Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The big Green elephant in the room

Going green has been on my mind for a very long time. No, I'm not referring to my latent desires to rub myself in spinach and run through central park, I am of course referring to the Global Warming epidemic and what I can do to aid in the solution.


While searching some new songs on iTunes yesterday, I ran across a neat little podcast called More Hip than Hippie. With a name like that, I could not resist.


At first it sounded like two moms trying to create their own show, but as they got going (and perhaps as the beer and chocolate they were indulging in at 8:30 in the morning started to take effect) they became more enthralling.


In between discussions of sodium laurel sulfate and renewable energy credits, the topic came up of challenging others to list 5 things they are doing to help the environment. I hoped I had at least 5, considering how much I think I do. So, I made a list. It was a tad difficult to figure out exactly what counted, so I just listed it all in hopes that it did.


1. Using a reusable bag at the health food shoppe
2. Not buying water bottles, and using a re-usable poly bottle instead.
3. Recycling-duh!
4. All of our light bulbs are Compact Fluorescent
5. Driving less and turning the car off when I'm in pick up/drop off line for school
6. Using a CSA to support local farmers and get healthy organic produce
7. Buying natural products, mostly for the kids, for hair, bath etc.
8. Turning lights and appliance off when not in use


Is it bragging to list more than 5? oops.



But actually 8 is freaking measly and I need to step up! Here is the list of things I want to accomplish in 2008:


1. Go completely natural in our house cleaning/laundry products
2. Use organic fertilizer on our lawn (first application down, lots more to go)
3. Organic paint
4. Bamboo flooring alternatives and/or other natural building materials
5. Find packaging alternatives for DipSticks that are recycled or environmentally friendly
6. Find local sources of products used for DipSticks
7. Create green pretzel and donate funds to environmental charities
8. Composting


I know there are people out there who still question the existence, or at least the severity, of Global Warming. My thought for you is this. In 30 years what would you like to feel? Confident that you can say I told you so, or sorrowful that you hadn't done anything when you had the chance? Doing something now that might turn out to be unnecessary isn't going to hurt anyone. But, not doing something could very well end up hurting millions.


Make your list today and let me know what your top 5 (or more if you feel like bragging!) earth saving practices are.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Let's see....

I buy organic produce often. I used to be a part of a CSA, but now I go to the farmers' markets all summer.

I walk most places. Sometimes my very small, efficient car doesn't move for days. I also take public transportation when possible.

I recycle when I can. I do not have any place to recycle, and in 700 square feet, I do not have any place to store recyclables. So I secretly toss what I can into the neighbors' recycling bins most days.

I sold my big suburban home and most of my possessions and live in a tiny condo in a rehabbed building from 1921.

I write about organics and biodynamics a lot.

I grow my own herbs.

I use a Brita pitcher to filter my drinking water, reserving bottles for long road trips.

Most of my wardrobe formerly belonged to my younger sister.

I rarely shop or accumulate possessions.

I don't use paper or plastic dishes or utensils. I don't eat at fast-food restaurants. Most of our food is prepared at home, with minimal packaging or waste.

I have cloth bags to reuse at the grocery. We also reuse any plastic bags we do get to hold our shoes when we travel.

I've been quite inspired by covering the All Things Organic show and writing extensively about biodynamic farming/winemaking. I also feel inspired by the damn freaky cold weather.