I rode the bike today...

(Shots from several commutes over the last few weeks)

It was a beautiful morning! Very little traffic. A cool (but light) breeze. The bike was working well. My knees were working well. I rode a few miles on Sunday. I rode to work on Monday. I hope to ride tomorrow.

My wife and I saw an OmniMax movie last night - part of the BBC Blue Planet series. And it had astounding footage of all kinds of creatures. And it offered up some optimism for the future; however, like all modern nature documentaries, the ever-present villain was man-made environmental destruction.

They're too small to see here, but there's a cow bird,

a snowy egret, and a green heron in this one.

And that makes the bike rides even better. Every time a person chooses to travel by bike (in place of a single-occupant car) we all breathe a little better. I know it's very simplistic, but my greatest hope in all of this is to have thousands of people making incrementally better choices about petroleum and plastics and pollution. I know that would have a massively greater impact than just this one dork joyfully riding a bike as often as possible.

The view over the handlebars this morning

 

May you joyfully make a positive impact!

Making a Complex Problem Simple as Dirt (Part 1)

Around here, we like exploring ways to have a big carbon-reduction impact on a tiny budget. If that appeals to you too, then stick around. We have some life saving to do.

Mesquite Hugger topics mostly focus on reducing the amount of carbon we release into the air (and sea). But this one is different. This post has to do with putting carbon back where it came from - the ground. And it's not some big, fancy, carbon-capture device created by a 16-year-old genius from Huggerville, Ohio. This is something people have been doing (on a very small scale) for a long time. To give you an intro, here is Pashon Murray: (She's so cool!)

The Soil Story with Pashon Murray

"Carbon is not our enemy."

"The problem, and the solution, are a simple matter of balance."

The Pashon Murray Sidebar

I first met (and developed a big-ol' eco-crush on) Pashon in a really brilliant Ford commercial that was an answer to a really obnoxious Cadillac commercial:

Cadillac ELR Commercial

Upside: Anything is Possible

Now wasn't that awesome?!! (It's probably her fault that I want a C-Max plug-in hybrid.)

If you want to learn more about her work, visit Detroit Dirt's website to learn more:

 Detroit Dirt Website

Back to Our Original Focus: (Cliffhanger alert!)

In our next exciting post, we'll talk about how you can get involved where you are in helping to level out the balance! Stay tuned...

Find it here.

May you be part of the solution without having to take out a second mortgage or nearly as much garbage!

Distracted by the Tools (plus thank you!)

Another great one!

It's way too easy for me to get distracted by the tools.

For example, my goal of Personal Carbon Reduction has turned into an obsessive quest for an electric cargo bike. Very quickly I have transformed myself into a pseudo expert on all things cargo bike and electric bike and I find myself driving around in the pickup dreaming and scheming of cargo e-bike acquisition.

At different times I have obsessed about LED bulbs, tiny houses, backyard chickens, electric cars, aquaponics, minimalism, bicycles, batteries, dumpster diving, hot-rodded Power Wheels, the National Bike Challenge, clotheslines, citicars, solar panels, recycling, pallets, insulation, rain barrels, Instructables, wind generators, compost, local foods, bike lanes, and the coolest of all - self-cloning crawdads. (I have to admit, it's been a fun ride.)

But the real Mesquite Hugger goal here is to do less damage and to encourage others to do less damage. In this coming year, I will try to keep it between the lines.

May the real goals be things we work for, and may the tools be just that!

AND

It's been a big year here at MH , and you are the reason. We've gone from a 30-view-per-day blog to a 300-view-per-day blog. Thank you to each and every one of you for choosing to spend a little time here. May you blessed, and thank you for blessing me!

Where do we start? The EPA

Myron Ebell, a man who has made a career of denouncing climate change, is our new president's choice to head up the Environmental Protection Agency.

Do a little research.

Think for yourself.

Don't look at memes on social media to form your opinions.

May education and wisdom guide your actions.

Low-hanging Fruit #2: Let there be (more efficient) Light!

Okay, so you've sealed up and insulated your house and you are hungry to taste that next piece of low-hanging fruit. Well, look up...at your light fixtures.

[Alternative title: How to get paid $23.24 for installing 6 free light bulbs in your home!]

First and foremost: Turn off your lights!

Turn off your lights when you leave the room. It's that simple. If you are not in the room and the light is on, you are wasting energy, spending extra money, and damaging the planet. I know - it's harsh, but it's true. (My wife and I are working on doing a better job at this too.)

Second and pretty darned huge: Go buy some LED bulbs already!!!

JG and I ran by Lowes at lunchtime today. (She still has a bunch of incandescent bulbs in her house.) We found this deal on LED bulbs:

That's $1.66 per bulb!

So let's say, hypothetically speaking, that she bought this 6-pack of LED bulbs. (She did indeed buy a 6-pack of LED bulbs, but she bought the daylight bulbs which ran closer to $1.85 per bulb, but I did not take a pic of those.) She plans to install them this weekend.

Back in blogger world, I googled incandescent vs. LED and this was the first graphic that popped up:

Find the original here 

Now, here is where it gets even better - very few modern homes have less than 24 bulbs in the house. And it's not rare to find homes with closer to 60 bulbs. So, if your home is still running old school light bulbs, you could be saving big money just by swapping for LEDs. And that doesn't even factor in bulb life. Most incandescents are rated for 750-950 hours of life. LEDs tend to range between 10,000 and 50,000 hours. I have been replacing bulbs in our home for a few years now and have not had a single LED burn out yet.

Okay, Okay. Enough about money. Let's look at what's really important here: saving the planet!

Check it out - a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions!

Learn more here.

Imagine the impact if we all just switched to LED bulbs overnight. And this one is easy. It's easy on the budget, it's not labor intensive, and it saves you money. This one's a no-brainer. Just do it already!

A few more things about LEDs

• Various formats, shapes, colors, sizes and features (some are even controlled by smartphone apps!)
• Instant light (unlike CFL)
• No mercury hazard (unlike CFL bulbs - the twisty ones)
• They generate very little heat
• They are more rugged than incandescent or CFL
• They make you eco-sexy
• Don't forget that 90% reduction in CO2 emissions!

So, here are six radical ideas for you to pursue after you get your own bulbs swapped out - start giving LED bulbs gifts!

1. Have bulb swapping parties!
2. Have LED interventions!
3. Give them out for Halloween - save the planet while reducing cavities!
4. Don't go to Jarred - go to Lowes or Home Depot or wherever to show them that you really love them!
5. Coffee, tea, or LED?
6. They make great stocking stuffers!

Okay, that's about it for low-hanging fruit #2.

May you save money and save the planet! And, may you now have a lot more gift ideas!

PS. LEDs make great Christmas lights too.