Poll Results part 1: Clotheslines In Back Yard - Im All For It!

During my semi/bi-weekly perusal of all local blogs was a discussion about private residents clotheslines and HOA covenant legal battles that I recently ran over at The Good City. Scott Greider asked some simple questions in relation to the whole acceleration to a green society movement within the local blogosphere, and as a concerned neighbor, "Should (we) encourage the unsightly but environmentally-friendly practice of clothesline-drying? Or promote a more “beautiful” city by mandating the more sightly, but less environmentally-friendly use of electric (or gas) dryers?"

Knowing of course my own experiences while living at my maternal family estate many years ago, and the controversy surrounding some of my more festively coloured undergarments and essentials wear, I still am a fan of line drying over wasting electricity and an extra two dollars per load at the local laundry. There will always be situations which call for having a smaller dryer available at home but there is no reason to have a full size dryer even with a larger family. My one friend saves seventy five cents per load at home that is air dried.

This is a prime example of the issues surrounding a living-in-common community. Rather than having a full to over sized washer and dryer in every home, we would be allowing for private enterprise to have those things available for a moderate cost which an individual person only would need occasional access to for the monthly washing of blankets or more seasonal cleaning. Plus by returning to a scenario where in people had to encounter each other to do basic life functions, like laundry, we might indeed become more friendly to each other and, as Scott Greider and John Swerens wish to promote, a good city. One other opportunity missed by not going to a laundry facility is the opportunity to check out some really hot bois and possible find new friendships or your future partner(s) in romance.

Daily or weekly clothes maintenance issues can be resolved much more economically and environmentally sound by using the mini or stackable washers and dryers which would also reduce land use since use of said stackable would remove the need for a laundry room in every house. Of course by line or air drying clothes one would save gobs of money and reduce the environmental foot print immensely and your clothes would actually last a little bit longer as well.

As much as people across the nation or locally want to complain about the unsightliness of clothes wisping in the wind on a rope and two or three wooden clips why isn't that same aggravation applied when looking above the intersection of Lima Road and Fernhill Avenue with the eight rows of power lines skirting across the horizon view and zig zagging in every direction. If you want to beautify the city lets start by systematically burying our power lines on major roadways and then move to the residential neighborhoods.

Fellow bloggers have been going back and forth on certain issues for several months now that are president to their own perspective: plastic or paper versus canvas or other reusable materials and tap versus bottled water to name a couple. The only difference now is, everyone has a common reference pointe to apply in their own daily practices or gripes with the new Grassroots Green initiatives and handbook, sorry, coupon book.

The biggest issue with going green frankly is the true cost is initially very expensive if not planned out properly. Living an environmentally based lifestyle isn't just about recycling or bio-fuels it is also paying a fair wage to the people that provide the services or products, that means no more fifty cent newspapers while also actually taking the time drive downtown and place the old ones in the bins on the side of the building. If we truly went to a fair market green society, milk would now cost five to seven dollars per gallon, give or take an ounce here or there. I like my two dollar fifty cent gallon of cow juice, dammit!

The thing to do, gentle readers, is to not try to 'go green' all at once though some would try. As with any spiritual discipline, an environmental discipline must be developed slowly and methodically in order to be considered authentic and a true conversion process. Pick out ten things that you can do today to become green and implement them daily over the next six months. In six months review, improve where necessary, and then pick ten more, etc.

[Final Notes:]
There are text links which will lead you to other blogs mainly Kody Tinnel's, Dan Turkette's, and Rachel Blakeman's as well as an article in TIME written by Elizabeth Salemme on 21 November 2007, fyi. The First Photo is from Aussie Bum Underwear. The Second Photo is copied with gratitude from Beautiful Magazine and is an original piece by Michael Breyette from Studio1088.