Five Ways to Cut Carbon While Cooking
Categories:
Renewable Energy
Posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 5:46 am by webeditor
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There are many ways to decrease your carbon footprint by changing WHAT you cook for dinner: eat less meat, use local vegetables, grow your own, etc. But there are also many ways to decrease your carbon footprint by changing HOW you cook your dinner. Jon Clift and Amanda Cuthbert, authors of Energy: Use Less—Save More, devote an entire section of their book to reducing energy usage in the kitchen. Here are some of their suggestions.
Five Tips for Cutting Energy Usage in the Kitchen
- If you are cooking with a saucepan, turn down the heat when it comes to a boil. You don’t need as much heat to keep a pot boiling as you do to get it to a boil, and the contents will cook just as quickly.
- ‘Slow cookers’ are a really cheap way of cooking. The cooker gently simmers away all day, using little more power than a conventional light bulb.
- Plan ahead: get ready-made meals out of the freezer early enough for them to defrost without using energy.
- Cook two days’ meals at once in the oven and utilize the space. Reheating will use less energy than starting from scratch on day two.
- Convection ovens warm up more quickly, distribute the heat more evenly, and use about 20% less electricity than a conventional oven.
For more great tips, follow @greentweet on Twitter.
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January 26th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Use more energy efficient appliances for example:
Magnetic Induction cooktops as opposed to gas or radiant electric.
Low energy-use refrigerators - MOSTLY EUROPEAN companies - such as Liebherr.
Hi-efficiency dishwashers and laundry equipment.
Buy food fresh and local to lessen need for huge refrigerators.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I cook what I want, when I want with appliances I prefer. If it’s “green”, fine. If it’s not, fine.
Live your lives, people.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Well! That certainly was rewd! (Get it?!) Oh, I slay me.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
1rewd1:
Pointless!
<3 Dennis
January 27th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
dpacheco:
Exactly my point …
The premise of this article was pointless.
Cook what you want, when you want, with whatever you want. The importance of being “green” (can we please retire that word ASAP) is relative and debatable.
In this instance, it’s carrying a premise to a ridiculous end.
O_o
MANGIA!
January 27th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Hmm, sounds to me like 1rewd1 thinks the importance of being intelligent is “relative and debatable” as well.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Okay, okay. So it was a bit thin. They didn’t mention having a big frozen chunk of a meal defrosting for two days in the refrigerator would also cut down on the use of electricity to keep the refrigerator cold. I throw a frozen gallon of water on the top shelf of the refrigerator when there is room to cut down the electric useage, as in money flowing overseas. I understand the refrigerator is the largest user of electricity in the home, or second to the dryer depending on usage.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
not sure why but repeated attempts to post here have failed to materialize.
my point, briefly, without the attempted references, is that this is cute but not enough. The biggest change you can make in your life is to stop eating meat. (even above stopping driving and installing solar and wind on your residence, although those are needed too). Everything easy and nice like the things listed above are useful refinements but will not save civilization.
It’s too late for easy changes; more is required of us. The good news is, it’s entirely possible, good in many other ways as well, and if we pursue all good avenues now, WILL save civilization. But we need to stop letting deniers–whether paid or fooled by those who are–hold up progress.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
For a much better list of suggestions (except for that couponing–a dumb idea that wastes money on unneeded things) see Grist:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/1/29/103949/273?source=weekly
It’s about saving money, but most of the ideas will also reduce carbon and other ecological destruction and be healthier too. Nice how that works, idn’t it?