Reusing election debris
By Karina | October 20, 2008
There’s still a whole 15 more days until the election here in the US, but a friend of mine commented recently on how she hates to see the election signs out on everyone’s lawn because they are just going to be tossed when everyone cleans up on November 5th. I was thinking about this, and it dovetails nicely with something else I was thinking about - the drop in my car’s engine efficiency as the temperatures turn colder.
I know - another car post! but I do work hard to keep my mileage up, not just because it’s nerdy and cool to have a really high auto mileage, but because it’s good for everyone to conserve gas. I’ve been paying attention, and over the last two tanks as the temperatures have been dropping, it’s been harder and harder for me to keep my mileage up. It’s been dropping from easy to achieve something between 60 and 63, to easy to achieve 58. Yikes! that is some drop.
So I came up with a plan - in order to get my mileage back up over 60 mpg, I plan to install a grill block after the election is over with one of the election signs I see around so often. I plan to just pull over and yank one from the shoulder of the road and avoid sending it to the garbage. The simplest grill block is to insert a piece of cardboard (or an election sign!) into the engine cavity of your car right behind the grill and in front of the radiator, in order to block the cold air from flowing into your car and cooling off the engine. This keeps the temperature high and operating at more efficient levels. I first learned about it at the insightcentral forums, and there are a couple of great discussions at priuschat too.
Now - there is a danger! the engine block keeps the naturally cool air from hitting your engine, so if the temperatures go up again it’s a good idea to pull the grill block out from the inside of your car. Also watch your thermostat to make sure you’re not overheating and if you do, pull over right away. You should probably pull the block out before you bring your car in for service, too, because if you don’t they’ll probably toss it.
A couple more resources:
- There are LOTS of hypermiling techniques listed here in this article from Treehugger.
- Ecomodder is one of the most comprehensive communities out there for tips on making ANY car more efficient. They’re great because they are for everyone, not just hybrid owners.
Do you have cold weather tips for automotive efficiency? What about any great ideas for reusing election paraphernalia?
[[Photo from flickr user lakelandlocal via creative commons license.]]
Related posts:
- 100+mpg car
- Toyota and the elusive mileage standards
- why I bought my hybrid
- Reusing Your Glass
- Driving like a Granny
- Results! May Experiment!
- Choosing to get 70 mpg.
Topics: Transportation |
Maybe we ought to petition the campaigning hopefuls to initiate a signage “take-back” program–whether or not they win?!
that is a seriously great idea. I keep hearing more and more about people spending so much the election, I wish they would just pay the extra $ and use eco-friendly printing methods and materials!
Well, TC has a lot of readers… why don’t you guys organize something?
We can’t all do it all the time. In fact, very few campaigns can even do it some of the time.
The campaign model is completely unlike businesses which sell goods or services to make money - both in why the money comes in and when the money goes out. Basically, it is not at this point a practical change for campaigns to make.
Businesses to some extent have an unlimited amount of time in which to make back their initial investment and earn a profit. Campaigns, however, are working on a very tight, rigid deadline in which they must basically market a candidate to 50%+1 of a limited pool of people.
I love campaign finance laws, but they do limit the amount of money that each donor can give. Sometimes, like in NYC municipal elections, there is a limit on how much can be spent overall. Because of the timeline and because of the way campaigns are funded, they really need to be careful that every dollar is spent to maximize the most votes and soy-based ink isn’t the way to do that.
That being said, I’ve been in many campaign offices that had green practices - dishwashers & reusable dishes, water filters instead of bottled water, defaulting in-house printing to double sided and candidates with hybrids.
I’m tired and I hope this makes sense. If not, feel free to follow up with me on Nov 5.
Actually, many jurisdictions have laws on the books about how long after an election signs are permitted to stay up. And, I have seen many candidates reuse signs for their reelection campaigns.
um, no comment
love you guys!
I noticed a big drop in mpg last winter so I’m happy to hear about something that might help. However, in Colorado it is not uncommon for us to have snow one day and temps in the 70s the next day so I worry that overheating is a real possibility for me.
Also, I noticed my mpg went down when I drove across South Dakota in September from east to west. Weather was temperate but I noticed that the gas was 10% ethanol so that might have been a contributor. Had a d’oh moment after the trip when I realized I could have finally used the pulse and glide method to good effect [my daily commute is too congested to allow for use of it] .
As you can tell, I like your car posts!
I’m so glad that you do! I know a lot of our readers are sans-auto, but I am so obsessive about my mileage sometime!
I may have to start commuting 150 km each way (for a job as the Sustainability Manager - ah, the irony….) so I will be putting your tips to good use. Where I am currently living, gas (petrol) is currently $1.40 - $1.70 per gallon, so it will only be because I care, not because of $$. I’m currently getting 8.5 liters/100 km which I think works out to 27.7 mpg assuming I’ve done all of my conversions correctly. I’ve been doing mostly city driving but that will change to highway.
Ugh, I hate those signs! I feel like screaming, “Do you really need to put one at every lamp post?! I saw it the first time!”
Besides, it’s not like a pretty sign is going to change people’s votes.
[…] Reusing election debris […]