permaculture

[Ted Markow <tbag.markow@verizon.net>]

Robert,

Sounds a lot like actions I've taken here in the 'burbs, though I'm
curious how you cut your electric consumption to <250 kwh/month in the
winter.  Is it because winters in OKc are mild, or do you have a wood
stove?  I have a super-tight wood stove insert that I use as backup to an
oil furnace, and it helps a little.  - though, I know the furnace isn't
really a big electric draw, not like the electric heating elements (oven,
drier, etc.) and the fridge.

How many people live in your household?  Children?  There are 4 in my
house and I have 2 teenagers.  I don't have to tell you what that means!
It's hard enough to get other adults to see the light about conservation
and sustainability, talk to a teenager about it and you get looked at
like you have two heads and no brain.  I know not all teenagers are like
that, but enough!  (of course, I know many adults like that as well)

Ted

Robert Waldrop wrote:

> I think it is definitely possible to live more sustainably in the
> city.  As to how far one can go, I don't think that is known right
> now, and undoubtedly varies from place to place.  We're raising more
> than 100 varieties of edible and useful plants on the former lawn of
> our duplex on a corner lot in a working class Oklahoma City
> neighborhood.  Three years ago when we started this journey, we were
> throwing away 2 full city garbage containers of trash every week, and
> sometimes even more, plus 2 blue containers of recyclables.  Plus
> every 3 months a bunch of big stuff on 'big trash day'.  Now we throw
> away less than half of a city garbage container each week, and one
> recycling container.  Our summer electricity consumption used to be
> around 2000 kilowatt hours/month, now it floats around 500 kilowatt
> hours/month in the summer, and less than 250 kwh/month in the winter.
>
> We used to buy all of our food at the grocery store.  Now, just about
> everything we eat is either grown ourselves or bought from a local
> farmer or rancher (this includes meat, dairy, eggs).  We bought a
> year's supply of grain for flour from a farmer earlier this summer.
> We used to travel a lot, mostly long road trips.  Now we don't do
> that.  We used to buy our clothes at Wal Mart, now we shop at thrift
> stores and have a local seamstress sew us shirts on occasion.
>
> We still have a long ways to go. Even though we've reduced our trash
> and recycling, we still generate too much.  We're haven't finished
> superinsulating our 1929 era duplex.  2/3rds of our garden is in
> perennials, so we are still 2 or 3 years away from really increasing
> that harvest (although I did eat our first homegrown apple today.)
> I've bought some books on cob building, and am thinking we should
> build a cob outdoor oven.  We still drive, although we are walking
> more. Since we don't live in the suburbs, if it wasn't for work, I
> could live without a vehicle, as shopping, eating, Oklahoma City's
> "Asian District", entertainment (several nice little bars, an acoustic
> music hall), church, and a university library are within walking
> distance of our house.
>
> I think it's easy to get bogged down in planning, my advice I give to
> people who ask is "just start doing stuff sustainably."  the first
> things we did were switching to compact flourescent lights, hanging
> our clothes out on the line to dry, going to the farmers market, and
> starting a garden.
>
> Robert Waldrop, OKc
> http://www.oklahomafood.org