How "Green" should Lakewood be?

Corey Rossen · Post by **Corey Rossen** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:49 pm

Maybe a rooftop patio would help the old Barnacle Bills location, no I mean Pickle Bills, or is it Crazy Rita's, no 'um Cleats, I mean whoever the next victim will be.

Hey Melt or Beer Engine, have any friends looking to open a place? Maybe some of your skills could rub off.

Corey

Will Brown · Post by **Will Brown** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:06 pm

Going green is not economical. If it cost less to go green we would all have gone there and there would be no reason for this thread.

I think its also fair to say that going green is less comfortable than not going green. Slogging through rain or snow on a bicycle saves energy, but is less comfortable than commuting in the comfort of a car.

So the question is how much is each of us willing to pay to go green. If we do so voluntarily, we can pat ourselves on the back, but many of us would question why we have to make do with less, while our neighbors continue in opulent comfort, even at a reduced cost because the price of gas, for example, should decrease as demand decreases. I don't believe we would all do the green thing out of altruism.

So if we make Lakewood a highly green community, it would seem to follow that it would be a more expensive community, and people looking for an affordable community would look elsewhere.

I feel that individual action will have only a tiny effect on a major problem, and city or state action would simply harm the local and state economies as companies and people would locate elsewhere. and federal action, which could be a solution, will not be forthcoming as long as we keep electing clowns. Even federal action would be problematic; witness the companies that have moved operations overseas to evade environmental controls and high labor costs.

Incidentally, I'm not convinced that wind power is not a viable part of the solution. Windmills seem to be cropping up everywhere. We recently visited the Netherlands and, while the classic windmills are pretty much just a tourist attraction, they had an impressive field of modern wind generators just off their coast. Also, they seem to get by on much less petroleum, due no doubt to their politicians having the courage to levy very high taxes on petroleum products.

Bryan Schwegler · Post by **Bryan Schwegler** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:52 pm

Will Brown wrote:Going green is not economical. If it cost less to go green we would all have gone there and there would be no reason for this thread.

Short term, yes, it's not economical. Long-term however, it will cost us far more if we do nothing.

Missy Limkemann · Post by **Missy Limkemann** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:11 pm

in spirit of being "green" i went out and purchased one of those push mowers (non gas using mowers) and this is the worst thing I have ever owned in my life. it does not cut the grass at all. I have over half an acre here and wanted to do something good, but this thing just will not cut the grass. (unless I cut the grass so short you can see the dirt and no grass) AUGHHH!!!!
I agree with the many things we can do to be green, but it does cost a ton to get there, in the end will it work, probably. I would love to have solar panels on my house, that would be awesome, and we are looking at maybe doing that. we bike when ever we can, and the small things we can do as a family. i think together enough small things will help.

Rhonda loje · Post by **Rhonda loje** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:15 pm

What kind did you buy?

rhonda

Brian Pedaci · Post by **Brian Pedaci** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:25 pm

I feel for you Missy. I have a reel mower and I usually have to go back over the lawn with an electric weed whacker to get the spots the reel mower doesn't do.

The trick to it is that you have to keep up with the lawn. The longer the grass/weeds, the poorer the reel mower will do. You may have to go back over (and over) some spots until the grass blades fall just right into the mower blades.

They're also quite a chore if you have trees that drop branches in your yard regularly, like mine.

But the pros (never buying gas, good exercise, reasonably good result, etc) keep me using it rather than the gas mower (that I can't get the **** thing started is another reason!).

Missy Limkemann · Post by **Missy Limkemann** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:28 pm

I have the Scotts Classic 20inch.
The one good thing about it though, my toddler and 11year old can easily push it. WHOO HOO. Time for chores kids...time for chores.

Bryan Schwegler · Post by **Bryan Schwegler** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:18 pm

I have this electric mower, it's great:
http://www.neutonpower.com/

No emissions, pennies of electricty to charge. Defintely a green alternative to a reel mower if you're not happy with that route.

