot with many fruit trees and a garden. So when things are in season they have way more than they can use. They put baskets of lemons or oranges out for people to take free fruit while on their walks. I get bags of whatever I want.

 

I sold my other cars
I sold my large ineffcient 5yr old house
I rent a room from a friend
I stopped buying more crap than I actually need
I stopped eating certain foods like Shrimp
I try to search the products I do buy and inform others on those products (think diamonds, Pepsi, Walmart etc.)

I've changed career goals and dedicated my life to the study of ecosystems and education of the public in such matters. I am curently enrolled and taking classes towards the goal of an Ecology and Biodiversity degree. I also work as an intern for Placer Land Trust (a local, non-agressive, NGO for land preservation), and I contribute time to work with Dry Creek Conservancy (a local watershed restoration/preservation NGO). I also spend a large potion of my time on campus running the environmental club, and working with the Associated Students and our faculty-based environmental group (The 7th Generation) to build a greener campus.

I do more than some, yet less than others. If we all contribute some then we have some hope.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Nov 21 2007, 12:13 PM) [snapback]542450[/snapback]</div>

We used to have a community garden that was extremely popular and productive. Between emminent domaining and clearing the land and actually building the freeway, there was this huge strip of nothing in the middle of our neighborhood. A local activist organized a community garden and it thrived for years. (That's how long it took to get the freeway built.)

But when the garden was razed and the freeway was built, the city did absolutely nothing to help to relocate the community garden. And so.....it is no more.

I think I've mentioned our (Republican) local government before in other posts such as the refusal to initiate water recycling as "too expensive". I guess, why designate a parcel for a community garden when you can build apartments on it?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ezbngrn @ Nov 21 2007, 12:49 PM) [snapback]542475[/snapback]</div>

Photovoltaic. Panels generate electricity from the sun. It should zero out my electrical use.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ezbngrn @ Nov 21 2007, 09:49 AM) [snapback]542475[/snapback]</div>

Photovoltaics

Like these ones on a building at CSU Chico!

 

our little apartment is passive solar but we won't be there much longer. instead, we'll be moving to a tiny 1 bedroom near campus so i can walk and DH can drive to school in the prius. our "other" car needs to be treated very gently.

when DH moves away to school, i'm going to move to a 2 bedroom and find a room mate. we're going to buy a cheap used honda insight for him to commute with and i'll be in the prius.

we have CFL lights, we compost and recycle, lights always off when we're not in a room, we try not to waste anything. i cancel all unwanted junk mail, catalogs and offers of credit for identity theft prevention but that also cuts down on the amount of paper that gets sent out to us. we get all our bills online and i usually pay electronically using the service our bank provides. i try to avoid buying excessively packaged items. don't use any sort of aerosol, once this spray can of baking oil is gone it's being replaced by something that's non aerosol.

unfortunately my job generates a lot of chemical and biohazard waste and such that cannot be recycled.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ezbngrn @ Nov 21 2007, 12:56 PM) [snapback]542487[/snapback]</div>

It was $23,000. I'll be getting $6,000 back from the State in the form of a rebate check in a few weeks and I'll get a $4,000 credit on my Fed income tax.

I expect to average 400 kWh production per month. It's a 2.4 kW system with 16 Sharp ND-187U1 187-watt solar modules and one SMA SB4000US(240V) 4.0 kW inverter. With the inverter I have I can add 4-6 more panels in the future should my electrical use increase....like if I get a plug in or EV.



Additional costs were $450 to upgrade electrical (my half of upgrade split with installer), plus $100 for wood for new gate and $100 for new lock for utility company access to meter.

I'm also replacing my water heater with a Nortiz 751 on demand tankless this Friday. Cost will be about $3,000. I'll be getting $300 back on that through my income tax.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Nov 21 2007, 07:36 AM) [snapback]542372[/snapback]</div>

That seems a bit silly. I guess it just costs too much but come on. They have to sort all of the co-mingled stuff anyways. Are you just talking paper recycling? I can't see them chucking aluminium and steel because there's a candy bar wrapper in the bin.

We recycle as much as we can, try to reuse stuff (don't use plastic shopping bags, etc), compost. We get 100% of our electricity from wind power. We also try to keep our energy use to a minimum (CFLs, lights off when not in use, shut off computer when not it use, etc).

 

Godiva, that is one sexy rack you have there. :lol:

Seriously, it turned out great.

 

Now I see a benefit to having very close neighbors. They've no room to plant trees that would ultimately shade your pretty panels! Nice job.

I know there was another thread that scrutinized a company that leases panels instead of selling them outright. At the time, I didn't appreciate that though the consumer doesn't own them, they are taking ownership of them in the sense that they have to cover the costs of damages and insurance. On a recent Living W/ Ed, he had a couple on the show that was utilizing this option and thought it was a great idea. Wondering if anyone here has done this and what their experiences have been...........

 

Sun Edison does that, though I think they only deal with commercial installations. They sell the power to the customer at a fixed rate for the term of the agreement. Companies like it because it minimizes their variable costs. Only works in companies with solar rebates/subsidies though. Otherwise it's too expensive. On the residential side, I've heard about a few of these but they've sounded like scams.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tripp @ Nov 21 2007, 05:03 PM) [snapback]542580[/snapback]</div>

That was my perception as well after reading their contractual documents. Maybe not so much a scam, but certainly a little upside down on the true cost benefit to the consumer. Just curious if there had been any positive movement as I certainly cannot afford a system without heft incentives.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Nov 21 2007, 03:39 PM) [snapback]542571[/snapback]</div>

The house to the south used to have a large palm tree in the front but that was taken out by a previous owner and paved to become two parking spaces. It didn't cast much shade anyway. The backyard of that house is also now almost all concrete so the chances of them planting a tree that would grow tall enough to shade my house is pretty remote.

The roof angle is about 30 degrees. Optimal for year round. The direction is almost due south. (Actually a degree or two to the east rather than west, bummer.) And I still have plenty of roof space left. Nothing on the detached garage so far but who knows?

All in all pretty ideal for a house built in 1922.

I'll be taking before and after pictures of the water heater and post those when it's done.