low-carbon diet

[potofsoup]

Pursuant to my Cap comic this year, I'm trying to think of some things I can do to normalize climate-saving behavior and also bring it into the workplace.

- embed normalized descriptions into fanfics (people bringing reusable cups into the coffeeshop au, putting a hard limit of 5 minutes on that shower scene, Steve being appalled by all the stuff that gets thrown away, etc)

- I just sorted all of my tupperware, and found some containers that are the right size for getting take-out from nearby restaurants. I won't be able to call ahead, but I can afford the 15 minute wait

- I'm going to get Hoosband to bring some of these containers to his work -- a lot of people there get take-out lunches nearby, and maybe they can use these containers instead of getting a new one every time (I'll make some "Reusable, don't throw away!" stickers to put on them)

- I'm going to bring some spare reusable cups whenever I go to the comics meetup, so that other people in our group can use it to buy boba

- I should look at the cost of getting an electrical outlet out to my parking space in our complex so that I can plug in the car. If our HOA won't do it, maybe I can.

- I should look to see if Vanguard has funds that are clearly non-fossil-fuels. And if not -- maybe ask them??

- Schedule a talk with Powers That Be at work about:
---- at the very least, buying carbon offsets for all trips
---- using actually compostable cups instead of the "biodegradable" stuff that isn't actually compostable, or, better yet, not having them at all, and instead have a bunch of reusable cups and mugs
---- making sure that the school is divested from fossil fuels
---- adding more electrical chargers / outlets in the garage
---- getting the kids to take Meatless Mondays seriously (and offer up actually tasty non-meat foods)
---- a better system for reusing printed paper (maybe as scratch paper or art paper for the elementary school kids? Or maybe have a printer that is just paper that's only been printed on one side?)

- Get Hoosband to talk to his work about:
---- having the company mandate 1 work-from-home day per week to reduce transit-related emissions
---- giving either a time or monetary subsidy for people who take public transit to work (less hours at work or more $$)
---- getting their Friday lunch catering in a more sustainable format


Any other thoughts/suggestions?

Comments

[caprices]

Something something lawns. Whether in fanfic or real life, encouraging lawns to be teacup prairies, garden space or woodsy shade spots (depends on local weather and time allowance, so if it's a rainy area and there's no one with time for upkeep, trees with moss are better than elaborate vegetable garden).

I really like normalizing climate-saving-behaviors in fanfic though, it makes for 1) pleasant reading, and 2) space to work out the ideas. It's regretfully a blank slate. At this point it's easy for authors to go "and of course colonies on Mars, FTL drives, and sentient robots," but very little incidental climate change. The only places I see it are purpose written stories specifically addressing it as the main topic. I loved your Cap comic with the takeout boxes.

[potofsoup]

yes! Planting trees is one of the cheapest ways of carbon sequestration. Less lawns more trees! I guess I didn't think of it because I have about 15 sq feet of yard space, currently occupied by a tree stump and a lemon tree. Maybe I should talk to my HOA about adjusting the common backyard space

ngl, I flinch every time I read about a long shower, because all that water going down the drain!! I think it's important to normalize the small life habits, instead of "Tony and Shuri invent technology that solves all our problems."

[gingicat]

Graywater systems are awesome for offsetting long showers for people who need them, whether for stress or sensory stimulation/calming or to care for specialized hair types.

[minoanmiss]

Thanks, yeah. Hair like my icon has (what I want mine to look like) needs a long shower once a week.

More generally... I am of two minds, because I'm caught between 1) doing as much as possible because enough drops fill the bucket and 2) when I first really heard about environmentalism it was from the kids in my school who wore T-shirts like "plants and animals died to make room for your fat ass" and bragged about spiking trees so they would be dangerous to cut down. More recently I look at the furor over plastic straws and how much people have harassed disabled bloggers for explaining why it is they need disposable plastic straws. And I think about the disposable bottles of saline that are part of the setup that allows me to see, and the people who would honestly tell me that I should forgo them and go back to a blur of a world and worsening eye disease.

I mean, we work to save our drops, and often scold each other over the size of them, but redesigns of industrial practices could save swimming pools full.

And on another tentacle, or whatnot, I love to see people consciously write the ideas they believe in into fanfic. I love it in fiction in general, not least because I've learned lots of ideas from fiction, and so I love it in fanfic. I really delighted in the environmentalist message in the most recent Happy Birthday Steve comic, for several reasons (including how IC it was for Steve).

[potofsoup]

I'm not trying to shame people for taking long showers, so I'm sorry if it came across that way. What I'm trying to say is that these systems and habits we have should be examined and chosen consciously. It's easier for me to take shorter showers but harder for me to not drive, so that is the choice that I make. I refuse to feel shamed for my driving, because if I give up driving, I literally cannot get my daughter to child care, and therefore cannot go to work. Similarly, you shouldn't feel shamed for taking longer showers because that is what your body (and your spirit) needs.

The other thing that I'm trying to say, which I don't think is coming across properly, is that I keep hearing people have this disconnect of "well, I'm doing all I can at home, but I don't have control over the industry", as if industry is this nebulous thing that is very far away and very impossible to affect. And I want to push back on that and say "but industry is run by people who work there." I feel like there are a lot of people who scrimp and save at home, and then go to work and look at all the waste that goes on there and feel like it's "just the way it works." I totally agree that we need industry on board, and part of that is for people to look at ways that they can push at this at work. Which, in my case, might start with figuring out a way to reuse all the paper that we go through at work. (Definitely easier at smaller companies than large ones, but still, something worth pushing for.)

[minoanmiss]

Oh no, no, I didn't at all think you were trying to shame anyone. I have faith in you. :D I was thinking about hair, and so agreed with Gingicat, as part of thinking about the individual balances each person has to strike. Which is part of the whole subject. I would attempt to say more but I just deleted the keyboard smush I hade with my nose while nodding off. *laugh at myself'*

[potofsoup]

Interesting! How do you set up a graywater system?

[gingicat]

I learned that such a thing exists from This Old House. Here’s a link to how to set up a small system, but it can be done for the whole house: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-use-graywater-toilet-tanks

[potofsoup]

Oh cool! I've been wanting one of these setups since 2006 -- glad to see that it's doable with a sink hack. Unfortunately my toilets are currently some fancy low-flow ones that can't be hacked like this. :(