What are you willing to give up in order to give up oil?

[Nessus]

Like continuing to be a judgemental, head-in-ass, holier than thou cock

[Xope_Poquar]

Stop recycling plastic. It is a petroleum product which takes far less petroleum to make a new one than it does in the recycling process.

[LittleFuzzy]

It was only on the west coast that I encountered homes without AC (and now window screens, because few bugs.)

And that's literally on the coast, not necessarily the inland portions of the state, much less places like Bakersfield, which is California's moronic *albeit gratefully failed* attempt to dethrone Houston as the entrance to Hell.

[Lewkowski]

2) Set thermostat low in winter and high in summer

I love keeping my house 68 in the Texas heat.

[wiggin]

Stop recycling plastic. It is a petroleum product which takes far less petroleum to make a new one than it does in the recycling process.

Not necessarily true; that largely assumes certain methods of recycling that are pretty wasteful, and assumes most of the energy used for recycling comes from oil.

[Unheard Of]

the intent is to get everyone to look around and figure out what they could do without, or find an alternative product for petrol products that dominate our lives.

I'd like to see a shift in research priorities towards developing alternatives to oil. If it were up to me I'd happily ditch research into cancer, heart disease and obesity if it would improve the chances of a good alternative being found.

[Being]

I love keeping my house 68 in the Texas heat.

Yeah, we know; everything is big in Texas including your carbon footprint.

[']['ear]

Like continuing to be a judgemental, head-in-ass, holier than thou cock to others while whining all the time when Cain picks on you ad nauseum? Consistency is only the first step. Correction is the next.

A thicker skin would be more energy efficient.

[agamemnus]

I'm willing to give up my neighbors' illegal immigrant landscaping services and their gas-guzzling feces throwing lawnmowers, leafblowers, and gas-poweerd chainsaws (for the hedges).

[Loki]

I'm willing to start a thread on TWF and tell people what I'm doing.

[EyeKhan]

A thicker skin would be more energy efficient.

Not trolling, especially after so much complaint about Cain trolling you, would be less hypocritical too.

[littlelolligagged]

I'm willing to start a thread on TWF and tell people what I'm doing.

Wow!

That might be the most impressive thing in this thread! Not to mention the most believable.

[Flixy]

Most Euros have no idea how hot the US gets in the summer. We're much further south than you. And its not just the south. Working summers during college in Minnesota, I ran two fans over my bed and kept a mister by the bed to wet down a couple of times a night. Most sane people there have AC. It was only on the west coast that I encountered homes without AC (and now window screens, because few bugs.)

This 'Euro' does know that, I just didn't connect that to preparing dinner.

And in all honesty, Americans do use ACs way more than they need to, half of the time when I was there I was freezing my balls off inside. And building better houses with thicker walls would help too.

[littlelolligagged]

This 'Euro' does know that, I just didn't connect that to preparing dinner.

And in all honesty, Americans do use ACs way more than they need to, half of the time when I was there I was freezing my balls off inside. And building better houses with thicker walls would help too.

Come on to my house... I promise you won't freeze your balls off.

[Hazir]

Also, because it's late and who the fuck is around here anyway?

Actually I have started to replace all light bulbs with energy efficient ones. Now that I am getting the hang of buying them in the right colour I'm actually not feeling that I am giving up anything at all. Oh, and I am NOT going to give up my cell phone.

[GGT]

I'd like to see a shift in research priorities towards developing alternatives to oil. If it were up to me I'd happily ditch research into cancer, heart disease and obesity if it would improve the chances of a good alternative being found.

I saw an interview with the head of a company called Sapphire Energy (I think that was the name). They do algae farming and turn it into "fuel oil". The turn around time from seed to tank would be about 7-10 days, by ~2015.

[']['ear]

I love keeping my house 68 in the Texas heat.

I guess you don't put the "conserve" in conservative, eh?

Not trolling, especially after so much complaint about Cain trolling you, would be less hypocritical too.

Or maybe it was a perfectly legitimate comment given the thread subject?

This 'Euro' does know that, I just didn't connect that to preparing dinner.

And in all honesty, Americans do use ACs way more than they need to, half of the time when I was there I was freezing my balls off inside. And building better houses with thicker walls would help too.

I know. It's freakin ridiculous. It's also illogical, if you're going to be going in and out of the house.

[Hazir]

Which reminds me of the way people use AC in the south-east of Turkey, where electricity theft is rampant and almost seen as acceptable; people will have the AC on and the window open with outside temperatures well over 40C.

