I drive more than I'd like, but living out in the 'burbs I don't have much choice all the time.

While I try to eat organically, I can't always afford it, and I still buy stuff that I know is not organic or has stuff in it that I really shouldn't be eating (GMO high-fructose corn syrup, anyone?).

My kids both play hockey, and while it's a sport we all love, sometimes, especially in summer, while I'm at the rink, I can't help but wonder how much power is going into keeping that ice frozen.

I'm sure I could cut back more on the electricity used in my house if I tried harder.

The worst personal habit, the one about which I feel the most guilty, and which I know is not good for me, is that I color my hair. I keep telling myself I am giving myself higher chances for cancer, and just think of all those chemicals getting washed down the drain, but I guess I'm just too vain. I'm too young to be sooooo gray, and that is my one big concesssion to vanity. I do go more time between colorings now (6 weeks instead of 4) but I know I should stop altogether, for my own health as well as the environment. But I just can't. Not yet.

:)
Dee

We don't have air conditioning, which is probably a good thing because I'm sure we'd get addicted. Well, I could probably do okay, since I get cold easily, but I think my DH would turn it on in the winter, lol!

:)
Dee

The web site is for the UK, but I can buy it here in Canada, so surely you can find it where you are.

Garden Chicken, I just heard of HerbaTint last week, coincidentally. I will check out the website. Thanks for the link!

:)
Dee

The largest non-necessary waste of power I can think of we use is the pump to our waterfall in our spring-fed pond. But, it does aerate the water and force it through a filter, and that keeps the pond clean without chemicals, and the fish alive in freezing weather. The pond is the last step of our water system after it comes from the spring and overflows from the cachements. If we didn't use the water for enjoyment and to plant oxygen producing and carbon gobbling plants, then it would just run off into a stream anyway.

I also have just not gotten around to putting several electronic devices on a power plug I can turn off when we are not using them. Why do people really need 'instant on' gadgets?

I am really peeved, however, at Home Depot. We use ceiling fans year round to move air in our home. When my last one bit the dust I replaced it with a model from this store. I do not use incandescent lights and on the box, the bulbs for the light units appeared to be standard. It wasn't until I got the unit installed did I notice the sockets to the bulbs are what they like to call an 'intermediate' size. IOW, no bulb but the ones you can buy there is going to fit it, and of course they are incandescent. So, four bulbs I could have fitted with 13Watts now are forty to sixty watt bulbs with the same or less light output.

Not green, but giving it up isn't worth it.

MY husband and I are both soda addicts. Thankfully my kids really like "juice" and don't care about soda. We were both raised that way. I'm trying my hardest to switch over to herbal teas. I did it while I was pregnant, and just can't manage it all the way now. And my kids "juice" that they drink all day long, is basically flavored water. I use a single serving propel packet, and mix it in 2 qts of water. They think it's juice, since that's mostly what they get, and what we call it. So other than their milk and real juice, they drink lots of water. So there's my good implanted in their brains.

For diapers, I'm relly very depressed about. I have 3 in diapers. My son is potty training, but he still uses 2 or 3 a day. We used only cloth for such a long time, but my son has such an overly sensitive butt, that he had blistering rashes, so we had to start using disposibles. Now that he's potty training though, I mean to pull out the cloth stash for the younger 2.

Air conditioning. Our stupid house is so poorly designed, that the ac has to run almost 24/7 in the summer. Granted it is very humid where I live, but still. My living room can be freezing, but the bedrooms at night are like 85 degrees. I've started working on taping up some vents in the rest of the house, hoping to direct more air to the hotter rooms

Dryer- I can not STAND line dried clothes. I have this weird OCD complex with textures. My clothes, sheets, twoels, anthing that I come in contact with has to be incredibly soft. Stiff textures give me the creeps. Since I do all the laundry, and have to touch every fabric in the house, they all have to go through the dryer. Line dried clothes are too stiff for me.

My environmental sin is that I don't rinse out plastic containers, which have oily residue in them, for recycling. I put them in the trash. I only recycle plastic containers which rinse out easily. My excuse is that oil/grease going down the drain is not good for the septic system's leach field.

Lorna

My green confessions:

1) AC-On days with high heat and/or high humidity, I always use the AC. Not just b/c I don't tolerate the warmth, but my allergies flare up and I get headaches.

2) TV & Lights-I have a bad habit of falling asleep while watching tv.

Sarah

Another sin is store bought granola bars. The non recyclable packaging makes me crazy, but they are so convenient (and often yummy!). I don't eat them every day and do try to make my own occasionally. Anyone have a good recipe that doesn't involve peanut butter???

Brendan, does not usuing a dryer make up for my hot tub??? ; )

Calliope, I'm with you on the walmart issue. I think they suck all round.

Sarah

There are things I don't like about Walmart, but I do not agree with much of the hype being passed around about the company. All too many people pass on "bad news" about Walmart without checking facts. I've looked up a number of forum Web sites where Walmart is being bashed, and been very surprised at the number of employee responses which state much different scenarios than the negative stuff the forums are trying to push.

When Katrina hit, Walmart was the first entity of any sort, including the Red Cross, to supply fresh water to the victims of the hurricane--many truckloads of bottled water. They also delivered other supplies, such as toilet paper. The company volunteered space in several of their undamaged buildings, as well as donating computers, to create operations centers for the incoming relief workers.

