Solarious - stumbling away from the grid

Back to the great experiment that is my green life-in-training.  It’s been a while since the last report, but fear not, I HAVE been taking action.  About a month ago, I decided that long distance trips across the country were unacceptably increasing my carbon load on the earth.  True, I still drove much less than the average American, and I shared a ride every trip across the country that I made.  But, when 45% of your emissions are coming from one place… well, that just looks yucky on the pie chart!  So I made a commitment.  Sell the car….  Done. 

What was I thinking?   No, really, it’s not that bad.  During the daily routine, I only drove a few miles a day anyway, and now that’s a little further free walking exercise to be gotten.  No, I don’t mind that at all, especially given LA traffic, which doesn’t quite compete with the intensity of that in my native DC, but certainly makes up for it in volume across great distances.  Yes, LA traffic is frustrating, and I am happy to kiss it goodbye.  Even though it means making a few adjustments in lifestyle (no more meeting people across town unless you’ve got a GOOD reason for paying bus fare and figuring out a route), it’s a better way to get to know your local community, as you WILL interact more with passersby and merchants.

However, the real test of this commitment is the replacement of my regular car travel plans over long distances.  How to get across the Southwest without a car or a monster budget?  In a spirit of conservation and adventure, I recently took my first trip… on the Greyhound bus.  I must say, it was less stressful than driving, with driving’s relentless watching the road while steering, or not quite trusting other drivers and watching the road anyway.  Never a good sleep in a car, unless you’re REALLY zonked.  So, back to the Greyhound.  It was painless, relatively on time, much more eco-friendly, and I met a few interesting people along the way. 

If you’re contemplating taking the bus when you next travel, may I offer a few pointers?  Arrive early.  Seriously.  And when you arrive, ask where your gate is and go ahead and put your bags in line.  It seems to be standard practice that you don’t have to remain with them beyond that point.  So settle in and watch a movie on the big(ger) screen while you wait.  And bring your own food, unless you like two dollar snickers bars in the vending machines and similarly priced sodas.  I’m pretty sure that they’ve never heard of the word organic either.  Experienced Greyhounders relate that they routinely oversell the buses (remember that tip about putting your bags in line?), so if you want to have any choice about what variety of seatmate you want, better get your spot and hold on tight.  It will help you out a lot if you travel light enough to avoid checking baggage.  That also removes you from having to open up your bags for people at every stop.  When I went hiking last month, the travel compartments above were large enough to accommodate an artfully packed trecking backpack and tent - it’s kind of get-it-as-you-come on available space.  After all that, well, sit back and relax!  The bus stops at cities along they way, often for  long enough to get your standard fast-food fare along the highway, make cell phone calls or whatever else you can fit in a quarter hour.  Best of all, if you travel with a friend, one of you can ride for a 50% discount companion fare, reducing costs further. 

So far, life without a car has been pretty good.  I HAVE missed a few appointments and retooled my day a few times, but all-in-all, it hasn’t required too much more time or thought.  And I’ve met several local business owners whose businesses I might not otherwise even have seen whizzing by in a car.  If this is to be a long-term arrangement, I think that I’ll get a bicycle again (last one was stolen, another LA hazard!) or maybe even a little moped that can be converted to use less gas.  Has anyone else made the jump to sell their car?  I’m curious to know how it went/ is going?   I salute you for traveling the road to green-dom (literally!) one step at a time. 

Now that’s a good idea! Anyone tried one?

Here’s a quick reference for any of you needing a jump start on your energy reduction goals, courtesy of SEQL (Sustainable Environment for Quality of Life). Rather than analyze or reword, I’ll just present the list for you to browse. The full PDF copy of this document is available from their website, www.seql.org. Many of the tasks take under a minute to complete… which ones can you implement today?

Sometimes you don’t have time to sit down and read an essay about what you can do to help the world.  But that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to make a change - somewhere between that lunch meeting and your niece’s birthday party.  For those days, check out Earthshare.org.  This site offers daily environmental how-to tips focusing on ways you can simply reduce your burden in various areas of life.  It’s not heavy reading, more like an RSS headline feed, but it’s a good way to jog your memory on the importance of practical application when “going green”.  You’ll find the tips indexed by topic or date, for easy browsing.

Here’s their mission statement, in their own words:

Earth Share supports a nationwide network of America’s leading non-profit environmental and conservation organizations, and works to promote environmental awareness and charitable giving through workplace giving campaigns. Founded by its member charities in 1988, Earth Share is an opportunity for environmentally-conscious employees and workplaces to support hundreds of environmental groups through a charitable giving drive.

It especially focuses on the workplace, and has partnered with many large corporations and other organizations to provide a blueprint for greening the office place, their EarthShare workplace campaign.  You will also find links to EarthShare.org affiliate sites, one for most states in the US, which offer stories, opportunities, and tips tailored for your neck of the woods.  And be sure to check out the links section for interesting reading should you ever find yourself with that elusive free moment.

Whoever said that art and science must remain separate should see the statistical artwork of Chris Jordan. His pieces are actual representations of statistical usage of different products in our world. Here’s a detail from his work, “Energizer”, 2007.

You’ll be shocked to see an ocean of soda bottles, airline cups, or plastic bags, and even more so when you realize these pictures depict only a few minutes or hours of annual consumption! Mr. Jordan stresses on his site that the pure scale of these works dictate that you should try to see them in person, and I couldn’t agree more. They are on display at Paul Kopeiken Gallery in Los Angeles, and other spots around the country. For those concrete thinkers in your life who need a visual nudge in the green direction, this may be your ticket.

Here’s a little cutie that packs a mean punch. The microjoule gets over 9,000 miles a gallon! Yes, that’s nine thousand. Or more than three trips across America. With one of these, you could actually afford today’s gas prices!

Here’s their site:Microjoule
And an English-Language review: FrogSmoke