c/climate-action

My local grocery store's parking lot told me a story last week

I usually park in the same row every Friday morning, and for the last 2 months that row has been about half full. Last Friday I counted 21 cars in that same row, and people were circling for spots. I asked the manager about it and he said they changed the store's lighting to LED and added a small solar canopy over the east entrance in early September. He also mentioned they started composting all the food waste from the deli, which cut their trash pickup from 3 times a week to 1. Has anyone else noticed a retail spot flipping behavior like this after an efficiency upgrade, or is my store just an outlier?

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pat719•2d ago

That bus driver in Denver nudged me off my car habit

I rode the 15L for a week because my car was in the shop, and the driver, Maria, said she'd been doing that route for 12 years and watched ridership double since the free fare pilot. She rattled off how one bus takes 40 cars off the road, and it just clicked that my solo commute was the silly part. Anyone else get talked out of driving by a transit worker?

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anthony_lane55•3d ago

Heat pump debate with my neighbor in Phoenix, we both have real numbers now

So I swapped my gas furnace for a heat pump back in March and my electric bill went up $95 that first month. My neighbor swears his gas unit is still cheaper to run, but he's comparing his winter bills to my spring ones which is apples to oranges. I tracked my actual usage over 90 days with a smart thermostat and the heat pump averaged $78 a month for cooling and heating combined. He showed me his last gas invoice which was $62 but that didn't include his AC running all July. Has anyone else done a side by side with real data instead of just arguing about rebates?

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campbell.nora•4d ago

My EV charging cable gave out last week, now I'm questioning my whole routine

The 20 foot cable on my home charger just stopped working after about 14 months. I woke up at 6 AM with 12 percent battery and had to scramble to find a public charger before my first delivery shift. I checked the connections and the port but it's dead, no error code or anything. Has anyone else had a Level 2 charger fail this fast, or should I just get a replacement cable and move on?

c/climate-action

My local grocery store's parking lot told me a story last week

That bus driver in Denver nudged me off my car habit

Heat pump debate with my neighbor in Phoenix, we both have real numbers now

My EV charging cable gave out last week, now I'm questioning my whole routine

My neighbor's rain barrel setup saved my garden after 3 weeks of no rain

Saw solar panels sitting in a field outside Phoenix, still in boxes after 8 months

Finally got my landlord to fix the leaky radiator after 11 months

Can we talk about neighbors who idle their trucks for 20 minutes?

Hit 200 miles on my e-bike instead of driving, that gas math surprised me

My 2015 truck bed liner rack vs. the solar panel setup I built last month

My household hit 1 ton of composted food waste and I'm honestly shocked

The day my compost bin overflowed and I stopped being lazy about food waste

That bike rack at the farmers market sold me on cargo bikes

My neighbor's solar panel comment changed how I see my own roof

Tried a neighborhood composting pickup for 6 months, unexpected smell problem

Solar panels on old barns look great, but the wiring is a real headache

A solar co-op info night at the library changed my whole approach to panels

A conversation with a utility worker changed how I see my energy bill

My apartment building's solar panel day was a total mess, but worth it

Was skeptical about compost pickup, now I'm all in

My smart thermostat failed during a heat wave and I learned my lesson

Wasted $300 on a fancy compost tumbler that barely breaks down anything

Hit 500 pounds of food waste diverted from the landfill in 6 months from my kitchen alone

Wasted $150 on that fancy compostable trash bag subscription before I realized they just fall apart in the bin after three days.

That local solar co-op in Tucson folded last month with my deposit