Go green, skip the LBS
- Thread starter syadasti
- Start date
You will be also saving money, helping the planet, and not supporting terrorism/illegal wars by reducing your carbon footprint. The majority of LBS don't cater to enthusiasts so they are nothing more than frivolous middlemen that do the mail-ordering from the distributors for you at their location - they don't carry the middle to upper-end products. No value is added and its wasteful to the greatest degree.
Its not a small difference:
Ground is six times more efficient than overnight too...
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Building a strong local community is tangible; all the downsides you list will continue whether I actively participate or not. When you consider that most of that crap is made halfway around the world, reducing the carbon footprint of the final leg of the journey is likely a pittance of the total environmental damage done.
My town is small though (4.4 sq/mi, on a peninsula into the atlantic with only 3 roads in/out) so my 'ideal' doesn't match most of the population. Starbucks and DD are the only chains allowed within our town limits, everything else is locally owned.
Warehouses use 1/16th the energy retail stores do, that's not a small difference. Unless your LBS meets or beats passivhaus standards, its not something you can write off as insignificant.
The US uses about 1/4 the world's energy resources and yet its only 5% of the world population.
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Your LBS must have really screwed you over on something...
The owner of my LBS gave me two free tubes yesterday when I dropped of the piece of jewelry that he ordered from me for his wife. Keeps all our dollars local. Top that.
Don't get me wrong though, e-commerce has it's place. You can find some amazing deals, but buying local is how we stay afloat.
until the day the online boys can get me the replacement part I want for todays ride in under 30 minutes I think I will stick with my LBS. I do buy on line if the locals don't have the particular item I want rather than wait for them to order it. I bought my new bike from the LBS because you can't buy the Model/Brand I wanted online (unless a retailer had online sales in addition to it's store).
Oh and my LBS seems to stock quite a bit of mid to high end road and Mt bikes plus components, sorry you live in the land where Big Five passes for an LBS
Oh and my LBS seems to stock quite a bit of mid to high end road and Mt bikes plus components, sorry you live in the land where Big Five passes for an LBS
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Newer jets like the Dreamliner (and A350 soon) beat driving a fuel efficient ICE in terms of a carbon footprint (20% more efficient than comparable jetliner). There isn't a large difference between an average ICE car and flying.
Turboprops are more efficient that jetliners too (over 50% less fuel than an average jetliner)...
Trains easily beat either.
My first full-time IT job I commuted on foot. My second I commuted via bike. My new house lets me walk or bike to work too. I average less than 5K mi/year in my car.
Two of the last three years the 60000 sq ft facility I manage has been one of the few net zero electricity users in its industry in the world - electric lighting is our primary energy usage. Two years ago we also cut our secondary building natural gas consumption by 1/10 when we rebuilt the building - it was the largest part of our non-electrical energy consumption by far prior to that.
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Aviation on average is very inefficient compared to automotive ICE. There aren't enough 787s to make any kind of dent, and the smaller planes are generally less efficient. Turboprops are definitely more efficient, but passengers hate them. Geared turbofans are an interesting newer development though (still don't reach the specific fuel of turboprops afaik).
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It really depends on the flight and also how many passenger you have in your car how direct each route is. There is not a huge difference as comparing a ecommerce warehouse and a retail shop - 1/16th is a much large contrast than aviation and passenger cars. Especially compared to ICE passenger car as old as most jetliners, the jetliners are better give how many Americans drive solo or only two at once.
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This from a 747 pilot. That's about 51,500g (6.7lb/gal)
It's important to note that jet planes burn a lot of fuel at low altitude, even taxiing, once they get up to cruise, that's where they are "efficient". Their cruise fuel burn changes significantly during the flight as well, due to the radical difference in weight.
I've done these calcs before and it's hard to get above 10mpg. The direct nature is one thing it's favor, but I've never had them come out to crazy high numbers. I'll look at these calcs a little more.
Lets say 6000nm for a typical mission. That would mean 6000/51500g=.1165mpg. Typical car gets 30 mpg, takes 200g. About the only way it "works" is if the car has one occupant, otherwise, it's a slam dunk for the car most of the time, and this is assuming the plane is fully loaded, but due to the class-layouts, they typically are not 400+ people airplanes. More like 350. (all nippon more like 320, a few a bit above 350, etc).
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True, and I'd say that most of them lack the motivation necessary to stay in business. Lots of them love riding, but that's not enough to stay successful. They have to do things to compete that mail order just cant do, like built a pump track behind the shop, sponsor local rides and races, guided rides on regular days, involvement in the community, a website with the current inventory (ok, mail order can do that), scouring the internet, qbp and any other source for "deals" to bring in stuff that will sell for a decent price, and so on. I never have a moral problem going to mail order, given the way that LBSs function and their lack of innovation. How did mail order shops get started? Most likely were LBSs that came up with a "good idea". Now that idea is taken and played out, but there are other good ones out there and ways to compete.
