Tuesday, May 12, 2009
12 Biking Myths
http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/getting+into+biking.html
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Economic benefits of local purchasing
Local Purchasing Pays Dividends
from Food Management magazine
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Green water
1. Certain on-demand water heaters cannot be operated where groundwater temperatures get below 60 degrees.
2. Electric on-demand water heaters require a large amount of amps (we have 100 amp service and would need to upgrade at least to 200, which is a significant expense).
3. Gas on-demand water heaters are not nearly as efficient as electric, but still more energy efficient than conventional water heaters.
4. Finding a plumber in Muncie to install an on-demand water heater is tricky, but can be done.
5. On-demand water heaters last much longer than conventional. A conventional water heater seems to last 3-5 years at a maximum in Muncie due to our hard water, just based on conversations with other homeowners. So the up-front and installations costs of conventional heaters should probably be doubled or tripled, because they have to be replaced more often.
6. Installation of gas water heaters require special venting, and the purchase of a $350 venting kit. Vents must be a minimum of 4”, which can be an issue in some homes, especially one that is 100 years old, like ours.
Check out this spreadsheet that I put together just for a simple comparison.
In my opinion, you also shouldn’t consider installing an on-demand water heater before you have made sure that your water consumption is at its minimum. We have spent the last five years minimizing our water consumption by our practices (turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth…), installing water-efficient appliances (including a dual-flush toilet, which doesn’t use hot water, but is very neat…), and installing restrictors in faucets and showers (and getting used to them!).
Wish us luck! I hope this info may prove helpful to you, too. Later.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Re-growing Muncie
// excerpted from an article written in Dec. 2007 //
What if making
What if this infill allowed us to re-use our existing infrastructure instead of constantly building new? What if we actually maintained and maybe even up-graded our existing infrastructure for which we have a budget and in which we have already invested? What if the enhanced infrastructure served existing users in addition to the new developments instead of just the newest user at the end of the line? What if we captured more property taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes from within city limits instead of needing to annex more periphery land to fund the ever-expanding growth (or flight)? What if government had less area to govern? Would it be feasible to have a smaller government? Could that require fewer taxes to run? What if there were more people in a given area to fund a smaller government? Would per capita taxes decrease?
What if there were enough people in a given area that commercial areas could afford to be more interspersed throughout the city – and we could even walk to them instead of driving? What if we actually used MITS? What if it actually made sense to ride the bus instead of driving? What if it didn’t need to take federal dollars to keep our public transportation financially solvent?
What if our economy was driven by diverse sectors of the market, and not just two or three? What if new businesses utilized the existing labor pool for local improvement? What if we used what we actually produced? What if what we produced was something we could actually use? Could we create a local symbiotic network of inputs and outputs for the benefit of this community (as opposed to “that” one:
Could we dream more about who and what we aspire to be? And lament less about what we once were? Could we move from the current malaise of cynicism and misplaced nostalgia to a place where we dare to hope once more? Could we spend our dollars where it benefited us most - here? Could we support our local entrepreneurs and value their investment into our community with our patronage? What if we looked at the second stage costs of our decisions and not just the advertised price? Would we dare pay a little more to keep opportunities open here? Or pay less and watch opportunities travel abroad? Could the price of helping a neighbor make a living and keep his house maintained (and not foreclosed) be worth it – for your property value?
What if we changed the incentives to spend here and live here and build here? What if we valued the people here as citizens (as opposed to just consumers) and the lives we are all trying to lead?
What if?
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Low-carbon travel
Friday, March 6, 2009
Random tidbits
If you have a good smart living tip, leave a comment to this post to let us know! We really want to hear from you. Later!
Thinking of installing a rain barrel? How about building a SUPER rain barrel?
Interested in building a rain barrel? Here are some directions on how to build a large-double-stacked rain barrel system. This site provides detailed directions and parts required to construct a 100+ gallon system.
Double Rain Barrel Instructions