Just before Katrina hit two Walmart Super Center managers took it upon themselves to open their stores to the public, telling people to take whatever they needed free of charge. The news reported that those two stores had been looted. That was not true. The managers knew their merchandise was going to be ruined by the storm. So they let people have free rein to take whatever they needed. Those managers were later lauded by corporate headquarters for having made the right decision.

Lorna

Still got a long way to go to win the war, but I'll take a little victory wherever & whenever I can get it.

Ilsa

Calliope, I, too, love the feel and smell of line-dried linens. Just don't have the time and energy for it any more. There are six of us in the family, youngest children are 18, and, though they all do their own laundry, I doubt very much that I'd get them to do the clothesline thing, lol.

Like so many others, I rationalize my "sins":

#1. Central Air - never thought I'd want it but would be a mess without it. Just like the heating in winter, though, we use an automatic set-back thermostat and try to keep usage down. Also opted in years ago to the power company's plan whereby they can cut back our power to the unit during peak demand.

#2. Long drive to work - but I work at a dream job: a public garden dedicated to the home gardener, with a strong educational component including earth-friendly gardening and lawn care, integrated pest management, composting, beneficial insects, etc. I only wish I could afford to live closer to the workplace - verrrrry high property values in the area.

#3. Koi pond/water garden with waterfall - it uses energy, of course, but it and the surrounding naturalized gardens provide habitat for birds and many beneficial insects. Would be thrilled to see some salamanders, toads, frogs and such move in.

#4. Greenhouse ... just a little one, and I've insulated the north wall and floor, wrap it in a clear solar pool cover in winter, tuck water-filled milk jugs and soda bottles wherever I can for thermal mass, but I do heat it just enough to overwinter lemon tree and tender plants, grow some herbs and lettuces through the winter. Mainly, it's a refuge ... a place go when it seems winter will never be over and once again experience the healing properties of working the soil, the scents and colors of growing things, the warmth of the sun on my skin (even though it's maybe only 23 degrees outside). It is remarkable how warm it gets on even an overcast winter day; sunny days it's downright hot in there. Night-time, though, the heater flicks on.

We are very conservative in other areas, however, and my DH and I are so often frustrated by the insidious little daily insults, like over-packaging. (I cancelled one of our few magazine subscriptions - and, yes, I let them know why - when they started mailing the publication in a platic bag.)

It's all a matter of balance, I think. If we were all issued ration coupons for energy, polluting products, and so on, how would we use them? Where would be put our priorities?

A periodic evaluation of our habits, and sharing, is healthy.

I hate the fact that I buy these pudding cups. I have even written to the company to ask why they don't package them in recyclable cups. But I still buy them. I eat on the run a lot and grab one for a quick snack or a midnight snack. Oh, the shame!

I gotta find another snack...

:)
Dee

SIMPLE VANILLA PUDDING
INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until bubbles form at edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour into hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes. Chill before serving.

This is a fancier pudding called Natillas (Nah-tee-yahs):

NATILLAS
Ingredients:
• 4 Eggs separated
• ¼ tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 c Flour
• 1 qt Milk
• 3/4 c Sugar
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp.Nutmeg, plus 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Using a whisk, make a paste of egg yolks flour and 1 cup of the milk. In a medium saucepan add the sugar and salt to the remaining milk and scald at medium temperature. Add the egg yolk mixture to the scalded milk, add vanilla, and continue to cook at medium temperature until it reaches the consistency of soft custard. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into the custard. Chill before serving. Spoon custard into individual serving dishes. Sprinkle each serving with spices before serving.

If you goof, and the custard curdles (eggs scramble) during cooking, press mixture through a sieve before folding in egg whites. The sieve will remove any curdled egg bits.

* * *

Lorna

(Okay, I know - I can 'hear' the eye rolls all the way thru my monitor! ! :o)

Alfie,
fond of peanut butter

(I hate dirtying utensils too!)

Zigzag, you are waaaaayyy too healthy for me, lol. But you reminded me that when I was pregnant with my daughter, and had "morning sickness" morning, noon, and night, for nine months until about ten minutes before giving birth, I used to constantly keep bananas with me. It was one of the few foods I could keep down. Quick, easy, no mess - if I was hungry at night I didn't even have to get out of bed because they were on my nightstand. People used to tell me I was going to give birth to a chimp, not a human, lol!

Lorna, thanks for the recipe. Do you think I could add chocolate/cocoa to it?

:)
Dee

I can't recall if you are one of the folks using a microwave. I used to have a quick and simple microwave recipe for chocolate pudding, but I lost it when my favorite computer was stolen. If you are interested, you might be able to find the recipe doing a search on microwave chocolate pudding.

Lorna

:)
Dee

Lorna, your pudding recipe sounds good, will have to give it a try! Thanks!

Back to the original question: I guess my big waste of energy is growing orchids under lights during the winter. I do use CFL's, so that isn't as bad as some of those other light systems. I also have to heat their room during the day to at least 70 F. I should keep it warmer, but I just can't justify that since the rest of my house in in the 58-62 range.

Kevin

Thanks for coming forward, all of you, and pointing out that although many are striving to be energy wise and cutting back on waste, it is difficult to do it all and still live our lifestyle the way we've been used to. Just today dh took kids into the bigger city close by to buy them shoes, and I asked him to pick up milk on the way home. Pick up milk he did, and he let the clerk bag both jugs! I will speak to him later on this, I don't think he is aware he can ask for his items to NOT be bagged (I do 99% of the shopping in this household, and just assumed he knew how I felt about those plastic bags). Or that anything that size WITH a handle needs no bag! Oh well. I'm still trying to influence change within my own little world (family).

kioni