Have you seen "It's Not Easy Being Green"?

[KindredSpirit]

It is a new show I ran across on the Sundance Channel:

http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500205205

"Join the Strawbridge family in their quest to be self-sufficient and environmentally responsible as they leave suburban comfort for a run-down 300-year-old English farmhouse and three acres in Cornwall. During the course of this eight-part British documentary series, engineer Dick Strawbridge, wife Brigit, son James and daughter Charlotte plan to harness a nearby stream to generate electricity, grow their own vegetables and raise a pig or two.

In episode one, the Strawbridges move in and build an aqueduct to bring the stream to a waterwheel."

I watched it and I thought it was pretty good. For those wanting to be self-sufficient it may have some extra ideas for you.

[Shepherd]

I don't know if we get that channel but I sure hope we do - sounds really interesting.

[rambler]

Here in Minnesota, you need a govt permit to change the flow of water - it's not good for the environment to mess with water flows. Can harm fish, and slowing the water flow can affect water quality issues.

While 2 hogs might be ok yet, having livestock outside on dirt (I say dirt - like in a livestock yard or wallow) is also a no-no, need a roof over them & concrete under them. Without causes runoff & pollution, not good for the environment.

Truely, living green, is difficult - from what you describe, some might choose to give them a D-...... Green is in the eye of the beholder.....

--->Paul

[KindredSpirit]

Originally Posted by rambler

Here in Minnesota, you need a govt permit to change the flow of water - it's not good for the environment to mess with water flows. Can harm fish, and slowing the water flow can affect water quality issues.

While 2 hogs might be ok yet, having livestock outside on dirt (I say dirt - like in a livestock yard or wallow) is also a no-no, need a roof over them & concrete under them. Without causes runoff & pollution, not good for the environment.

Truely, living green, is difficult - from what you describe, some might choose to give them a D-...... Green is in the eye of the beholder.....

--->Paul

Although the title of the show is "It's Not Easy Being Green", the family fully admit that they are not green, but working toward that goal. I pointed out the show because the people on the board are bright enough to glean some ideas on how to build various things, such as the aquaduct and other items they are building, without taking the show literally in terms of their own personal lifestyle.

[rambler]

I did not mean to be critical, and appreciate this thread.

A classic saying is 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.

'Green' seems to be the same way?

I'm not sure I agree we should take out our incadecent bulbs & put in the curly ones with mercury in them & think we are helping the environment - tho I have several packs of the curly bulbs around & use them. I'm just not sure long-term, we will find ourselves better with the trace of mercury around, other issues with those bulbs.

A self-sufficient person with a few hogs on 5 acres is pretty cool.

On the other hand if every family in the USA wanted to do that, we would be chocking each other out with 5 acre plots, it would not work. So, which way really is 'green', an apmt complex housing 1000's of people in a small space and a larger farm someplace very efficently raising livestock, or several 1000 homesteaders spread all over the environment?

Polution control equip on vehicles cuts down on emissions, but lowers mpg as well so we need to use/drill/make more fuel which also has an environmental impact - does every emssions requirement really make this a better planet, or whould there be a happy medium on some of those?

Saving wetlands & outlawing livestock or greatly increasing the cost of local foods through tight regulation in the USA does help to preserve our local environment - but many times all that happens is we import the livestock/food from other parts of the world, where native ground is cleared for large unregulated feedlots - as well as the transportation (fuel) costs. Would it be 'more green' to relax the regulations locally and keep a global outlook at the realities of what is happening to the planet - a little polution locally is better than a lot on the whole planet?

So on. So forth.

I did not mean to put down the show, or your message.

Only fruther the discussion - what the heck really is the 'green' thing to do?

I guess many of us feel we are doing things pretty good, and 'those other people' need to be regulated & stopped.....

This leads to a very confusing idea of what is or isn't 'green'.

I know I am very confused by this topic.

--->Paul

[KindredSpirit]

Originally Posted by rambler

I did not mean to be critical, and appreciate this thread.

A classic saying is 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.

'Green' seems to be the same way?

I'm not sure I agree we should take out our incadecent bulbs & put in the curly ones with mercury in them & think we are helping the environment - tho I have several packs of the curly bulbs around & use them. I'm just not sure long-term, we will find ourselves better with the trace of mercury around, other issues with those bulbs.

A self-sufficient person with a few hogs on 5 acres is pretty cool.

On the other hand if every family in the USA wanted to do that, we would be chocking each other out with 5 acre plots, it would not work. So, which way really is 'green', an apmt complex housing 1000's of people in a small space and a larger farm someplace very efficently raising livestock, or several 1000 homesteaders spread all over the environment?

Polution control equip on vehicles cuts down on emissions, but lowers mpg as well so we need to use/drill/make more fuel which also has an environmental impact - does every emssions requirement really make this a better planet, or whould there be a happy medium on some of those?

Saving wetlands & outlawing livestock or greatly increasing the cost of local foods through tight regulation in the USA does help to preserve our local environment - but many times all that happens is we import the livestock/food from other parts of the world, where native ground is cleared for large unregulated feedlots - as well as the transportation (fuel) costs. Would it be 'more green' to relax the regulations locally and keep a global outlook at the realities of what is happening to the planet - a little polution locally is better than a lot on the whole planet?

So on. So forth.

I did not mean to put down the show, or your message.

Only fruther the discussion - what the heck really is the 'green' thing to do?

I guess many of us feel we are doing things pretty good, and 'those other people' need to be regulated & stopped.....

This leads to a very confusing idea of what is or isn't 'green'.

