In what ways have you become ‘green’ in the past few years? Do you think that it has made a difference?
I am lucky in the fact that the town I grew up in had required recycling since I can ever remember. We always had to bins, 1 for garbage and 1 for recycling. The schools I grew up going to always had the same thing, standing next to the garbage can was the recycling bin. So, doing that part to be “green” has always been ingrained in my mind.
In fact, I remember being completely appalled when I first visited Derek’s house in college and they threw their soda cans away… in the garbage can!
That being said, there really isn’t a ton of other things I do to be “green.” I used to feel bad saying I drive an Escape, I clean with paper towels not rags, I don’t ever remember to take my re-usable bags to the grocery mart and I refuse to buy recycled toilet paper.
I generally am “green” in the ways that just seem like no-brainer reasons. I get paper bags when I can instead of plastic (mostly because they hold more and I have to make less trips getting groceries in the house). I don’t ever litter, mostly because I feel bad for the animals that eat litter and choke. I don’t buy bottled water because having my Sigg water bottle is way easier because it’s bigger and I only have to fill it up twice a day. I wash my clothes in cold water and air dry them, because I don’t like when things shrink, and Derek is allergic to dryer sheets. I eat organic and locally grown produce as much as I can, mostly because I don’t eat meat and I think the veggies taste better that way. I don’t ever take baths, and I would like it to be socially acceptable to shower only every other day… but we all know that is definitely not for “green” reasons.
For the most part my “green” behavior is continued because it is convenient for me, and just makes sense. In the meantime, I do think it helps, but I don’t really know about how much of a difference it is making. I believe that taking care of the environment that we live in is very important, but I also have a pretty realistic idea that this environment is going to change over time as well… with the wear and tear of life.
Certainly there are many other things I could be doing to be more “green,” in addition to the many other things I could be doing to take better care of myself.
Just a few steps at a time.