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[arctic_alpine]

Sometimes while raeding eco-blogs, particularly discussions about going off the grid, I see someone chime in claiming that orthodox jews, they live off the grid once a week for shabbat.  Which means either 1. there is a large subculture I am unaware of that turns ALL their lights off for shabbat (even the bathroom), eat cold food rather than

Comments

[desh]

In 2004, there were a lot of chagim during the Yankees / Red Sox playoff series. So some friends of mine left the 13-inch TV on in their dorm room, muted, all 3-day-chag long. It was a bit annoying while there were no games on (I can't remember if I was just there for a meal or two, or if I was actually sleeping on the couch next to the TV), but while the games were on, the room was packed with baseball fans watching the muted TV...

[groovyjew]

There are coffee makers that you set to turn on and make your coffee in the morning, so that you don't have to make do with cold or instant for shabbat.

On the topic of turning off the fridge though - Is there a chance that you could eat down your stores to the point that everything needing to stay cold could go into a cooler? Make sure not to end up with water everywhere when the freezer defrosts, I did that once and it was messy.

going dark for shabbat sounds awesome! and a bit karaite, but awesome!

[arctic_alpine]

hmm- that would be pretty organized, and involve cleaning out the fridge each week which could be a good thing. there are things i keep in the fridge for multiple weeks like eggs and butter but they can be out of the fridge for a few days. but other things like open mayo, im not so sure about.

[loveablebaruch]

Perhaps the biggest benefit to being Shomer Shabbat is not using a car. That is arguably the largest carbon footprint one produces. As far as lights, in my apt we certainly use fewer lights on Shabbat than during the week. So while we are not completely off the grid our use (or abuse) is significantly diminished. Also our laptops are turned off.

[arctic_alpine]

i agree that many people use less electricity over shabbat (though those that leave crock pots, platas, burners, etc on for 25 hours might lose that advantage as electric heat is a power-suck)

really my beef is not with people who claim that they use less power on shabbat so much as with some people who claim that shomer shabbat jews as a group go off the grid every shabbat because 1. its not true and 2. I think it leads to complacency when we could be challenging ourselves to do better both during shabbat and the week.

[rivka_m]

maybe they've conflated ortho jews and karaites?

I'm interested in this adventure.

as for fridge, what about those swamp cooler devices where there are two clay containers with wet sand in between, as the wet sand evaporates, it cools the interior? I don't think they keep things as cold as a fridge, but might be useful. however, I haven't the faintest idea how to get there.

[arctic_alpine]

yeah, that last part :)
i've read about keeping food by cooking it in a dutch oven with the lid on- when it cools it creates a vaccuum seal. though food is supposed to be reheated before serving with this style.
fruit and veggies could be cut as needed, and challah could provide some carbs. you can make a bean salad from cans shabbat day. chummus comes in a can. this might be workable, but not sure the quality.

[arctic_alpine]

i bet a garden store would sell all the needed stuff.

[rivka_m]

hmm, interesting :)

[sunflower050102]

That sounds cool!
I guess the one part of this I have a question on is the candles, I mean, energy was used to create and transport them. What is the eco-cost of that versus electricity?
And this all comes down to, what is ecologically the best way to produce light? burning oil? parafin? an led light?
(ps I am somewhat ignorant in these matters so this might be a dumb question)
(pps oopps! i forgot to give you the oil candle wick holders yesterday!)

[arctic_alpine]

one reason im excited about burning olive oil is that i've read that it is more carbon neutral- the carbon in plant oil was sucked out of the atmosphere by trees, so its ok for it to be released back, whereas fossil fuels come from under the earth, but the carbon is released into the atmosphere. as for energy used to transport it, or the eco cost vs. electricity, i wish i knew the answer.