Carbon Credit Collector Weblog

Hi Eco My Flatters, hope everyone had an awesome Earth Hour, even if no one wanted to spend it with us haha but seriously as long as everyone participated that’s all that matters. You missed an awesome night though, with the boys in dresses (or out of them) by the end of the night. We haven’t been too active in the eco respect this last week with Uni pressures (esp. for the engineers/scientists) catching up. BUT and this is a big but (!) we actually have plans to do ecoing things as a flat once this competition is over! I know this might sound like a little accomplishment but seriously at the start of this comp I was pretty much the only person who was excited about it, but now the boys always put me to shame with their eco achievements. Rob and Shaun built us the BEST worm farm ever!! Rob has been doing crazy amounts of research into new ecoing idea’s for our flat and figuring out how to actually implement them. He has adopted some cool, eco friendly shopping habits too. Shaun makes me think about stuff in a more logical, engineery way (which is very annoying, less fun but – though I hate to admit it – a lot more constructive) and has general DIY prowess that allows us to put idea’s into action. Alistair has been foraging with more skills than a wild animal (preperation for the end of the world maybe?!) and feeding us up on yummy, foraged desserts while instilling into us the dangers of excess packaging. Hoani researched our power usage and created a sweet a graph / chart to illustrate, to those not so engineery in our flat, the logic behind his argument. And as we all know Hoani is an electrical engineer who will solve NZ’s energy issues when he graduates. Nick has been an miraculous liason between us and our landlord, working to get us (amongst other things) a new bike shed AND a heat pump, both of which will be in before winter. He also keeps our flat running week to week and keeps our energy use under control. Im pretty sure our flat would spiral into very expensive anarchy if he ever left us! Olga, who is so hot she emitts her own form of energy, has helped us in our ecoing cause by a) going vegan and b) getting a Bf who she keeps warm with all her excess hotness! Not only that but she became my new op shop conspirator and has helped smuggle many new found ‘treasures’ into the flat.
We may have had a few ‘debates’ on the effectiveness and viability of idea’s but in general I think we’ve worked really constructively as a flat to make ‘Eco My Flat’ fun as well as effective. We fully intend to keep initatives that we’ve started like vegan dinners and no electricity nights going as well as work on new projects like the compost heap and a flat hammock. So YAH!! I think ‘Eco My Flat’ has been an overwhelming success in our flat and I really don’t care if we win a prize or not because Im so happy with how sweet the flat mates have been  Our landlords been really good to with the before mentioned heat pump and bike shed as well as curtains and offering to compensate us for materials that we purchase to improve the flat. THANK YOU to everyone involved in the comp and for all the freebies!!
Peace and positive vibrations from The Lotus Garden x0×0

“I feel more confident than ever that the power to save the planet rests with the individual consumer.”  – Denis Hayes

PS
Olga – Level 99 hotness
+6 illegal pumpkin and kitten driver.
Nick – level 500 tolerance
+10 electricity monitoring skills
Hoani – level 12 joke teller
+72 future earth savingness
Rob – Level 59 research extraordinaire
+ 93 stripper skills
Shaun – Level 89 cool new guyness
+ 11 sustained DIY with a remote controlled hand
Alistair – Level 6200 Dessert makerness
+5 apocalyptic planning
Fred (our new and improved Doug – sorry Hoani!) Level 100 cute eyebrows
+6,000,000,000 loving Paigan the most 

Our original wee garden with spinach, lettuce, cauliflower and various herb seedlings, rows of carrot seeds, and a sprinkling of marigold.

The making of the new-improved-more-sunny garden

Our new garden with more herbs, brocolli and cauliflower seedlings, and rows of spring onion and mesclun lettuce seeds from the workshop!

The infamous Cruiser!

Jacob

Final week blog.

A reflection on the month of Eco-my-flat finds that we have managed to:
•    cut .41units of power each day from our power bill,
•    reduce chemicals in our cleaning – only the dish liquid left to go,
•    Turn the vast majority of ‘waste’ water from our house into grey water friendly.
•    ‘double glaze’ a large south facing window,
•    replace all our light bulbs with eco lights,
•    discover the ease of home made pasta
•    strengthen bartering ties with neighbours and a wider circle of friends
•    start saving seedling starter pottles for next spring
•    get lots of praise for shared home baking
•    join ‘spoke’ for cycle advocacy
•    Save water from the shower for the washing machine

I have been using a little baking soda to wash my hair, rinsing with vinegar (it doesn’t smell like vinegar!) and so have finally eliminated chemicals from my personal cleaning (previous to this I used eco-store soaps and apricot oil for moisturiser, and I don’t wear make up)
We have been using soap nuts in the washing machine, along with a little baking soda, and this has been working really well. It is quite satisfying to think that although we aren’t set up to collect and reuse the grey water from the washing machine, we aren’t adding to the cacophony of chemicals going down the drain.

