Thursday, October 28, 2010

Adventures in "Eco-Living"

Via Lewlew, here's an LA Times article by a California lady with a post-mortem on her two-year experiment with something she calls "eco-living."

Okay, that word makes me want to go find a hippie to punch.  But some of the things she briefly outlines here make sense.  Some (A "water wall?") not so much.  And her conclusions indicate she's not being either starry-eyed or all "ew!" about getting down and dirty with gray water and composting toilets.  I enjoyed it.

It started with gray water, then escalated to chickens, composting toilets and rain barrels. I'm talking about the two years I've spent transforming my humble California bungalow into a test case for sustainable living — an experience that's cost me hundreds of hours of my time and thousands of dollars, an endeavor that has tested the limits of not only my checkbook but also my sanity — and my DIY skills.
 Hm.  Having gained some experience with a lot of these things myself, maybe I should write something like this for the blog.  Yes?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

" Hm. Having gained some experience with a lot of these things myself, maybe I should write something like this for the blog. Yes? "

That would be a personal choice my friend. I will say that I will read it if you write it.

It seems top me that a good part of your blog as it is is sharing the "lessons" that you have learned [or learned of] while organizing and building the Secret Lair.
I have occasionally learned a point or two myself.
Still IF you wanted to separate out a second subject heading ["Lessons from the Outback"] or some such and compile your hard won specific educational moments I for one would be reading them.
From out of the wildblue yonder ....
On the subject of "learning" .... large or small ? [ceiling fan]
Color choice is ... any color you want as long as it's white.

Stay Safe,

gooch

Anonymous said...

It also seems to me that I should proofread my comments before I post them. With special emphasis on doubled key-strikes.
"It seems to(p) me ..." Oops.

Pardon while I go clean the egg off of my face.

gooch

The Grey Lady said...

Hello Gooch! How's that Blueberry addiction going?

I would be interested Joel, if you felt it was worth writing, I'd read.

Anonymous said...

It would be informative, and a relief to get some good info without the steaming dollop of eco-babble.

It would also be interesting to see what someone on a budget chooses. $4,000 for a waterwall?! $2,000 for a system that saved her $95?!

At least she's joined the growing legions of outlaws.

If you write it, I will read it.

-S

MamaLiberty said...

Indeed, Joel, I'd certainly read yours. :)

But I had a hard time wading through the "greenhouse gases" and "carbon footprint" BS in that article.

lewlew said...

Hi Joel! Thank you for the link to my blog on here. I sincerely appreciate it.

I'd definitely love to read about your opinions garnered through experimentation out in the DIY world. I think you are already doing that, to a certain extent. If you'd like to do more, I say go for it!!!

What I liked the most about the article was how the author was honest and pretty straight-forward with her conclusions. I'm able to let go and gloss over the "greenhouse gases" and "carbon footprint" stuff pretty easily. Living in the land of the latte prepares me for that =). Anyway, she was honest about what worked for her, in regards to the time she put forth versus the yield she received. She didn't come right now and say she was snookered with the waterwall, but she says it without saying it.

As someone who'd like to raise chickens, I found that part of the article extremely informative and it gave me much to think about. Also, my goal (and failure) at increasing my edible landscaping around our home makes more sense. I don't have the time to devote to it, and doing smaller scale plantings make sense. I had been feeling like a huge failure-- but seeing someone else with similar goals say, "Big goals and dreams, but not enough time to make it right," helped me wrap my head around the concept in a more realistic way.

BTW, I love reading about how those critters keep you on your toes. LB is quite the trickster at times, isn't he?

Hugs,
lewlew

Big Wooly said...

Joel, I read your blog because I believe you write the truth as you see it. Living as you do and your unique perspective as to what works (and doesn't) would be something I would definitely want to read, and hopefully learn from.

Tracy Bruring said...

Joel you're just a hippie at heart