Should they raise user taxes on air travel to improve US air traffic control system? I would guess yes.

Little strategy games, like Wordle, are popular. How about making a game out of sorting one's recycling well. The winner creates cleanest and most useful recycling stream.

The game of Wordle seems to be a fad now.

As for little games of strategy, I often think that we should make sorting one's recycling into a game. Figuring out what goes where, what types of plastic go into different bins so less types of plastics are mixed. Might sound too complicated, but it could be fun, like other games.

We could even keep score among folks and buildings that have recycling bins. Who can create the cleanest recycling stream. Who can create the stream that is most useful for industry as a recycled resource.

Less bags. Even garbage bags can be avoided if slimy food waste can go in a separate compost bin.

Knowing what's best for the environment can be a confusing. Using the least amount of bags is best tho.

This British study, says that plastic shopping bags might have a lower footprint on the environment than cloth. To put it another way, one would have to reuse a heavy cloth bag over 100 times for it to have less of a footprint than the cheapest plastic bags. That has to do with what it takes to grow the cotton, make the bag and so forth.

Still, I am skeptical due to the effect of discarded plastic waste in the environment, however many plastics are biodegradable. The best strategy is to reuse the bag many times, or not use a bag.

Personally, I use my bicycle panniers. I guess even folks who drive don't have to use shopping bags either. Just roll the shopping cart out to your vehicle and put your groceries into reusable containers. I bring the cart to my bicycle and load my panniers. Actually I just use the store's shopping basket as I seldom buy many groceries in one trip.

This radio interview overlooked a big elephant in the room. The automobile. What effect does driving to the store have on the environment? In my case, I live in a dense urban neighborhood so I can walk, or bike to the store each day.

Here in Bellingham, plastic shopping bags have been banned by city ordinance. Stores have to charge extra for a bag which is usually paper. I never buy the bag. Paper bags may be worse for the environment than plastic as they are heavier (more material) and they tend to degrade so they can be less reusable.

This British study also compared the impact of paper bags. It says that their manufacture places a bigger footprint on the environment than the cheapest plastic. Paper bags lie somewhere between plastic and cloth as to the impact of their manufacture on the environment.

Plastic trash bags are an issue also. I seldom use them at home

For garbage, I am fortunate living near the Bellingham Food Co-Op where there is a green waste. Food scraps that tend to turn smelly in garbage can be carefully placed in the green bin to become compost. Other "dry" wastes, like plastics, can be kept clean for recycling.

As I've written about before, biodegradable plastic shouldn't go with other plastics as that degrades the mix. I try and put that in the compost bin, or it that is not available in regular trash.

Basically, I really don't use garbage bags at home. Living close to waste bins, I separate and take things there. Some things, especially stuff made from mixed materials, I do put directly in the dumpster. No need for a garbage bag, I just take it directly there. Food waste is the worse stuff for going to the dumpster if there is no bag, but use of the green waste bin seems to solve that messy problem.

I'll admit, where I work, we sure go through a lot of plastic garbage bags. At work, I try to reuse the huge amount of trash bags they use for dirty towels. I give the bags a second life lining trash bins in my work area. (I'm a custodian at a YMCA). They tried reusable cloth bags for the dirty towels, but they don't last. They tear too easy.

I'm both socially and fiscally liberal, but also believe in some personal responsibility

Some people say they are socially liberal while being fiscally conservative. I'm both socially and fiscally pretty liberal. Basically I tend to support higher taxes and I recognize a good role that government spending can play. Where I may sound "conservative" is in the role of personal responsibility. Rather than just blaming everything on corporations and the rich, I try and see what we can do, ourselves, to improve society. How can we live for a better environment, better health and so forth. Things like bicycle culture. I think about how can we be responsible consumers. If we want better conditions for workers, I ask how do we treat the workers in the businesses that we are consumers at? Are we impatient, or do we give them a break? As workers and professionals, do we gouge consumers and institutions with our high prices and salaries? If we want to tax the rich, do we, at least, put out enough effort to cast a vote come election time?

Oil spill response. She tossed out her car keys after reading my letter to the editor

In 1989, my letter to the editor was a contributing factor for a local woman to throw out her car keys. Bellingham Herald did an article about her back then. My letter was one of the factors leading to her lifestyle change at the time.

This was not long after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

Better on a bicycle, not so good as a car bumper sticker

Saw this bike parked downtown.

Better to see this sign on a bike than on the bumper sticker of a car even though I wrote earlier, in this blog "if we keep consuming oil we might as well drill for it in our own territory."

I wasn't against Obama's plan to open up more offshore areas to drilling, even though I've never driven a car. Domestic production is still better than imports, but better yet is less consumption and more alternatives.

Oil well blowout in Gulf of Mexico is "rough seas" for the politics of oil drilling. Here in this area, people of Anacortes, WA. are still morning the loss of 7 workers in the Tesoro Refinery accident.

Even though it's better to produce locally, it's still best to figure out how to consume less fossil fuel.

My own energy cap is the circuit breaker

China, US and other countries are discussing numbers with Copenhagen Climate Conference on it's way.

It isn't likely to mean much till differences start trickling down to the grassroots level.

I've got my own "energy cap." It's the circuit breaker.

My room has one wall socket feeding a network of extension cords and surge suppressors. It all has to fit under 15 amps (around 1,500 watts) or the breaker goes plunging everything into darkness.

Computers and compact lights don't take much energy so that part is fairly easy.

The heater is a bit more challenging. I have a great portable heater for one room, but it stays on it's lowest setting - 600 watts. There's also a 900 watt setting and both switches equal 1,500 watts.

600 watts is the safest setting to keep the breaker happy.