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I Bet your Glitter footprint is off the charts.
Jared Fisher of Moab Cyclery/Escape Adventures/Las Vegas Cyclery has just moved his main shop into a LEED platnum net=zero energy building (Las Vegas shop). Pretty cool business he has. His suport trucks for their back-country mtb tours are all fitted up to burn recycled oil from local restaurants/casinos. http://lasvegascyclery.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/las-vegas-cyclery-is-moving-soon/
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You can make greener retail buildings and there are some larger chains like Kohls investing in efficiency upgrades but warehouses will come out ahead especially all things being equal because the hvac, lighting, and storage needs are less and costs are spread across more inventory units per space not to mention you don't have to drive to and from the store.
Explain why my bread is moldy even though I made it 2 days ago?
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Mmike would blame Obama.
Personally, I think it is because you didn't score enough LEED points on your sedimentation control plan.
Pitfalls of too much glitter.
Save the planet. Kill yourself.
^^^ If you really think being greenest is best. Every other option is less than optimal.
^^^ If you really think being greenest is best. Every other option is less than optimal.
Exactly what an sickly obese person or addict would say when you ask them to change. Ignoring a significant problem won't solve anything. Business as usual is not acceptable.
See Germany (widespread alternative energy adoption), Austria (passivhaus as building code), etc - many nations are changing as is necessary. Our own national security doesn't ignore the facts either.
navy.mil said:
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no one cares that much.
I know, lets take it one step further. Lets build a giant warehouse and have everyone live it it with stores and shops inside.....a super hive of humanity 
Hey, you're looking too far ahead in the NRDC playbook! Just assume a demeanor of self righteous indignation, that will do for now.I know, lets take it one step further. Lets build a giant warehouse and have everyone live it it with stores and shops inside.....a super hive of humanity
That's one of the primary drivers for the shift of populations from rural to urban environments as nations develop and prosper its a more efficient way to live with growing populations and limited resources.I know, lets take it one step further. Lets build a giant warehouse and have everyone live it it with stores and shops inside.....a super hive of humanity
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/12/city-solutions/kunzig-text
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Wow. The way people come down on this one turns precisely on whether they have ever had a good local shop (or, for many of us, worked in one). If so, you get it. If not, nothing will sway you. But to make the decision based on energy efficiency is just ridiculous.
The NRDC is reporting a fact, they don't have an anti-retail agenda. The difference in energy use is clearly significant both between warehouses and retail and the percentage of total US energy consumption from buildings (which itself is significantly larger than expected given our population)
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The warehouse model assumes NO LOCAL Recycling of old bikes, bike parts etc. It assumes pure consumption. Bike shop, not so much. Ya cant send your wheel to amazon to have three new spokes installed. It's a community business, a place for people to gather, warehouse - not so much...
There's something to be said for bringing an old precious steed to the bike shop, and having them bring it back to life for ya.
There's something to be said for bringing an old precious steed to the bike shop, and having them bring it back to life for ya.
Wrong.
A service centric LBS is significantly smaller than one that focuses on retail - we have one near one of the main area trails. Look at the auto industry - most auto shops do not stock parts other than motor oil and other common fluids and maybe tires and batteries - the essentials.
Everything else is delivered from an auto parts warehouse. Its the way to go for a more workable efficient business model. Automobiles are some of the most recycled machines on the planet, so it works.
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So, where do you buy your groceries Syadasti ? I mean think of how energy inefficient grocery stores are with all that refrigeration and electric lighting. And farmers using up all that soil and water. Just sickening. But I am sure there is a giant green food factory/warehouse that will supply you with some delicious chemical food substitutes. Goddamn this is really pissing me off. The food industry needs to be stopped. And local restaurants are surely to blame for tremendous amounts of potato peels and used fryer oil. What about them ? I'm glad you posted this topic.
Large supermarkets are significantly cheaper than small corner stores. Economies of scale and the efficiency is there otherwise they wouldn't exist.
Cities, supermarkets (or the next level up - warehouse stores like Costco/Home Depot/etc), auto shops etc - do all of you live under a rock?
Cities, supermarkets (or the next level up - warehouse stores like Costco/Home Depot/etc), auto shops etc - do all of you live under a rock?
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Only at stores that don't sell apples.
No, I live in a community which means I like to shop locally with non-big box stores as much as possible.
This is by far your most absurd argument this year Syadasti. Seriously dude, do you just not give a sh!t about your neighbors or are you the one living under a rock ?
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yup. to hell with government elections; vote every single day with your dollar by buying from companies you believe in and want to see continue doing business.