Health and Diet Scottish Recipes Ferret for Ferrets


Re: [pf] CO2 by average Americans and rich Americans. A statistic.
by Molly Williams
28 November 2000 20:18 UTC

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Sharon,

> effect). Does anybody have it? If I remember correctly, the top three things
> were: get rid of your car, become a vegetarian, don't have children (or
> limit your offspring to 1). The publication was a reaction to the plethora
> of books and pamphlets on easy things you can do to save the planet. The
> "easy" activities are usually things like sorting your recyclables, using
> both sides of the paper, turning out the lights, etc. -- all commendable and
> necessary, but not enough to do the trick. The point was that real
> environmental preservation will require us to make radical, difficult
> lifestyle changes (at least those of us in the developed world; many people
> in third world countries don't have the choices we do).

Sounds interesting. I know I shouldn't but I am patting myself on the
back for accomplishing two of the three things you listed (vegetarian,
no kids)!

The Union of Concerned Scientists' book, /The Consumers Guide to
Effective Environmental Choices/, also focuses on the biggies -- Their
"priority actions for American consumers" are:

Transportation:
1. Choose a place to live that reduces the need to drive
2. Think twice before puchasing another car
3. Choose a fuel-efficient, low-polluting car
4. Set concrete goals for reducing your travel
5. Whenever possible, walk, bicycle, or take public transportation

Food:
6. Eat less meat
7. Buy certified organic produce

Household Operations:
8. Choose your home carefully
9. Reduce the environmental costs of heating and hot water
10. Install efficient lighting and appliances
11. Choose an electricity supplier offering renewable energy

These are all elaborated on, of course.

They answer the question, why do Americans drive so much?, this way:
* Driving is affordable
* Communities are spread out
* Driving is often convenient and satisfying - "Given our culture's
emphasis on personal freedom and independence, this psychological
motivation may be as important as any other."

Next comes a section on "Avoiding High-Impact Activities" like
powerboats, pesticides and fertilizers, gas-powered yard equipment,
fireplaces and wood stoves, recreational off-road driving, hazardous
cleaners and paints, and products made from endangered or threatened
species.


Re wood stoves and fireplaces:

They don't actually advocate bricking over existing fireplaces, just
burning less wood. They say older wood stoves are a greater hazard than
fireplaces because people use them so much more. "Most wood stoves cause
far more air pollution and land use than conventional furnaces that burn
the equivalent amount of natural gas. True, wood burning contributes
relatively little to global warming, and it poses no risk of oil
spills...But these benefits, in our opinion, are far outweighed by the
large quantities of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere."

New wood stoves are much better, burning at 80% efficiency (vs. 50% for
old stoves and 10% for some fireplaces), and EPA-approved woodstoves
(from 1988 on) have less than half the pollutant emissions of older
models. "More impressively, the best systems have less than 1/6 the
emissions of an old wood stove and less than 1/12 the emissions of a
typical fireplace."

"Even the best wood stoves will produce more air pollution than heating
with natural gas [of which Maine uses very little, though it's beginning
to make inroads], but if you live in a rural area where wood is cheap
and air pollution is not a major concern, a new, efficient wood stove
could be a reasonable choice."


~ Molly