I remember the first time I stepped out of a plane in Batman (Turkey) in august. It was like stepping into an oven. I didn't do a lot of sweating though because the air was as dry as bone.

[EyeKhan]

Or maybe it was a perfectly legitimate comment given the thread.

Or maybe you're just the typical hypocritical ass who likes to dish it out but whines and cries when it comes back at you.

[GGT]

Which reminds me of the way people use AC in the south-east of Turkey, where electricity theft is rampant and almost seen as acceptable; people will have the AC on and the window open with outside temperatures well over 40C.

I remember the first time I stepped out of a plane in Batman (Turkey) in august. It was like stepping into an oven. I didn't do a lot of sweating though because the air was as dry as bone.

Electricity theft? How do they do that?

Not sure I buy into that "no big deal, it's a dry heat" idea. I was in Phoenix once when it was 102 in the shade, very dry, but no air movement. ugh, it was horrible. I remember trying to escape asphalt but it was everywhere.

[Hazir]

Electricity theft? How do they do that?

Not sure I buy into that "no big deal, it's a dry heat" idea. I was in Phoenix once when it was 102 in the shade, very dry, but no air movement. ugh, it was horrible. I remember trying to escape asphalt but it was everywhere.

They've got those old mechanical meters that you can actually stop running, when the electricity guy is about to make his new round they unjam the meter and that's how they pay like 1/30th of their actual usage. At that price you can afford using AC with the windows open.

What's the elevation of Phoenix ? Batman lies at 603 meters, that's about 1800 ft I think.

[Ominous Gamer]

Its still rather easy to steal electricity, I've seen it done with a stripped pair of pliers. You only need to get something conductive to bridge the grap around the meter box. Only way TECO down here knows when they are leaking power is to watch for signs of usage to addresses they stopped servicing.

[Hazir]

Its still rather easy to steal electricity, I've seen it done with a stripped pair of pliers. You only need to get something conductive to bridge the grap around the meter box. Only way TECO down here knows when they are leaking power is to watch for signs of usage to addresses they stopped servicing.

In Turkey it's a real serious problem. So much so that I had a lot of problems explaining to people that i wasn't stealing electricity just because I had 2 meters rather than the 3 that used to be there beforehand.

Nowadays I simply point at the bill for the main meter and that usually solves the problem.

What really sucks is when there are blackouts in winter because of all these thieves heating their houses with electrical heaters.

[GGT]

But...well, I have to pay every month based on estimated meter readings and prior usage. My bill even has a graph with peak hours over time.

If I don't pay, they can shut off my power. Once they do a meter reading then it's pro-rated up or down based on actual usage. When the meter-reader comes around he can tell if it's been jacked or rigged, then they can assess charges for manipulating the meter.....

[Hazir]

But...well, I have to pay every month based on estimated meter readings and prior usage. My bill even has a graph with peak hours over time.

If I don't pay, they can shut off my power. Once they do a meter reading then it's pro-rated up or down based on actual usage. When the meter-reader comes around he can tell if it's been jacked or rigged, then they can assess charges for manipulating the meter.....

There is no estimation of use, there is just the reading of the meter-reader once a month or so. And people know roughly when he's about to come and warn eachother when he's actually doing his rounds. The meters are those old type meters with a spinning wheel that (i don't know how) supposedly you can jam so that your usage no longer is measured. And how would they prove it anyway if average usage by your neighbours is low, and has been low for years according to statistics. On top of this; utilities are still not privatized in this country, so customers (well most of them) are voters.

[']['ear]

Or maybe you're just the typical hypocritical ass who likes to dish it out but whines and cries when it comes back at you.

It's on topic. Address it or not as it suits you, but don't whine.

[Lewkowski]

I guess you don't put the "conserve" in conservative, eh?

The great part of humanity is that we don't adapt to the environment we adapt the environment to us.

To quote the ever quotable Ann Coulter...

God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'

[GGT]

Yeah, but Coulter is a lunatic.

Don't forget mankind is supposed to be good shepherds of the earth, and all creatures great and small. Not rapists.

[']['ear]

The great part of humanity is that we don't adapt to the environment we adapt the environment to us.

So we'll fix the whole warming thing? Give me specifics!

To quote the ever quotable Ann Coulter...

Generally when somebody proclaims rape to be acceptable, they are called an asshole. The same term is also applied to their supporters.

[GGT]

They shoot rapists, don't they?