YAPPing

Here I am, typing away because of something someone else said. That someone being Jamesh and his post on the environment, along with Kimota94's commentary on it. YAPP == Yet Another Post Post. Seriously I have to come up with something vaguely original, even if it is an original description of me plagiarizing someones post topics.

As I commented there, laziness and greed are the source of invention. The environment is becoming one of those topics that is going to drive both factors soon. Climate change will make resources more scarce, and somethings harder to find, both of which properly translate to "expensive". I know I enjoy the simple gadgets and items around my home everyday (indoor plumbing, the refrigerator, central heating, tv, l'ordinateur) and I'm too lazy to do without them, so I'm guessing other people feel that way too. So to keep the things that enable my laziness without spending too much money, I'm going to have to do things that will help the environment. Or at least that's what I'm hoping.

I've commented before on efficiency, and these ideas stem from that. The more efficient one can become, the less impact one will have on the environment. Impacts effect other people and the rising awareness about the environment will make impacts more noticeable. For example, if I didn't want to pay the gas company so much to heat my home, I could put a wood stove in my house and burn wood. Definitely cheaper - I'd be trading physical labor for cash, but I don't think I could do that now. My neighbors would kinda notice all the smoke, chopping and lack of trees around them. The might be suspicious of the pine-scented odor wafting through their now-barren front garden. I don't think they'd stand for it. Plus if everyone on my block did it, I'd be coughing all day and trudging for hours to get to the next nearest stand of trees.

Something like solar panels or biomass fuel would be more desirable. Well-placed solar collectors won't bother the neighbors and they are quiet. No emissions, just nice raw "power", presented as electricity. Imagine also that there is a way to make a device where all your food waste (and possibly liquid waste) goes in and out comes diesel fuel, after a few months. Going even further, water reclamation would be great too. These are things that we here in North America don't consider much because of the abundance of clean water, cheap oil and even cheaper electricity.

Some of these things are big steps, so they will require powerful motivators. But I believe that even today, the things that are good for the environment are good for the pocketbook. So take heart - don't go green, go cheap!