This week I read two interesting but sad articles that illustrate why I'm reluctant to jump on the green bandwagon.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080414121231.r1awwr7m&show_article=1
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/15/business/greencol16.php?page=1
What if in a rush to do something good, like investing in a car that could run on biofuels, I manage to do something that is worse than what I was doing in the first place? "It is not right that we fill our tanks at the expense of those who are famished." Who can argue with that? Of course tomorrow, there may be another report that says something totally different, but that's part of the point. It's obviously hard to predict the results of large-scale changes when so many factors are involved, so I'm just slow to want immediate change in these areas. All of that is just to say that I don't get excited about "green" things necessarily, especially with large scale policy changes.
But, I think Jamie's ideas of simply using less are great. It's hard to see how you could go wrong with walking or buying fewer disposable products, and there are good reasons for me to stop consuming so many things I don't need and to use wisely the things I do need. For me the hardest thing to give up would be paper towels, disposable coffee cups, and my occasional extra drive home at lunch. On the food front, Ryan is good at reminding me, "let nothing go to waste," which I think is good advice when it doesn't involve me eating the same leftovers more than once. After that, I tend to think it sounds snotty and that it's silly to use the Bible out of context.:)
Our condo goes on the market this Monday. Yikes! I'll be cleaning and cleaning and cleaning this weekend. (If I can manage to not use paper towels in that process, I'll be pretty impressed with myself.) I'm excited about it because it's such a solid evidence that we should be moving soon. Looks like Ireland is the place, so this summer we'll be having garage sales and moving things back to Texas and looking for a place to live and hoping to sell our home and car. After five years of the same routine, it's quite an exciting change. Suddenly there is plenty on my "to-do" list, and I'm really thankful for that. Scared but thankful.
P.S. There was a small earthquake here last night! I slept right through it, but it woke and scared everyone else I've talked to this morning. Who knew something like that could happen in Indiana? Obviously not me.
April 18, 2008
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5 comments:
Prepare yourself: in Ireland, you have to pay for plastic bags, if the stores stocks them at all. That law passed before I moved there, and I can't tell you how many times I had to walk around with my arms full of recently-purchased items because I wasn't accustomed to carrying my own bag. Invest in a Chico-bag or something similar that easily fits in your purse.
Jamie, I will definitely be checking out Chico. The link on your blog was helpful.
I am not a very "green" person, but I do recycle. It all started because I felt guilty for throwing away plastic grocery bags (my preferred grocery store insists on putting in one item per bag - very annoying). Anyway, Boone and I have been amazed over the past year how much we used to throw away. The only annoying thing is that I have to drive to take my recycling to the center, which means I have quite the car load when I do make it about once every two months! I also wash clothes on cold water, drink tap water out of my filter, etc. I think little things help, but I am NOT ever going to use cloth diapers!
I am excited for you about moving to Ireland! Keep us posted!
I'm so excited for you that you're going to Ireland! I think that would be such a cool experience!
It sounds like you're attitude towards environmental stuff is pretty good. Really most of the info being trumpeted right now is not based on much scientific fact. Chris works for the Electric Power Research Institute, and has attended some of the conferences from their environmental division. Things are not as bad as the media makes them sound, and nothing will change much until China changes (they are by far the biggest polluters.) Also, they've done studies showing that the environmental cost of laundering cloth diapers is just as great as using disposables. So while cutting down on waste is responsible and good, we should not be panicking about the environment!
I'll start saving my pennies now for my trip to Ireland. :) Did I ever tell you that I met a lady at Chuck E Cheese one day who was from Ireland. Very sweet lady with an even sweeter accent. Anyways it made me think of you and miss you!
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