Missy Limkemann · Post by **Missy Limkemann** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:22 pm

Thank you Bryan...I am going to check that one out. The reel mower is just going to be the death of me with the half acre.

Shawn Juris · Post by **Shawn Juris** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:16 pm

Before duplicating efforts, is there an organization devoted solely to Greening Lakewood? The status of Keep Lakewood Beautiful and the Committee for a Greener Lakewood seem unclear.

Ahmie Yeung · Post by **Ahmie Yeung** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:00 am

can't answer your question, Shawn, but my family would be interested. My 4yo is already getting pretty reliable with what items can go in the compost, which ones get recycled, and what has to go in the trash. We were at the Obama HQ last night (I took one kid with me and left the other with my in-laws, hubby was in class) and my son had a piece of cake but didn't like it and he was getting very upset with me when I said I had to throw it out if he wasn't going to eat it (I had cut him the smallest piece I could manage in the first place, knowing he might not like it - he more reliably likes veggies than sweets), he was trying to insist we bring it home and compost it!

Start 'em young. I've been recycling since elementary school myself and it's just an ingrained habit, tho we had to haul stuff to the recycling center back then. My husband is getting more and more eco-conscious by the day and we're bringing his parents along for the ride. They've stopped asking why we're doing it if the neighbors aren't after I pointed out that, just like with faith, we have no control over our neighbors but we need to live the best lives we can and be the best example to the children we are capable of being. Hubby and I fell off the eco-bandwagon for a while when we were living in the DC exoburbs and couldn't figure out where to take stuff plus too busy trying to afford our $1050/mo rent-no-utilities-included (our monthly mortgage payment for our double, with 2x the square footage and full attic/basement, is less than that now, btw).

As much as I distrust market forces with the greed of CEOs involved, market forces ARE taking care of some issues and could likely reach critical mass quickly if the government stopped socializing corporate risks while letting them privatize their profits (I would have much less problem with the bail-outs if there were some major public profit sharing going on, it really annoys me that they're tying big strings to bailing out individual homeowners but the banks seem to just get a cash handout, no strings attached). As fuel costs increase, transporting goods across the globe becomes less economical, especially if the working people (the majority of consumers) can't afford to buy them. As more people take an interest in solar panels, more companies become interested in making them as they see a market share to fill, which may bring the price down (especially if they start getting even a small portion of the corporate welfare that the oil companies have been getting).

Sorry for the rambling on and off topic, groggy and in a hurry.

Ahmie

Shawn Juris · Post by **Shawn Juris** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:16 am

Well, Ahmie, you are the 5th person this week who's ready to commit some time to advancing these efforts. I believe that this has gone from being a feel good item to being a stimulus for economic development and something that Lakewood could build on to lock in their public image. What seems needed is a common voice though to pull together the individuals that are already working towards it. Whether this is through the city, the Observer, or Pillars and the Chamber of Commerce, there needs to be a focal point.

sharon kinsella · Post by **sharon kinsella** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:28 pm

Shawn why don't you run with it - you've got the allies, you have a mission more needs to be done before it can be enacted.

If you truly want this effort to go forward, do it.

Don't expect others to. Most are doing other things.

Shawn Juris · Post by **Shawn Juris** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:38 pm

Thanks Sharon. Things are underway. Really it's not a matter of if some of this will be done or not it's a matter of making sure that those who are interested and working on similar things are brought into it to get involved. I'm a bit reluctant to lead, but with this it just seems to simple to not just check it off the list.
With a bit of support, H2O will have what they need for the high school to implement a recycling program to collect paper and cans/bottles by September 1st, winter break at the lastest to have things up and running. With some momentum, I expect that we can have recycling available at the parks for next spring and then focus on the elementary and middle schools with pedestrian areas to follow.

sharon kinsella · Post by **sharon kinsella** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:20 pm

Good job.

That's how movements start. Keep on keepin on.