19
votes
Is buying online more sustainable than in local shop next door?
TLDR: in this particular case, where the buyer lives very close to the shop, it's likely that buying in a brick-and-mortar shop has a lower carbon footprint compared to buying online.
Online shopping ...
- 14.5k
11
votes
Is buying online more sustainable than in local shop next door?
It depends on your definition of sustainable. Your question doesn't have an absolute answer as stated. Sustainable can refer to an individual, a community, a region, a country, or civilization as a ...
- 676
7
votes
Accepted
Which is more sustainable: Almond, Soy, Coconut, Cashew or Other Milk?
I would argue that by using non-dairy you are already putting yourself into the top 20% of low impact because any plant based alternative to dairy is significantly better than dairy itself.
As you ...
- 496
7
votes
Why is it often more expensive to repair and maintain than to buy new?
Whether repairing or replacing is cheaper varies a lot between situations.
You wouldn't buy a new bike or car because of a flat tire.
Depending on the hole and your DIY abilities, replacing the tube ...
6
votes
Which is more sustainable: online shopping or shopping in bricks-and-mortar stores?
Probably the most important aspect is the "last few miles" transportation. Where I live, a shopping mall is 45 minutes drive each way. I tend to batch trips, doing several different kinds of ...
- 1,897
6
votes
GHG-wise sustainability of our daily caffeine-dose
There is an analysis of the carbon footprint of coffee here with a less academic write up here by Professor Mark Maslin and PhD student Carmen Nab (both University College London, Geography).
The ...
- 356
5
votes
Is it ethical to dump packaging of products at the same store you bought them from?
If a store offers a publicly accessible rubbish bin, then it would be ethical to ask the store for permission to discretely transfer their product to your own containers inside or near the store and ...
- 8,755
5
votes
Why is it often more expensive to repair and maintain than to buy new?
Costs and consumers shopping for low prices. Most "stuff" is made in massive quantities in factories where process and other types of engineers have refined the steps to produce an item. Each person ...
- 550
5
votes
Accepted
Environmental impact of using paper towels for hand drying
I was able to find several different news articles discussing this topic:
"Paper towels least green way of drying hands, study finds" - The Guardian
"Electric Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels" - Slate
"...
- 11.8k
4
votes
Which is more sustainable: Almond, Soy, Coconut, Cashew or Other Milk?
I cannot answer the questions completely but I have experience in Coconut cultivation and processing. In our part of the world (Southern part of India), Coconut farming is very sustainable since most ...
- 181
4
votes
Accepted
Is this discrepancy between energy label and measured values reasonable?
The discrepancy you find is about 30 %, and is probably in the range that you have to expect.
The Report on a fair energy label for consumers "CLOSING THE ‘REALITY
GAP’ – ENSURING A
FAIR ENERGY ...
4
votes
Do higher electricity prices cause people to use less?
In some locations, the overall cost of domestic electricity & gas (not gasoline) is not solely dependent on usage.
This can arise in locations where electricity and gas bills have two charges, ...
- 3,517
3
votes
GHG-wise sustainability of our daily caffeine-dose
Depending on your location, you can grow your own caffeine!
Camellia sinensis sitka is a hardy variety of the common tea plant. It does well to Zone 8, or even colder, if you can put it in a protected ...
- 248
3
votes
Accepted
Sustainable vs. responsible consumption
Sustainable Consumption and Responsible Consumption are complementary terms. Perfect sustainability means minimal environmental burden, which often leads to a reduced quality of life and sometimes, ...
- 349
3
votes
Sustainable vs. responsible consumption
Perhaps it's just a simple difference: It would be irresponsible to deny a plastic bottle of water to a person dying of thirst, however it is unsustainable to use plastic bottles that go to landfill.
...
- 8,755
3
votes
What are ideas to change the advertising system towards sustainability?
This is a complex issue and one that's hard to address succinctly. It gets into the larger matter of media and its role and interaction with society, which is profound. This includes political and ...
3
votes
What are ideas to change the advertising system towards sustainability?
The issue is not advertising per se, but what drives it. In a capitalist system, businesses pursue higher revenues and lower costs in order to maximize profits. Advertising is a part of this system ...
- 11.8k
2
votes
What are ideas to change the advertising system towards sustainability?
Steps that would make a difference:
Regulation
A: A truth in advertising policy. Go after them hard for deceptive practices, especially 'life style' ads. (The attractive young lady does NOT come ...
- 7,207
2
votes
Is it ethical to dump packaging of products at the same store you bought them from?
Where I live, stores do not recycle as thoroughly as people do. Therefore, when I buy meat on a Styrofoam tray, I want to put that (rinsed) tray in my home recycle, not the stories generally mixed-...
- 1,897
2
votes
Measure and compare energy consumption
tldr: Look at power rating of different appliances (show in W or kW typically), or most simply try to buy Energy Star appliances.
The first thing that you should know is that if you are trying to be ...
2
votes
Accepted
Is the metal use per person rising?
Metal production compared to population
Our World in Data provides statistics on global annual primary production of metals:
They also provide population data over the same time period. If we ...
- 11.8k
2
votes
Is it ethical to dump packaging of products at the same store you bought them from?
This is not ethical.
From an economic ethics point of view, you are throwing away your own trash (which you bought and thus acquired a responsibility for) in someone else's dumpster. This basically ...
- 1,067
2
votes
Is it ethical to dump packaging of products at the same store you bought them from?
I don't think so and I do not think it would be an effective statement. The store will likely have practical reasons for packaging and could not change their ways even if they wanted to. And they ...
- 131
2
votes
Why is it often more expensive to repair and maintain than to buy new?
It is a question of man hours used with technology against man ours (your time used in making repairs) without technology. If you worked in a factory you could make a hundred items in the time it ...
- 155
1
vote
Which is more sustainable: online shopping or shopping in bricks-and-mortar stores?
Also there are many hidden costs in each scenario, and a variety of details which affect the calculation.
The most sustainable: buying local meaning items that a local store has sourced (presumably ...
- 293
1
vote
Power company consistently reports higher consumption than solar PV system
All utilities measure real power, not reactive power, for small customers. Thus even if you have only heavily inductive loads like motors, that will not cause your cost to increase. The only case ...
- 4,786
1
vote
Which CO2 price would make a real difference?
A while ago I worked out that a $100/T carbon tax translates to about 6 c /liter (about 25c/gallon) This probably won't push people to drive much less or to buy smaller cars. However EV's are ...
- 7,207
1
vote
Why is it often more expensive to repair and maintain than to buy new?
Another element that other answers haven't touched on is Economic Production Quantity.
For many components in products, for example the metal casing of a washing machine, or any plastic injection ...
- 1,230
1
vote
Do higher electricity prices cause people to use less?
Part of the issue may be people don't realise how much electricity they are using.
When you switch on an appliance in your home, you can't tell how much electricity that is using, or what that will ...
- 413
1
vote
Energy Efficiency vs. Reduced Consumption
It's a different version of the capital cost vs cost of operation. The classic case is New vs Used car. The new car is more expensive, but the maintenance costs are generally low for the first ...
- 7,207
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible