Copper mining section between Ducktown and Copperhill], Tennessee. Fumes from smelting copper for sulfuric acid have destroyed all vegetation and eroded the land (LOC 1944)I had a lot I wanted to write about today. I've been looking forward to Earth Day for weeks. But I find myself swamped with work to do. So here is five minutes of my Earth Day thoughts:
A couple of weeks ago I went to the local libraries book group. The book up for discussion was Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I had enjoyed the book and was very curious to see what others had to say about it.
Aaron and I live in an area where million dollar condos are not unusual and all the attendees appeared to be from the local area and more than a little well off. I was consequently surprised that the most frequent complaint against the book was against the suggestion that people use their purchasing power to support more sustainable practices.
Several people said, I liked the idea but doing this or buying that is so expensive/inconvenient. These are people that I expect have a much bigger budget than most Americans. And I thought if not you, than who? Who is going to start supporting sustainable practices?
It was a good reminder that we will never have enough money to do the right thing. You have to decide what is right and then find a way to do it. How many of us Mormons really have enough money to pay a tithe? But it works because we have made the decision to be tithe payers.
I believe the same thing about turning to Environmental practices. It is a moral decision because poor environmental practices, unsustainable living doesn't just hurt the big generalized "planet" It hurts people. It means chemicals in our drinking water, poison in our food, eroded land, deforestation, starvation. It means inequality. If you are rich you can escape the consequences and live where it is still pretty but if you are poor you live where it is dirty and unhealthy.
So there's my five minutes. In the next couple weeks I'll try to talk a little more about what Aaron Reuben and I are trying to do to live a little greener. We're not great at it but we've decided to try.
And if you made it to the end of this post, here's an offer that I've never tried before. In honor of Earth Day if you leave a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you get picked I will make you a 5x7 painting of the person or animal of your choice. Happy Earth Day!
21 comments:
Good reminder. We would love to have solar panels and a hybrid car, but the expense has gotten in the way. But you are right. You just have to make it happen. Happy Earth Day!
Katy - Put my name in the hat. My commitment to earth day will be to not commute to work today by car - I'll walk.
Jokes aside, I'll go turn down the thermostat right now.
I love the idea of rewarding people for reading your entire blog post. I often wonder how many people get to the end of some of my longer entries.
And as for my Earth Day goal: I will commit buying a car from Tesla Motors (as soon as I have $98,000 in disposable income)
I promise not to use A/C in my car the whole summer in Dallas.
Oh, man I hope I win! Good post. I want to add that book to my list. But I thought her book Poisonwood Bible was just okay so we'll see.
My latest resolve has been trying not to turn our A/C on until our house gets over 75 degrees.
Fresno is the most green city I have ever lived in. They recycle almost everything! I'll try and drive my hybrid as little as possible as my goal.
Michelle
Hi Katy - I am not just commenting to be in the competition for the drawing, but incentive does help. I found out recently through my mom that a family member in Denver, who does many things to stay green doesn't recycle. I asked my mom why and she said that in that area in Denver they charge you to recycle just like you get charged a garbage fee. I completely understand why they charge, recycling is not cheap and is highly subsidized in most places. I was shocked to learn that this family member, who does so many things to help the environment, doesn't recycle because there is a fee attached. In these troubled economic times, I do understand that some people cannot make the choice to put out any additional funds, and that you have to pick and choose your battles environmental or otherwise. But I do believe in putting your money where your heart is and trying to do what you feel is right.
Put me in the hat.:)
I will try to take shorter baths.;)
Do I get my name in the hat...
for each comment I leave??
yay for earth day. I've been an avid recycler for a while. I'm trying to unplug our phone chargers when our phones aren't being charged.
I also really liked the book. I used to recycle everything but it took up so much space, so I stopped when I needed to make room for baby stuff. But your right it is just a decision. So I'm back to recycling.
I have tried several things recently to live "greener". I don't use paper plates anymore. I don't use styrofoam cups at work for my morning herbal tea, I use a cup from home. I try not to use bottled water, I have a water bottle and refill frequently. All of these little strategies are not as convenient as how I used to serve meals or drink water, but I like to think that I am doing something to live a little more in harmony with the earth.
One of our green efforts has been to take permanent bags to Walmart (staying away probably would be greener.) My surprise was how those bags actually work a lot better than the plastic ones.
We also use the little cloth bags. I actually bought one while I was grocery shopping so I would always have one in Dad's car. We just planted our garden, and watching Wall-E is truly inspiring. We recycle and try to use stuff to its full capacity. I also rode my bike to the store instead of driving the car once.
Does using re-usable grocery bags count for anything? I should do it more. And I'll live with my parents, that saves an entire apartment of energy. Haha.
well i think i'm already getting a painting at some point...
as i'm sure you know, i fully agree with everything you said. and it might make you happy to know that we eat even less meat now than we did in cville, which really wasn't a whole lot. of course, we are having a weenie roast tonight...
A few years ago I printed out a list of ways to help the enviroment from greendaily.com. Each year I look at it to evaluate how I am doing with my current "green" practices and pick one more to work on.
You are a great example of environmental consciousness. It is sad that when there is any extra cost attached, a lot of people decide it's not worth it. It can sometimes work out positively though - I saw on Oprah yesterday that in Ireland when grocery stores started charging 33 cents per disposable plastic bag, usage went down 94%. So I guess frugality can be a motivator either way.
Put me in the hat! :)
Nice post.
Steve and I have loved composting since we moved into this house. It probably sounds weird, but it was nice knowing that the apple core, potatoe peel, banana peel or food that we didn't get to use before it started rotting will still contribute back to the earth. We even got to take out our compost and use it for soil and fertilizer in our garden. I felt awesome.
Jess, I've been told that take a bath uses less water than a shower. Especially if you just fill it up once and then turn off the faucet.
That's what's funny to me about trying to be green. It's a hard balance. Use paper plates and cause more trash vs. have more dishes to wash and use water and heat and electricity? Steve told me that they're saying paper bags have more of a negative impact environmentally than plastic bags because the amount of energy that it takes to recycle them. That made me sad, but thanks to mom, we have clothe grocery bags now.
It's 9:13, and I want in for the drawing.
As for giving back to the earth, I can report that we always have a larger amount of recycling than garbage (though that might mean we need to shop at Costco less...) and let Emma's diaper get full unto bursting before changing her. Hmm, we have some work to do...
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