Have you ever heard the term "embodied energy?" It refers to energy that has already been spent to create something. Take a box of cereal as an everyday example. Embodied energy is everywhere Inside the box there's cereal. The embodied energy in the cereal contains everything from the sunlight and water (energy) that fed and made the grain grow, to the human laborer or machinery and fuel (or … [Read more...] about Capturing embodied energy
Families
Back to school
Forgive my few weeks absence from The List. I've been catching up on loads of work at Transition Voice, getting the kids off to school, and preparing for a busy fall season in the Transition Town group I help co-lead. But I figure, what with rogue earthquakes kicking up in odd locations and hurricane season dead upon us, it's time to get back to encouraging conservation—those practices that will … [Read more...] about Back to school
Depression-era planning for today and tomorrow
The debt debate out of Washington exhibited many qualities. But sanity wasn't among them. In fact, the smart money says that enacting the spending cuts called for in the deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans will pull money from the economy, kill jobs, stop orders for goods and otherwise hamstring an already flogged economy. At the same time, the deal's failure to call for … [Read more...] about Depression-era planning for today and tomorrow
Gender gap?
There's a fascinating discussion going on in bike-blog-land as a result of Elly Blue's Bicycling's Gender Gap post at Grist. Editor’s Note: This is a guest post on Lindsay's List. If you're a friend of Lindsay's, a friend of energy conservation, or just have an idea to help women live locally with a smaller carbon footprint, then send us a piece of your own through our Contact Form. She makes … [Read more...] about Gender gap?
Party time
With July Fourth on the horizon most Americans are likely to participate in some kind of get together or another this holiday weekend, either as a host or an attendee. This brings up the burning question of how to party with the smallest carbon footprint. If not for everything you're doing (perhaps the party is 45 miles from your home) but at least the most that you can. Disposable party ware is … [Read more...] about Party time
Road trip
Summer's here and the livin' is easy. Well anyway, summer's almost here. And what that means for lots of folks are day and weekend trips to nearby haunts. If you're planning either a road trip or to get to your vacay destination by car, you're probably still looking at your overall expenses. Gas, tolls and pre-trip car maintenance are a given, leaving you with variables like lodging, food and … [Read more...] about Road trip