c/climate-action

My compost bin in Denver turned into a raccoon party last night

I woke up to find the lid popped and veggie scraps scattered across my patio, so I spent this morning building a cinderblock fortress around it. Anyone have a better animal-proofing trick that doesn't look like a bunker?

Switched my shop's water heater to a heat pump model last fall

My electric bill for the dog wash area dropped by about $40 a month starting in October. I was skeptical it would work well enough for the constant hot water we need, but it's been fine. The install cost a bit upfront, but the local utility had a rebate that covered nearly half of it. Over six months, the savings have already paid for a good chunk of the difference from the old tank. Has anyone else made a similar switch in a small business setting and seen the numbers work out?

Vent: My apartment building in Chicago finally got a compost bin after I bugged them for a year

The problem was our trash room was just overflowing with food waste. I started by just asking the super, but nothing changed. So I printed out a flyer with info from the city's composting program and taped it to the main door. A week later, a big green bin showed up. Has anyone else had to push their building to do something like this?

I used to think my little car was fine, but then I saw the numbers

For years I drove my old sedan everywhere, even for a two mile trip to the store. I finally looked up my gas use last spring and it was over 50 gallons a month just for short trips. Now I walk or use my bike for anything under three miles, and I fill up maybe once every six weeks. Has anyone else cut down on driving and been surprised by how much it adds up?

My home energy tracker hit 365 days of zero food waste and I almost fell over

I got one of those little kitchen compost bins as a gift last year and just kept using it, not really tracking anything. Opened the app this morning and it showed a full year without throwing any food in the regular trash. The crazy part? I didn't even mean to do it, it just became a habit after a while. Has anyone else had a small change turn into a big number without really trying?

Spent $300 on a solar phone charger that barely works

I got this portable solar charger online for a camping trip, thinking it would be great for off-grid power. It took a full sunny day to get my phone from 20% to 60%, which is way slower than the ad said. The battery pack inside it also died after maybe five uses. Has anyone found a good solar charger that actually works like they claim?

Warning: My brother's take on electric cars made me pause

He works at a battery recycling plant in Boise and said 'We're just moving the problem underground.' That hit different coming from someone who sees the waste pile up every day. Are we really fixing things or just making new ones?

I thought those little electric cars were just for city trips until I drove one to my sister's place in Columbus.

My buddy let me borrow his Chevy Bolt for the weekend, and I made the 140 mile round trip with 30 miles left on the battery. I was sure I'd need to stop and charge, but I just plugged it into a normal outlet at her house overnight. Has anyone else been surprised by how far you can actually go on a single charge?

Update: My town's recycling program just got a lot worse

Last week in Springfield, they switched from separate bins to single stream. Saw a guy dump motor oil bottles straight into the paper bin. Called the city hotline, they said they'd 'look into it'. Now half the stuff on my curb just goes to the landfill anyway. Anyone else's local system falling apart like this?

PSA: A friend called me out on my 'green' laundry routine

I thought I was doing good by washing my clothes on cold and line drying, but my friend asked me how often I run the machine. I was doing a load almost every other day, just for a few items. She said the energy and water from all those small loads was way worse than one big weekly load, even with the cold water. I looked it up and she was right, a single full load uses way less power per item. So I switched to a strict once-a-week laundry day, and my water bill dropped by about 15 bucks last month. Has anyone else had a 'green' habit that turned out to be not so great when you looked at the full picture?

Just saw the difference between a new EV and a 20-year-old sedan in my own driveway

My brother's new electric car is so quiet you can hear the birds, and it costs about $15 a month to charge. My old gas car sounds like a lawnmower and needs $60 in fuel every week. Has anyone else made a switch that felt this obvious?

Saw the algae bloom on Lake Erie last week, it's worse than the pictures show

I was up near Toledo and the green scum stretched for what looked like miles from the shore. The guy at the bait shop said it's been getting thicker every summer for the past five years. How are we still letting farm runoff cause this much damage to a whole lake?

My neighbor's sprinkler was running during a rainstorm last week

I saw it while walking my dog and just went over and turned it off at the spigot. It felt a little awkward, but wasting that much water is just stupid when we're in a drought. Has anyone else had to do something like this?

I switched my lawn sprinklers to run before sunrise instead of at noon, my water bill dropped by 30 bucks last month.

Serious question, has anyone else been called out for their recycling habits?

My partner pointed out last month that I was tossing greasy pizza boxes into the blue bin, which contaminates the whole batch, so now I always tear off the clean top lid for recycling and compost the oily bottom.

Warning: I just realized my 'energy efficient' heat pump was running on dirty power from my local grid in Phoenix.

My bill was still high, so I checked the real-time grid mix online and saw it was 60% natural gas during peak hours, which completely negates the point of switching from a gas furnace last fall.

My apartment's heat bill dropped by $40 last month after I tried a simple window trick

Last week, I finally got around to sealing my drafty windows with that removable rope caulk you can get at any hardware store. I live in an old building in Chicago, and you could feel the cold air coming in. It took me about an hour to do all five windows in my place. I was shocked when I got my heating bill and it was so much lower. It made me realize how much energy I was wasting just from those small gaps. What other low cost fixes have you all done to cut down on energy use at home?

My compost bin lid flew off and hit the neighbor's cat

I was trying to aerate my backyard compost pile in Denver yesterday when a big gust of wind caught the lid. It sailed right over the fence and bonked Mr. Whiskers, who was napping on their patio. What's the best way to weigh down a compost bin lid in a windy area?

Pro tip: I used to throw out all my food scraps until a composting workshop in Denver showed me how to turn them into garden soil in about 3 months.

Now my kitchen waste bin is basically empty and my plants are way happier, so has anyone else tried a specific compost method that actually works in a small backyard?

Switched from weekly lawn mowing to a clover mix last spring

I used to mow my whole yard in Austin every Saturday, but after a water bill spike I planted microclover. It only needs a trim once a month, uses way less water, and the bees love it. Anyone else try a low-mow lawn alternative?

My friend in Denver told me to stop recycling pizza boxes

She said the grease makes them unrecyclable in our city's single stream system, so they just get thrown out at the sorting plant. I checked with our local waste department and she was totally right, they confirmed it's a major contaminant. Now I just compost them instead. Has anyone else had to change a recycling habit because of local rules?

Just switched from a gas mower to a reel mower for my small lawn

I have a tiny patch of grass in my backyard, maybe 200 square feet total. For years I used my old gas mower on it, which felt silly but it's what I had. Last month I finally bought a basic push reel mower for about 80 bucks. The first cut took longer, sure, but the difference is huge. No more fumes, no more spilling gas when I fill it, and it's actually quiet enough to hear the birds. The grass looks healthier too, and I'm not burning fossil fuels just to trim a postage stamp. Has anyone else made a switch like this for a small outdoor chore? I'm curious about other simple swaps.

Pro tip: A chat with my plumber about my water heater made me check my city's rebate program

I was talking to my plumber, Mike, while he was installing a new water heater last week. He mentioned that our city, Phoenix, offers a $300 rebate for switching to a heat pump water heater. I had no idea that was a thing, and it completely changed the math for me. Has anyone else here actually gone through the process of getting one of those rebates, and was it a hassle?

Went to the beach in Santa Monica and the amount of plastic washed up was just unreal

I filled a whole trash bag in 20 minutes and barely made a dent. How do we get people to care about this stuff?

Am I the only one who remembers our failed work carpool?

We got it going for a month, then people just stopped showing up. Now I'm back to solo commutes, burning more fuel than ever. What a waste, right?