[Greenbuilding] ENERGY STAR Clothes Dryers Program Launch

[Benjamin Pratt]

One could argue that people that save lives or find cures for diseases
are contributing to overpopulation, and upsetting the natural order.

On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 11:53 AM, Steven Tjiang <steve at tjiang.org> wrote:
> We need more people who live in caves and eat grubs and roots, don't bathe
> or do laundry.  Their carbon footprint would put all of us to shame.  We
> need the example of the cavemen to shame the righteous on this list.  After
> all, houses and clothes are just "social constructs" and really not all that
> necessary.
>
> ---- Steve (KZ6LSD)
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 7:18 AM, Paul Eldridge
> <paul.eldridge at ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Grace,
>>
>> I live in a Maritime climate which means that our local weather is
>> dominated by rain, fog and high humidity; consequently, line drying can be a
>> challenge at the best of times. And to keep our home from turning into one
>> giant mould box, I run our dehumidifier almost non-stop five months of the
>> year, so I'm not going to rack dry our clothes and further add to the
>> moisture load.
>>
>> I've taken several steps to reduce our home's environmental footprint.  As
>> mentioned, I purchase 100 per cent renewable electricity from Bullfrog Power
>> (wind and low-impact hydro) that covers off 130 per cent of our household
>> needs.  I've also converted our home to electric heat and in the process
>> eliminated some 5,700 litres a year of fuel oil demand; even so, our total
>> consumption -- space heating, domestic hot water, cooking, major appliances
>> and all plug loads -- is a little over 9,000 kWh/year, and falling.  This,
>> for a 44 year old, 2,500 sq. ft. home in a climate that is colder than that
>> of Buffalo, NY.
>>
>> We buy much of our food from local producers, recycle diligently, all of
>> our clothing is purchased at second-hand shops, even the ThinkPad that I'm
>> typing this on is seven years old and was three years old when I acquired
>> it.  We walk or bike just about everywhere we can and have stopped taking
>> holidays.  Our water consumption varies between 100 and 130 litres a day
>> (http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo69/HereinHalifax/WaterHistory.jpg). We
>> use so little water that the city replaced our meter thinking it was
>> defective and have been back twice looking for signs of tampering.  In
>> addition, the work I do professionally eliminates about 15,000 kWh of
>> incremental customer load per day, seven days a week -- that's over twelve
>> tonnes of incremental CO2(e) that's eliminated each and every day of the
>> year.
>>
>> So, you'll have to forgive me if I sound a little testy about having to
>> defend the use of our dryer, but I feel that I've more than carried my
>> weight.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Paul
>>
>>> On 07/22 at 22:46 PM, Paul Eldridge wrote:
>>>
>>>> /  I've line dried in the past, but have come to appreciate the
>>>> convenience
>>
>> />>/  of tossing everything into the dryer, twisting a knob and pressing a
>> />>/  button, and it seems that I'm far from alone in this.  And if
>> someone
>> />>/  disapproves of my choices or finds my behaviour morally repugnant,
>> I'm
>> />>/  OK with that too.
>> />
>>>
>>> I agree that it's convenient.
>>>
>>> If our energy prices reflected the actual externalities - incrementally
>>> depleted resources, added pollution in emissions and PVC-covered wire in
>>> landfills, etc - then I would have no problem with your choice.  You
>>> would be paying for it.
>>>
>>> The problem right now is that we're NOT paying for our choices as we
>>> should be, and so the feedback loops which influence our behavior are
>>> weaker and longer than they should be.
>>>
>>> When someone puts his used motor oil down the stormwater drain, that's
>>> convenient, too - so little of the impact comes down on him as an
>>> individual, while ALL of the benefit accrues to him.
>>>
>>> Grace
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Greenbuilding mailing list
>> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
>> Greenbuilding at bioenergylists.org
>>
>> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
>>
>> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Greenbuilding mailing list
> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
> Greenbuilding at bioenergylists.org
>
> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org



-- 


b e n j a m i n p r a t t

professor art+design
the university of wisconsin stout