Tournament Round 1, Match 14 - (4) Insulation vs. (5) High Efficiency Toilets

Time for (4) Insulation to take on (5) High Efficiency Toilets!

Insulation

Ah, Insulation. It's really nothing new or revolutionary, but it is pretty important in the Global War on Global Warming.

Impact on the Environment (9/15):
Having proper Insulation is like flossing, it's really good to have, but it seems like not enough people actually do it. Insulation keeps energy bills down and reduces the need for natural gas or coal. That's good, I suppose, but there is the issue of what to do with Insulation when it's done being used. It doesn't really break down all that easy, so it's hard to landfill.

Practicality (9/10):
Every home should have enough Insulation. The only issue is for older homes where the Insulation has worn down or never put in in the first place.

Sustainability (8/10):
There's no reason why Insulation shouldn't be around for as long as houses exist. Even if Global Warming warms up the planet, we'll need Insulation for the extra A/C that we'll need in our homes.

Awesomeness (3/10):
Who, other than the good people at Owens Corning, really even cares about Insulation?

User Input (0/5):
Nope, don't see anything here.

High Efficiency Toilets

HET are much like LEL from yesterday, except with water instead of electricity.

Impact on the Environment (12/15):
HET last for a looooong time. Well, all toilets do, but if you think about all the water that can be saved over the life of a toilet, it's mind boggling. If your toilet uses even one gallon less of water for every flush, that comes out to maybe 10 gallons per day or 3650 gallons per year. If a toilet lasts for 50 years, that's 182,500 gallons over the life of the toilet. I'd say that's significant.

Practicality (8/10):
Sure, they're more expensive than regular toilets, but as technology improves and economies of scale take over, the prices come down and HET becomes more of a viable option. That and once we start having droughts, water's going to be pretty darn expensive.

Sustainability (8/10):
Like I mentioned with the LEL, HET is a technology that will keep advancing. What's high efficiency now will be obsolete within 15 or 20 years. Within my lifetime, it's likely that waterfree toilets could become popular.

Awesomeness (7/10):
You know how much I love toilets and bathrooms and such. Just go back and read my old Green Tips and you'll see that. I mention toilets much more often than Insulation.

User Input (1/5):
Ohhhh, I finally get how this is like the World Cup. With a score of 1-0, HET takes it in the awesomeness category!

Alright, let's tally those scores!

Insulation: 29
High Efficiency Toilets: 36

Well, there you have it, toilets always seem to come out on top. Come on back on Friday to learn which is better: (3) Recycled Products or (6) Rechargeable Batteries. And make sure to comment about which one you prefer!

Green Tip #43: WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!!!

Okay, don't panic.... but you only have a very very small window to get this Green Tip done. Right now (well, in a minute after you read this) go to the store and get the following things:

Spray-on foam
Canned food
Plant lights
Flower pots
Soil
Seeds

Here's why you need all this stuff. There's a very good chance that there's no more warm days left this year. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but here in Toledo, it's been in the 50's and 60's, even getting as high as 67 on Saturday. That's unseasonably warm in an area where the first snowfall can come as early as October.

In the next few days, the weather will probably start getting much colder, so you need to act on this right now. First, open all the windows and bring in all that unseasonable weather. Then, completely seal up all of your windows, doors, and any other cracks with the spray on foam. This will create a nice tight lining on your home or apartment that will keep that warm air in. Yes, it's true, you won't be able to leave your apartment or house until probably April or May, but that's what the other things are for.

You're going to want to grow various things that you can eat, such as tomatoes, carrots, peas, hamburgers (if you find hamburger seeds, save some for me, I can't find them anywhere). You'll have to live off of canned food until the plants are ready, though, so I hope you like canned beets. It's a small price to pay for really low heating bills during the winter.

Added bonus: I like to throw in some added benefits of these Green Tips to make them even more enticing for you to put into practice in your life. The bonus to this one is that when the world ends on December 21, 2012, you'll have 3 years of bomb shelter making experience under your belt. You'll be way ahead of the game!