Cider Press Hill

90 Percent Project - Week 7

Some progress on the 90 Percent Project and some backsliding this week. Electricity and trash are doing very well, but gasoline and water—not so much. Still less than the national average, but that’s not the goal. Gasoline use will definitely drop after the lad leaves home, but it’s a real challenge for now.

Electricity
Week 7: 31 kWh

US Average: 11,000 kWh per household per year (avg. of 900 kWh per month, 211 kWh per week)
90 Percent reduction goal: 1100 kWh per household per year or about 90 kWh per month.

Continuing the downward trajectory. The daily values for 2 of the 3 days that the lad was gone (of the weekly counting period) were just beautiful...3 kilowatt hour days. He left his laptop home for me to use and it made quite a difference.

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Gasoline purchased (for 1.5 people)
Week 7: 9.08 gallons

US Average: 500 gallons per person per year.
90 Percent reduction goal: 50 gallons per person per year.

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Water (for 1.5 people)
Week 7: 359.08 gallons

US Average: 100 gallons per person per day, 700 gallons per week.
90 Percent reduction goal: 10 gallons per person per day, 70 gallons per week.

This doesn’t seem right to me, but there it is. I suppose part of the use was the water used in the loads of laundry done before the lad left on vacation. But I don’t know what else accounts for it. I didn’t use very much water, I didn’t think. I have to keep a closer eye on the water meter for a while. Sloppy habits must be creeping back.

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Natural Gas
Week 7: 5 cu. ft./5.35 therms

US Average: 1000 therms per household per year.
90 Percent Reduction Goal: 100 therms per household per year.

Nothing new or different here.

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Trash (for 1.5 people)
Week 7: 4 lbs.

US Average: 4.5 lbs per person per day, 31.5 lbs per week.
90 Percent Reduction Goal: .45 lbs per person per day, 3.15 lbs per person per week.

By golly, I actually used a paper grocery bag this week. It looked very lonesome (but cute) sitting by the curb on Thursday, with its top neatly folded over.

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Consumer Goods
Week 7: $53.57: $13.99 - Igloo cooler, $34.00 - PUR Water Filter, $5.58 - Terry’s dog chews

US Average: $10K per household per year.
90 Percent Reduction Goal: $1000 per household per year.

The cooler was on sale, so I grabbed it quick. There will be more to say about that in the next couple of months. It has a mission or two.

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Food
The Farmer’s Market is my best friend. Overdosing on sweet corn, fresh tomatoes, yummy pasteurized milk, and fresh garlic-onion baguettes. There were also a couple of cuts of beef in there. Locally raised with no antibiotics or hormones added. Tastes unbelievably good, too. I am curious why the fresh locally grown beef that I buy has that dark purple color (same color as fresh venison, I think) rather than the rosy red the grocery store meat has. Anyone know?

Posted on 07/22/07 at 06:42 PM
 




Linkmeister

I think supermarkets can/will inject a gas to make their meats look red sometimes.

I could be all wet, but I seem to remember reading this somewhere.

United States   Posted by Linkmeister on 07/22/07  at  07:00 PM





Kate

I didn’t know that. So...purple isn’t an appetizing color or what? It’s what we get used to. Just very different. We probably don’t want to know what else they inject the supermarket meat with, either. Purple just grew on me a whole lot.

United States   Posted by Kate on 07/22/07  at  07:19 PM





cyn

I thought it was the oxygen getting to it.  When it is sealed tightly it is bright red, when air gets to it, it gets purply.  I dunno........there must be a farmer or two who read this blog and might have an answer.......?

United States   Posted by cyn on 07/24/07  at  12:11 PM





Kate

According to this article in Mother Earth News:

...beef, which under normal conditions changes from dark purplish red, to bright red, to brownish over a period of several days. Market research has taught retailers that customers will almost invariably choose bright red beef over purplish red beef, even though the latter actually is fresher. Today, by manipulating the “air” in the package, manufacturers can preserve the bright red color for weeks or even months, saving money on lost turnover in the meat case."

Linkmeister read correctly. Really fresh beef is a dark purpley red. Less fresh beef is a rosy red. But consumers like that color better so injected gases can keep meat that color for a long time on the shelf.

It’s an interesting article. Makes you want to rush right out and buy some red meat from your grocer’s counter. Yeah.

United States   Posted by Kate on 07/25/07  at  09:14 PM





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