This week I hoped to have given away and/or bottled the last of the courgettes, but unfortunately (or fortunately!) on today’s inspection of the garden the two plants were once again being industrious. The beans that I thought were all over coughed up a few more and the tomatoes are chugging along, every warm day seems to ripen another tonne. We still have beautiful sweet pea flowers on our fence, and I can’t really complain about the garden that keeps on giving! The garden is planted with marigolds as we don’t use any chemical pesticides (just the hover flies attracted by the marigolds) and their sunny yellow and orange heads bobbing in the gloomy grey days are always cheery.

Earth hour saw us at home. We turned off every electrical appliance and sat in candlelight talking (how romantic!) It is good getting the message out there that a little bit like turning off lights can make a difference, but as Paul Henry said on Breakfast the morning before, most people will probably sit in the dark watching tv or on their computers and what good is that? I don’t know if I really agree with him on that point, but one point I do agree with him on is that about plastic bags. Apparently a compulsory tax of 5c/bag may be introduced for supermarkets, and some already voluntarily do this. Henry’s argument against this was for all the industries that rely on second hand plastic bags – cleaners to line bins and preschools for wet/soiled clothes are two I can think of off the top of my head. I agree – without these bags to be reused, bin liners (or similar replacement) will be bought instead, thus creating more rubbish, instead of an item being reused (as in supermarket bags). If the supermarket bags are being taxed in order to reduce land fill why not focus on packaging that can’t be reused? I had an argument with a check out girl once because she wanted to put my meat and canned thing in separate bags. I said they would be fine in the same bag. She said that they had to separate them because of store policy (New World). I said that if the meat contaminated the canned good, I would be complaining to Watties about their canning process, not the supermarket. As a friend of mine would say ‘just use your brain’.
So instead of hitting the consumer with a penalty for a plastic bag they may well reuse, why not target the stores and their packing policies, and the manufacturers and their packaging strategies? Something along the lines of a tax break if a significant reduction is reached within a time period. Using less packaging is ultimately going to save them money, and having a tax incentive to boot can only help the cause.

Other things this week – I took a cake to the training session I was giving on Sunday, and suggested others might like to do the same in coming weeks. This was enthusiastically received, and reduced the amount of pre-packed highly processed snack food I would other wise have put out.

At the start of this competition I wanted to not use my car at all, and this hasn’t happened. I have been thinking more about the trips we have been taking, and we have been using my smaller, newer car more over the big ol’ ute. My car began this month on 195168k and now has 195648 ticks on the clock giving a distance of 480k, or an average of 18.46k a day. Jodes ute started on 327610 and finishes with 328050 giving a distance of 440k, 16.92k/day. I don’t know if this is better or worse than the month previous, but I would guess it was better. My car also took a trip to living springs and back, so that would clock up a bit.

We will be continuing on with our efforts as they are all easy things to be doing, and in cases like using baking soda and soap nuts, much cheaper than the alternatives. I may even give up coffee – the best anti-wrinkle secret! Caffeine speeds up your metabolism, which means all your body systems are working faster – including cellular aging. So no caffeine, longer lived cells, later on for wrinkles. Also, coffee has a terribly imbalance supply chain. Anyhow, that’s all folks – see you Thursday!!

Your faithful observer has been tickled pink by a last minute flurry of eco friendly activity at the burrow.

The residents, aware that the glorious sun won’t last many more weeks, have continued to stock up on carbon-neutrally-acquired clothes, which will also reduce winter heating needs. While Tessa and Kate puruse the op-shops, Erin has taken to ‘shopping’ in her mothers closet.

This ‘shopping’ has extended to her dear mama’s garden, from whence some seedlings and sproutings and fresh sweet compost has been liberated. Aware that the ‘shopping’ concept usually involves some kind of exchange of goods and services, Erin has supplied her parents with free eco advice.

Planting has commenced. Hopefully when the depths of winter hit, the residents will be comforted by fresh bok choi, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, with parsley on top. Such culinary delights require a cosy environment… which the long awaited heat pump will provide. Recently purchased draft stoppers (window and door) will trap the toasty heat inside the Burrow.

One resident has accessorized her bike-only lifestyle. She proudly models a LED dynamo light (battery free), to make her night time missions safe and sustainable.

While all residents are dedicated cyclists, for one Burrower this required change…and SACRIFICE.  Erin kicked the car habit. On her first bikeless day in several years she was drenched and exhausted by 10am. By the third day of the new careless regime she resorted to begging the (previously mentioned) mumsie for the use of her vehicle. It took a few weeks to kick the habit of NEVER leaving enough time to get anywhere without petrol power. BUT, after 4 weeks Erin says this has been a positive change. Less petrol and maintenance costs mean less time spent slaving to run the vehicle which means more time for other better things… freeer, fitter, faster  :P

Another aspect of this eco-fitness plan is our clickety-click mower. When burrowers actually get around to mowing their lawn, much human-energy will be needed indeed.

