Posted on 12/21/2010 2:21:23 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
As we celebrate this season of gifts, gatherings and light, we'll probably also use extra energy, travel extra miles and buy things people don't need. Drat.....
Q. Which method of shopping has the smallest carbon footprint and uses less energy: store shopping or online shopping?
A. Both forms of shopping add to carbon dioxide emissions that end up trapping heat in the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. But the exact impact depends on a lot of factors, including the shipping method, the weight and number of your items, the number of miles you'd travel to the store, your mode of transportation, the origin of the product, the time of day, the climate in which you are shopping, and … the list goes on. .....
[snip]
Q. Are there more eco-friendly ways to dress for the winter?
A. Getting new winter gear (especially if it's petroleum-based fleece, nylon and polyester) creates more demand for petrochemicals and then more landfill waste when the items get thrown away. There are, however, more earth-friendly alternatives.
Buying from and giving to resale shops always helps lower your carbon footprint, and they're often a great place to find snow pants. But if you want new winter wear, consider clothing made from eco-friendly resources such as bamboo, organic cotton, sustainably harvested wool and hemp. Some winter garments also feature charcoal (as a moisture wicker) derived from coconut husks and bamboo. Although down feathers are a renewable resource, some people are not comfortable with the way the feathers are harvested...
[snip]
Final note: ... The entire life cycle of an artificial tree adds up to the same carbon dioxide emissions as driving about 200 miles. And that's about 47 miles less than the average trip during the Christmas season.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Q: My butt itches.
The man who repeatedly beats the Met Office at its own game
[Excerpt]Never mind the record low attained in Northern Ireland this weekend. I can't remember a time when so much snow has lain so thickly on the ground, and we haven't even reached Christmas. And this is the third tough winter in a row. Is it really true that no one saw this coming?
Actually, they did. Allow me to introduce readers to Piers Corbyn, meteorologist and brother of my old chum, bearded leftie MP Jeremy. Piers Corbyn works in an undistinguished office in Borough High Street. He has no telescope or supercomputer. Armed only with a laptop, huge quantities of publicly available data and a first-class degree in astrophysics, he gets it right again and again.
Back in November, when the Met Office was still doing its "mild winter" schtick, Corbyn said it would be the coldest for 100 years. Indeed, it was back in May that he first predicted a snowy December, and he put his own money on a white Christmas about a month before the Met Office made any such forecast. He said that the Met Office would be wrong about last year's mythical "barbecue summer", and he was vindicated. He was closer to the truth about last winter, too.
He seems to get it right about 85 per cent of the time and serious business people – notably in farming – are starting to invest in his forecasts. In the eyes of many punters, he puts the taxpayer-funded Met Office to shame. How on earth does he do it? He studies the Sun. [End Excerpt]
Scratch it.
It doesn’t but I had to ask.
Do you want input?
The Libune is still promoting a discredited movement.
The Tribune should print this drivel on toilet paper
so it can be useful.
If there were a terrorist attack by Ql Qaeda upon Chicago
tonight tomorrow’s headline would read “Muslim children in anxiety over Christmas”
.
Keep it up you misereable leftist rag.
bfl
The intentions are not good.
The intention is to control every aspect of how you live your life.
Tell these Global Warming fantacists to get stuffed at every opportunity.
I don’t believe that. You have a clear forum to state your case..
Do you honestly believe Al Gore has good intentions?
I meant to bump your thread. Nothing else.
I don’t get the promotion of bamboo as green. It is heavily processed (exactly the same as rayon, a wood pulp product) to make fiber for clothing. To make flooring out of it, it takes a lot of resins to hold it together and then a long boat trip from Asia to get to this country.
So don't shop.
A. Getting new winter gear (especially if it's petroleum-based fleece, nylon and polyester) creates more demand for petrochemicals and then more landfill waste when the items get thrown away.
So freeze your a$$ off. It's good for the planet.
A. Good old-fashioned shoveling with a tool you already own is your greenest option, but many don't have the time or strength to tackle snow removal this way.
But shoveling snow takes energy, which emits CO2, so it's better not to remove the snow. That's better for the planet.
A. With today's fuel injectors, you don't have to let your car warm up for more than a minute and a half before taking off, most experts say.
But what are you doing owning a car anyway?? Get rid of it and you won't have to worry about warming it up. That's better for the planet.
A. Although big, old-fashioned holiday bulbs can look cool and vintage-y, miniature lights use about 70 percent less energy.
Become a grinch, and get rid of those lights. They probably offend some of your neighbors, anyway. You'll be doing good for the planet.
A. Turn down the thermostat before your crowded holiday parties and take advantage of all the heat generated by guests in holiday sweaters.
But you shouldn't be having parties anyway, since your guest might, Gaia forbid, drive cars. Turn the heat down anyway, but don't buy a sweater, since that requires shopping. See first suggestion above. It'll be better for the planet.
I’m sorry if I messed up.
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