I know I am very confused by this topic.

--->Paul

No offense was taken. I was just looking at the show from the "homesteader and self-sufficiency" view more than from the "green" view.

I also did just read about the mercury in the curly light bulbs. We have been using them for about two years now. You are absolutely right that the mercury can not be better for the environment than the other type of light bulbs. I focus more on less consumption by leaving lights off during the day. We buy our vegetables that we don't grow from a local farmers market and also our beef from a local friend. It is difficult to know what the green thing to do is, as this society is so far removed from the simpler lifestyle that our forefathers lived. You have made valid points, and I welcome the discussion on this! I fear for what this earth will be like if we don't make changes soon.

[strider3700]

I found the show online and have seen both seasons. If I remember correctly there is 8 episodes in both seasons. I quite liked the first season but did have a few issues with their attempts to "being green"

The house they bought is massive for the number of people that will be living in it. Even with all of the upgrades they are doing on it I'd say a more reasonably sized house would go further in saving energy.

Their method of pulling all of this off (the move to a ruralish location, new house animals, all the improvements...) Involves borrowing lots of money. Something like $800,000. That right away makes doing everything that they are doing out of the question for most people. We still got some ideas that we could do at my place by watching the show and I think that was the point they where trying to make. No need to do everything at once like they did.

The second season had very little to do with their house instead the men drove around the country helping out others with their projects. I didn't like it as much mainly because the main running story during the season involved a doctor his wife and their I believe two kids and their building a new "green" home. The thing was absolutely massive.

<spoiler alert incase you want to be surprised>

By the end of the season the project was way behind and they where just finishing up the "Guest wing" It was easily twice the size of my house. They still hadn't started on the main house at that point. To power the entire thing they put in this huge windmill that should power most of the houses on the street. Yes I will admit the house used lots of green materials and if maintained should stay standing for a few hundred years easy enough but a family doesn't need 1000 sqft per person in a house.

<end spoiler>

Some of the other people on the show came across as bubble heads that wanted a "green" whatever but had no clue about the overall picture and how everything ties together. The people setting up a campground that decided to go with composting toilets come to mind. The toilets they picked are designed for regular use by 2-4 people. They put in two of them for the entire campground. One busy weekend and they will be full and then what? Rather then worry about things like this they spent time buying alpacas as a gift to each other... It's like people that want to build a house and then pick what colors are going to go where before deciding what piece of property to buy...
Enough ranting for now.

Anyways I recommend the first season for some good ideas and it's enjoyable to watch. The second season not so much. There are supposedly a couple of specials coming out this summer but I haven't seen anything about them yet.

I'd much rather recommend "the good life/ the good neighbours" It's not a how-to/learning show but it shows a lot of things the way they are likely to end up. The wife and I both got a kick out that series and it was at our local library.

[Clifford]

Originally Posted by rambler

Only fruther the discussion - what the heck really is the 'green' thing to do?

I guess many of us feel we are doing things pretty good, and 'those other people' need to be regulated & stopped.....

This leads to a very confusing idea of what is or isn't 'green'.

I know I am very confused by this topic.

--->Paul

Perhaps we should all buy Carbon Offsets just like ALGore :1pig: and John Edwards :1pig: .

[KindredSpirit]

Originally Posted by strider3700

I found the show online and have seen both seasons. If I remember correctly there is 8 episodes in both seasons. I quite liked the first season but did have a few issues with their attempts to "being green"

The house they bought is massive for the number of people that will be living in it. Even with all of the upgrades they are doing on it I'd say a more reasonably sized house would go further in saving energy.

Their method of pulling all of this off (the move to a ruralish location, new house animals, all the improvements...) Involves borrowing lots of money. Something like $800,000. That right away makes doing everything that they are doing out of the question for most people. We still got some ideas that we could do at my place by watching the show and I think that was the point they where trying to make. No need to do everything at once like they did.

The second season had very little to do with their house instead the men drove around the country helping out others with their projects. I didn't like it as much mainly because the main running story during the season involved a doctor his wife and their I believe two kids and their building a new "green" home. The thing was absolutely massive.

<spoiler alert incase you want to be surprised>

By the end of the season the project was way behind and they where just finishing up the "Guest wing" It was easily twice the size of my house. They still hadn't started on the main house at that point. To power the entire thing they put in this huge windmill that should power most of the houses on the street. Yes I will admit the house used lots of green materials and if maintained should stay standing for a few hundred years easy enough but a family doesn't need 1000 sqft per person in a house.

<end spoiler>

Some of the other people on the show came across as bubble heads that wanted a "green" whatever but had no clue about the overall picture and how everything ties together. The people setting up a campground that decided to go with composting toilets come to mind. The toilets they picked are designed for regular use by 2-4 people. They put in two of them for the entire campground. One busy weekend and they will be full and then what? Rather then worry about things like this they spent time buying alpacas as a gift to each other... It's like people that want to build a house and then pick what colors are going to go where before deciding what piece of property to buy...
Enough ranting for now.

Anyways I recommend the first season for some good ideas and it's enjoyable to watch. The second season not so much. There are supposedly a couple of specials coming out this summer but I haven't seen anything about them yet.

I'd much rather recommend "the good life/ the good neighbours" It's not a how-to/learning show but it shows a lot of things the way they are likely to end up. The wife and I both got a kick out that series and it was at our local library.

Thanks for the update. I didn't know it wasn't a new show. I just have the Sundance show as part of a freebie for a couple of months, up in September. Now I know if I get to see the first season and miss the second that I won't have missed out on much!