Honest green question

[Mangyhyena]

First, this is an honest question. I am not slamming anyone, being a troll, or looking to start trouble.

How do you claim green living when you're traveling in a fossil-fuel burning vehicle?

Or, is this more about RV homesteaders who don't travel as much?

I can see that by not owning a home, you have a smaller footprint. But, doesn't the extensive traveling in a gasoline/diesel vehicle somewhat detract from that?

In what other ways is RV living more green than owning/renting a home?

Hope no one got offended by that. Honest curiosity here. Thanks.

 

[twokniveskatie]

hi, Mangyhyena! This is a good question! You will get all sorts of answers, too

this thread was originally suggested by Bob after he started the newest website, cheap green rv living:

http://cheapgreenrvliving.com/

which is an off-shoot of the original cheaprvliving.com. The link above will give you Bob's take on the topic.

hopefully lots of folks will pipe in with what green mobile living means to them....

 

[ped]

-I drive about 5,000 a year at 14mpg. Putting my fuel use&nbsp;at least&nbsp;200 gallons&nbsp;(approx 35%) less than the average person driving 12,000 miles per year @ 21.5mpg + idling in traffic.<BR><BR>-I'm&nbsp;limited in how much water I carry and therefore&nbsp;use about 12.5 gallons of fresh water a week or roughly 40 times less than average.<BR><BR>-I make&nbsp;100% of my&nbsp;electric from solar and my battery bank is 100% recyclable.&nbsp;<BR><BR>-I use a small composting toilet <BR><BR>-Since I do not have a steady income I am forced to rely on wild protein sources many times more than average contributing less to deforestation and industrial feed lots, petro-chemicals, antibiotics and fossil fuels used in mass transportation.<BR><BR>-Since I follow the weather I use many times less fossil or carbon&nbsp;fuels for heating and cooling than average.<BR><BR>-Because&nbsp;I stay in&nbsp;isolated locations for&nbsp;roughly two weeks&nbsp;I buy food in bulk which drastically cuts down on petro based wrapping of individual items. Making my overall garbage production greatly less than average as well. <BR><BR><BR>

 

[She]

Well I haven't gotten my van yet but I do know Im going to use solar for a lot of my things. I do it now with any battery that I use. Im still working so I would not be using that much gas. I dont have a car now but use my bike a lot. I plan to do that when I get my new little home. Right now I have a heater going in my apt with the lights on and Im plugged into the electric for my laptop. I try to imagine what it would look like in the van. Laptop..run on solar&nbsp;recharge. Lights....led again&nbsp;rechargeable&nbsp;by solar. Heater Ok&nbsp;probably&nbsp;2 extra blankets and a tiny heater run on a battery...solar charged. Big difference. I do have a&nbsp;Coleman&nbsp;heater that uses propane but I plan to use that as little as possible. Thats a very good question. Im sure your making a lot of people tonight think about how they are being green.

 

[Wild_E]

That is actually a good question. I like the answers and Bob's reference is a good guide to use as well.

 

[Mangyhyena]

Thanks for not taking offense. Good answers, especially ped's response. I see now what being green in an RV means. It looks like you really do use substantially fewer resources living in an RV.

 

[twokniveskatie]

this is a good question for all of us to revisit every now and then....as our needs and our knowledge change, we can adjust and improve accordingly!

Well I haven't gotten my van yet but I do know Im going to use solar for a lot of my things. I do it now with any battery that I use. Im still working so I would not be using that much gas. I dont have a car now but use my bike a lot. I plan to do that when I get my new little home. Right now I have a heater going in my apt with the lights on and Im plugged into the electric for my laptop. I try to imagine what it would look like in the van. Laptop..run on solar recharge. Lights....led again rechargeable by solar. Heater Ok probably 2 extra blankets and a tiny heater run on a battery...solar charged. Big difference. I do have a Coleman heater that uses propane but I plan to use that as little as possible. Thats a very good question. Im sure your making a lot of people tonight think about how they are being green.

 

[rvwandering]

&nbsp;We don't do nearly as well as ped mostly because we drive more but we still use much less of everything than we did living in a house.<br><br>&nbsp;Almost all of our electricity comes from our solar system or from the charge our batteries get as we drive. Even when we stay at a campground we're very rarely hooked into the grid. We don't have a generator or air conditioning.<br><br>&nbsp;We use 4 gallons of water per person per day.<br><br>&nbsp;We have good opportunities to buy local food -farmers markets , farm stands ,etc which cuts down on energy used for delivery and storage at traditional markets.<br><br>We don't buy things - no room for or need to purchase new stuff.<br><br>&nbsp;<br><br>&nbsp;<br><br>

 

[bcnya]

when in a park my set up uses such little elec.the people in the office can't believe it when they read the meter.lately have been averaging less than 10 kilowatts a month.also on the road I get 15mpg with a 6.5 diesel motor and also use solar panals for the frig.outlets ect.also have two solar rechargeable lites plus low wattage floresent lites.I've set in the mountains for up to three weeks at a time.usually I have better the a months worth of food on board at any given time.when living on a small pension from the VA its amazing how ya learn to stretch every penny . <br>