Eco Friendly House And Garden

A seemingly perfect eco friendly product could have a naughty little secret……

When people see an eco friendly alternative, or a potentially eco friendly product – they might not always see the whole story – and this is where enbodied energy comes in to the picture.

Basically – there is a hidden trail of things that go into making anything – and this trail could hold some less than eco friendly pathways that you hadn't thought of before.

They aren't all bad though – they just need to be taken into consideration when weighing up one thing against the other – for example local grapes might use more energy to grow than South African grapes – even though they have used less energy to transport to market.

But to make all this easier to understand, let's look at what embodied energy really means: "…..the total energy used to create a product from scratch and then dispose of it after use".

However, when you really pick this apart it includes an awful lot of things – so lets look at those grapes now.  So, we need to grow the grapes, pick them, pack them and get them to the shop – simple?  Not very……

photo credit: martingarri

Embodied energy would include the following list of things:

1) Maintaining the vine since the last harvest – which includes feeding, watering, clipping, treating and possibly heating or covering throughout the winter – which includes all the creation of all the chemicals used from scratch, energy to pipe the water, energy to move people and products to and from the site, energy to dispose of waste products, energy to heat or create covers for plants and the energy to create and maintain the necessary tools for the job.

2) Harvesting the grapes – which includes transporting all the staff and equipment to and from the vines, including and refrigeration, storage and internal transport of the grapes once harvested.  And the energy needed to dispose of all the waste created by this process.

3) Packing the grapes – which includes all the packaging needed to wrap and protect the grapes while they are moved through the packing process (and the energy needed to make all this packaging in the first place and the energy to package the packaging and transport it to the vineyard), energy to run the machines, conveyers, and storage facilities while stored and before transportation.  And the energy needed to dispose of all the waste created by this process.

4) Transporting the grapes – which includes all the energy needed to chill and protect the grapes while they are in transit – this of course will include all the energy needed to fuel the transport from vineyard to warehouse and could include road, rail and ship or air freight (and of course all the energy needed to keep that transport in tip top condition for transporting the product in the first place!).  You will also need to use a small amount of energy in all the paperwork that needs to be completed as the product changes hands and moves through countries.

And after they get to the warehouse – they may be repackaged and re-loaded onto other modes of transport to go to individual shops, and then are stored, protected, chilled and moved around the stores using yet more energy.  And of course, all the energy needed to dispose of all the waste created by this process.

You then need to buy them from the shop – using the tills and bags and your car or bus for transport which of course are all made of energy – and then you use your fridge to chill them, your water to wash them and your electricity to dishwash your kitchenware and then your bin bags to dispose of the stalks and packaging (and the dustmen have to use energy in their vans to collect it!).

Is That All?

Now, obviously this is a very detailed story of a grape's embodied energy – but is very simplistic as there are many things that haven't even been calculated here!  And who want's to have to think about all of that when choosing grapes for tea?

However, there are some very simple things you can think of when choosing between 2 or more products for their eco friendly qualities – and this is one of them.

By thinking of the processes that have gone into making each of the products, you can get a clearer picture of it's qualities. 

So, yes, those local grapes did only travel 20 minutes down the road to your local market – but did they have to use tonnes of energy-rich fertilisers to maintain in a not-the-best-suited environment as well as megawatts of heating to keep them alive through the winter waiting for the next harvest!  

Or is the energy of transporting those African grapes (which were grown in a perfect environment with no need for heating or treating) less overall?

So, the concept of embodied energy can switch many 'simple' ideas on their head – but it is itself a very difficult thing to put your finger on.  As you can see from the breakdown above – there are so many factors that it may be near impossible to fully estimate!

But at least you know what it is now!

There are still more tips coming to me for your horse, pony or stable yard!

It is so easy to see a new top tip when you walk through the yard – either by doing something yourself or seeing someone else doing it.  Sometimes, your friends might be doing something that saves then time or money or just because it’s easier – but it could be a great eco friendly tip!

1) Learn to sew!  Putting patches on elbows, new hems on your rugs and darning your woolly socks together can all make your existing clothes last longer!  You don’t need to look perfect at the yard – especially if it’s cold or raining!  Making your clothes last longer means you get to spend your money on more exciting things! 

2) Go solar-powered for those little things like the stable radio – or you can get wind-up versions too.  Maybe buy a solar powered ‘travel charger’, so while you are mucking out – your mobile phone could be charging itself up naturally!  And make sure your lighting is powered by a green energy supplier!

3) Make sure you always muck out your horsebox or pony trailer as soon as you arrive at your destination to prevent the damp bedding soaking into the wooden floorboards.  Obviously, the longer you let the moisture soak in, the more damage it can do – and the shorter the lifespan of your trailer!

4) Learn to make your own equipment if possible, like feeding a piece of reused foam through the headband of a head collar to act as a poll guard.  This way you get to use all your old bits and bobs from around the house – and the stores don’t need to keep making more of everything!

5) If your horse eats it’s fresh bedding (or you want to make your bedding last longer) - you should mix in some of the old bedding when mucking out.  Not only will this mean that you need less bedding each time – but your horse should stop eating the wrong materials – and prevent wasted vets fees and your time!

6) Also to save vets visits, wasted treatments and last minute panics – keep a record of your horses medical information.  For example knowing the temperature of your horse before and after exercise, in summer or in winter can mean that you know for definite when there is something wrong.  Saying that your pony is ‘really hot’ isn’t the best way of judging for treatments and medication!  So if you have a definite record beforehand – you will be sure when something is wrong or when something is just the ‘top end of normal’.

7) And again – store your feed and medicines in metal dustbins or other suitably waterproof and pest-resistant containers.  That way you will keep things vermin-free as well as avoiding leaks and breakages.  This all adds up to less wasted products, no contaminated feeds and no poorly ponies - there really is no need to waste time, energy or money ever again!

8.) Use a left-over piece of plastic drainpipe to put over the top of a stable door to prevent your horse crib-biting.  By cutting it into 2 pieces, you could rest it over the top of the door to stop it being destroyed!  Not only will this stop you having to repair or buy a new door eventually – but can’t hurt the horse either!

9) Depending on the size of your own land – why not fence off a small area and grow your own hay.  Either feed as hay or make it into haylage instead.

10) Or why not go organic – and grow your own horse veg!  A few lines of carrots, some turnips, garlic and even an apple tree don’t need a lot of room – and could mean fresh organic and local veg for your pony (and you!).

Well, what do you think of those then?  Any help to you – I hope so.

I know that net curtains are a bit old fashioned these days – but they protect what’s inside!

So, how about a modern alternative: Blinds.

In winter, an uncovered glass window is just asking to let heat escape 24 hours a day.  So why let it?  Here are some great benefits and tips for modern window coverings – and it’s not just about heat either, but we will start there:

1) Escaping Heat:
If your window isn’t protected from the inside, all the heat from your room is going to head for the outside.  Nature likes to keep everything equal, so if the nice warm air can get outside and mix with the colder air – it will, just like cordial mixing into the glass of water.

If you don’t give the warm air a chance to get cold – all the warm air will stay in your home and keep your fuel bills down.  Blinds and curtains are the equivalent of insulation in your roof: without them the heat just escapes!

Close your blinds as soon as it gets dark outside to trap most of the daytime heat inside.  

2) Letting In The Sun:
In summer it is quite the opposite!  You want all the sunshine you can to come in the windows – flooding your home with warmth.

A net curtain in the way could be a hindrance to this – so blinds are perfectly designed to roll completely out of the way – allowing you room to fill with the sun’s rays – and keep your home warm into the evening.

Use natures power when you can! (and it’s free!)

3) Security:
Closing your window blinds when it’s dark outside is also essential for good security.  Once you lights are on and it’s dark outside – everyone can see straight into your home – with all your electrical goodies on show.

Walking in the streets when it’s dark is a great opportunity for thieves to ‘case the joint’.  They can see everything you are doing – and more importantly – they will know when you are not in!

4) Privacy:
Linked to above, but for those people who have a window actually on the street front – you don’t want people looking in, but you don’t want to shut out the sunshine – so why not fit a half-blind at head height. 

Alternatively you can now order blinds that open from the top rather than the bottom.  Ideal for letting in the light without letting in the nosey parkers!

5) Conservation:
Sunlight and UV rays can damage precious materials and paintings over time, so sometimes you would want to block out the light when it is directly shining onto a certain piece of furniture or art work.

Net curtains won’t do the trick and full curtains will make the whole room pitch black – however blinds can be adjusted to cover only the articles you want to protect, letting the rest of the room stay in sunlight!

6) Style:
And finally – why should saving energy be boring?  It isn’t, you just have to look in the right places.

There are many suppliers of trendy, fashionable, traditional, plain, black-out, bamboo and wood blinds, either fitted into the frame for extra heat and light control, hanging loose – so you can still peak around them, or top opening for privacy.

So, maybe consider using blinds to save money, save energy, protect your property and look great!