The Burrow-dwellers have come far. They are now all aware that ECO-my-flat does NOT mean economise-my-flat, which was not the case before the first workshop. They have chewed on the issues, the controversies (do chickens REALLY have feelings?) and the homemade bread, yoghurt and quince jelly. They have nurtured a worm farm, and a culture of light and water conservation. There is still room for improvement. Sometimes they are still hippy-critical. But they have goals for next week: brick in the cistern, a bucket on the kitchen bench for dishes to soak in during the day, and friendly eco reminders around the flat (for the toilet: “one square will do…to wipe that…”). And there will be more beyond that. Eco-my-flat may be over, but its legacy remains.

Hi everyone,

We’ve been a bit slack with keeping up to date with our blogging, as the end of term draws near… TOO near in fact – the workload always seems to bank up to the last week and I end up turning to old nocturnal habits in order to get through it all!

But here’s what’s been happening at 26 Carbine Place since our last update:

-We finally have a third flatmate! Renee moved into our eco-friendly house on Saturday and luckily she’s sweet with being a part of the competition and helping us maintain our eco-friendiness once the competition is over. She was slightly puzzled when she saw our clothesline, which at the time did not have any clothes hanging on it, but several plastic bags pegged up to dry! Philippa and I were using gladwrap to take packed lunches to uni at the start of the term, but realised the error of our ways and have now BANNED the gladwrap! Instead, we use breadbags and seal-up bags from the supermarket that have been used to buy baking ingredients or whatever in bulk, and wash/dry them with the dishes.

-Renee is currently taking a break from uni to work full time, and doesn’t have a bike so she buses to work each day. She’s going to look for a bike though, after being convinced that they’re the best way to get around!

-I collected two buckets full of peaches from off the top of the shed and around the garden and spent a night stewing them all and then put them in empty yoghurt containers in the freezer, ready to pull out during winter and make peach crumble or some other nice warm dessert. They were so juicy that I ended up having to strain lots of it off after boiling them, and ended up filling up half a lemonade bottle. So I’ve been drinking fresh peach juice for breakfast each morning and man it’s good! No added colour, sugar or preservatives either (actually I tell a lie, there was a couple of spoonfulls of sugar, but for a bucket of peaches that’s nothing!) so its ultra healthy! There’s still more dropping off the tree too, so more juice and stewed peaches to come!

-Unfortunately we didn’t get organised enough to go to the earth hour dinner, but I did end up cycling to the city square with four other friends for the free concert. We decided it was such a nice night that we’d much rather bike than bus, and was a fun way of spending an hour so that we didn’t use any power. On the way back we ended up going foraging for pumpkins – one of the guys had spotted a whole lot growing in a mound of soil in a building site down homestead lane so we jumped the fence and filled up a backpack. Now to find some creative pumpkin recipes…I think for a start I’ll try my Mum’s pumpkin pie- yes, pumpkins can be made into a dessert! Who would’ve thought, but it actually tastes pretty amazing and can be served hot or cold.

-We finally got round to changing all the lightbulbs in the house to ecobulbs

-The seeds I planted in the glass house have had a bit of a slow start, probably due to me not being very consistent with remembering to water them…but despite that, some persevering shoots of rocket have sprung through, the beginning of our vegetable and herb garden which we hope will start to flourish very soon!

-Thanks to the guys that mentioned the Free Shop on Blenheim road in one of their blogs awhile ago! I biked there to check it out myself last week and its pretty amazing I picked up a mirror for my design project and am planning to go back and get some paint to do up my chest from the supershed. It’ll be a good project for the holidays and they have a huge selection of paint, most of the tins are half full or over and would’ve just been dumped otherwise. I also found a great opshop in town called Tasman Traders, where everything is $4!! It was a bit unfortunate that I came across it at the time I did, seeing as I was meant to be shopping for materials for my project. Instead I came away with a bag of winter clothes, which I then had to try and fit onto the carrier of my bike to get home!

-We’ve started up a weekly dinner night with our friends at 57 Yaldhurst, who are also part of the competition. Every Friday we take turns hosting dinner, so as well as a chance to hang out and socialise, it means only one of the flats is using power to cook etc and also means we can buy in bulk for the meal and not have anything go to waste. (Not that there’s any chance of that with two boys who seem to have bottomless stomachs…) So far there’s been a trend for roasts- Philippa and I did roast chicken and then we went to their’s for roast pork.

And I think that’s about all from us for now… have a great week

Rosalee

Well, Its another night in The Stables and things are going well.
We have had another vegetarian meal tonight. We have found that vege rissottos can be very tasty!
However the power use and carbon discussion continues.
We are sitting here in the dark watching another “thrilling” episode of desperate housewives discussing
our power sources. We have been thinking that it is actually probably better to use eco bulbs than it is to use candles.
In NZ, especially at night, when our overall power consumption as a nation is at the lowest we generally use just renewable sources like hydro and not coal or often not even gas etc, so to use eco bulbs in the evening is actually better than candles as candles contain led and are putting carbons directly into the environment. So the best option is no power at all or very little!
So therefore we believe that it is best to sit in the dark, and let ourselves have one luxury of the tv!
So thats our thoughts for now. Time to switch of the laptop!