Oh, I forgot to mention, one or two plug ins on the same breaker are scattered around in my neighbor's apartment. That means less than 15 amps for me, depending on what they've got plugged in across the hall.

No problem, I just wear jackets in the house and the sun warms my south facing window, on sunny days. Climate here is quite mild so we get very few days below freezing.

There's some residual heat from other parts of the house. The other apartments have radiators that run from the gas furnace. For some reason, this room doesn't have that.

Still, it works out quite well. I'm out a lot anyway and usually turn things off unless I'm home.

Living near downtown Bellingham, the world is my living room. There's warm saunas at the YMCA, dancing, biking and the symbolic warmth of having many friends.

One thing that really helps back home is an electric blanket. It can keep one toasty without heating the whole room. Draws roughly 180 watts.

I don't drive, but all the warm showers and saunas that I enjoy take energy.

Possibly my biggest greenhouse sin is chocolate milk, however. I drink lots of it. Dairy industry is local (for the buy local advocates), but supposedly a greenhouse gas emitter.

Maybe someday, I should switch to soy milk.

Find me a tasty, less expensive soy milk product and I'll see.

Those who head off to Copenhagen and run the numbers aren't going to be able to accomplish much unless "we the people" are up for changes.

Incidentally, from what I hear, the city of Copenhagen offers many examples of living with a low carbon footprint. A compact European city with lots of windmills and bicycles. Maybe Copenhagen can be a learning experience for the world.

Having your cake and eating it too

"Nuclear free" without being mostly "car free" also.

As long as people insist on driving as much as they do now, we will likely have to turn to nuclear power for our energy needs.

Heating and cooling large homes takes gobs of energy also.

Nuclear isn't necessarily that bad, but slowing down and consuming less isn't bad either.

I keep hearing that wind and solar power will just not be enough; in the near future at least.

Nuclear is likely to become a larger part of the energy mix. Possibly powering electric cars in the not too distant future.

KGO talk show host Bill Wattenburg has even blamed global warming on environmentalists. Environmentalists have blocked construction of nuclear, thus adding to the need for burning fossil fuel in energy production.

The logic makes sense.

Main point I make is that we can't have our cake and eat it too.

We can always try, however.

Maybe someday there will be a "magic energy source" with no downside.

Hydrogen fusion rather than nuclear fission?

Aw, the topic of another blog post some day.

While I'm not against atomic energy, I also say that slowing down and being less materialistic is a virtue as well.

Remember that newer electronics can use less energy and do more things than older electronics. Smaller, but still better.

Think vacuum tubes vs transistors?

Maybe life can mimic electronic technology someday.

Smaller homes? Closer and friendlier neighbors? Walking to work? Biking to work? Good public transit?

Am I idealistic? That's actually how I'm living now. It can be done, but inertia keeps people where they're at.

We can gradually change inertia.

Whichever way we go, we just can't have our cake and eat it too.

Car drivers who want affordable electric cars may have to bite the bullet and support nuclear energy, for a while at least. Until the more magic answer comes along, what ever that will be.

I also remember this phrase, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

Is road trip tenting on the decline in America?

Sure, you can still buy tents at the recreational supply boutique and pay plenty for them. These tents are used along wilderness trails.

What about tent camping on a road trip? Alongside the highway? Does the car driving public still use tents? Where does that leave me, as a bicycle tourist?

There are still places to camp, but I'm noticing less tent camping.

Maybe I'm wrong. Is this just my perception?

People who travel by car, on road trips don't use tents anymore. They've graduated to RVs. Yes, the big RVs with satellite dishes and all of that.

Energy in short supply? You'd never know it.

Seems like more and more campgrounds are for "RVs only."

Places that allow tents are still around, government run state parks and so forth, but RVs are taking over. Especially in the private campgrounds. Maybe this has always been the case, but it seems like private campgrounds are often just "RV parks."

Camping is getting more expensive and tent camping, even in some state, county and other parks is getting crowded out.

They must run all those RVs with plutonium generators. That's the way spacecraft are powered as they sail out to places like Saturn. Places too far from the Sun for solar panels.

Radio Thermal Generators. RTGs for short. Just kidding. They do work well in space however.

Bicycle touring still relies on tent camping. RTGs for the big screen TV are a bit heavy to carry.

Where can we camp?

I know, many bicycle tourists just "free camp." Don't bother trying to be "legitimate" in campgrounds. Who needs to pay the fee?

In regions that are specifically set up for bicycle touring, like that beautiful string of state parks along the California Coast with "hiker / biker" sites, it's great. Camp there for only $3 per night (last I checked).

Bicyclists still use tents and some areas subsidize, (basically roll out the red carpet), to encourage bicycle touring.

Hard to beat $3 per night in areas where "starter homes" may be in the million dollar range.

Energy shortage, recession, mortgage crisis be dammed. Much of America is still in the stratosphere.

Do automobile travelers still use tents?

One sees a few.

When I was a kid, lots of car campers used tents.

Now days, there are the "rent an RV" companies. I don't remember seeing those in my childhood. Now the road's crowded with them.

"See America, rent for the week."

An innovative idea. One need not own an RV to drive one. It must not be too expensive as the average American gets so little vacation anyway. A week or two of RV rental can't be too much.

So, I'm still the "odd ball" doing bicycle touring. Camping by tent, but I find myself staying in motels more often than in years past.

Am I getting old or becoming a flabby yuppie?

Motels are tempting when sleeping on the ground can cost around $20 while a small town motel might just be $38. One doesn't even have to pitch a tent and yes, it is fun to watch TV.

Maybe this is nothing new. In 1993, I found a place in North Dakota where it cost $7 to pitch a tent and only $10 for a basement motel room. That room was a bargain.