|
Al Gore's Green
Tips
Edited by Ken Gammage
My fellow Americans, we are at a crossroads. We can either
march together into a clean, "green" world, or we can
all continue with our filthy habits and foul our own nests. The
choices are ours to make, and I'm here to help you make the right
decisions.
1. Cook with 'gray water.' Clear, fresh water falls
from the skies, but it takes the water department a long time, and
a lot of energy to make it flow from your home taps. We can conserve
precious water by reusing it. Just put pots and pans in the shower
with you, and when they're full, use that 'gray' water for cooking.
Not in soups or sauces, perhaps, where residual soaps and dirt might
affect the flavor. But 'gray water' is ideal for steaming vegetables
or boiling potatoes.
2. Wear your clothes four times before washing. There
really is no such thing as an environmentally friendly detergent.
So reducing the amount of wash we do can save water and help restore
the environment. Why not do what the Gores do at home: wear clothes
at least 4 times between washes (3 times for underwear and socks).
Tipper thought of this neat reminder so you won't forget, "Wear
four art thou, Romeo?"
3. Insulate with used Pampers or Huggies. We all
know that insulating our homes can save energy, and many people
already have pink fiberglass in their attics and crawlspaces. But
fiberglass is manufactured in a process that itself uses lots of
energy. If you haven't already insulated, or still have some airspace
above the pink layers, you might do what the Gores do: recycle used
'disposable' diapers as insulation for your attic. Not many people
know that Pampers and Huggies have a high 'R-value,' and the pungent
fragrance discourages rodents and other pests.
4. Utilize the latest Enviro-Tech Products! Scientists
are not the ghouls and destroyers of Mother Earth that a lot of
my colleagues in the environmental movement accuse them of being.
Far from it! The field of Green Research is fruitful, and these
are just a few of the brave new appliances you should be using:
Personal Methane Capture Devices or 'fart compressors,'
are not new (the Germans used them during WWII), but are now technologically
feasible for the ordinary citizen. The special ergonomic plug and
'flat-tube' PVC piping make it easy to capture methane while sitting
or standing. If you find that your personal flatulence is insufficient
to cook your backyard soyburgers on the gas grill, simply switch
to a diet higher in legumes. Consuming protein items lower down
on the food chain saves energy and helps our economy.
Teenage Wrist Generators. Consider the normal teenage boy.
Or perhaps I should say, consider the 'ordinary' teenage boy. If
he's anything like I was before I met Tipper, he's a mass of inchoate
longings, desires and fantasies looking for an outlet. Just as Americans
dammed mighty rivers to harness hydroelectric power, now we can
tap into a heretofore underutilized energy resource: rapid wrist
movement. The Virtual Reality model, with its special headset and
Michael Jackson "Beat It" power glove, is still on the
drawing board, but the current 1-kilowatt manufacturer model is
built tough, and can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Comes with a tube of Vaseline and a subscription to Playboy.
Nasal Wind Turbine. How often I've lain awake at night,
listening to Tipper's startlingly realistic impression of the overtime
shift at a large lumber mill, and wondered how to harness such impressive
energy. Now there's a way to do it - two ultra miniaturized 'ram
jet' turbines that plug right into her nostrils. They'll generate
enough electricity to recharge the batteries on your golf cart!
Thoughtfully, the designers included an industrial strength muffler.
I purchased two sets of these things, and I'm giving one to Bill.
I understand Hillary has a lot in common with my wife.
Condom Repair Kit. You know our motto: "Recycle. Recycle.
Recycle." I think our planet has about come to the end of its
rope with so-called 'disposable' products. And these little latex
pork-packets have a half-life in our landfills of over 2.4 billion
years. So something needed to be done. Goodyear picked up the ball
and ran with it, and with a little up-market design help from Mr.
Oscar de la Raincoat, they came up with a condom repair kit for
pocket or purse! A quick vulcanized hot patch, and your baby barriers
are structurally intact again and ready for more action!
5. Oh, one last energy-saving tip. I'd keep this
one in the back of your mind this fall, when the leaves turn and
it starts to get a little chilly. Don't turn up the thermostat.
Just tape some of Obama's speeches, then replay them on those long
cold nights this winter, I guarantee you'll feel all hot under the
collar in no time!
|