Today is garbage day, and for the first time in my life I’ve filled my curbside recycling bin. I’ve been relaxed about recycling, and really about everything that has to do with planet earth. I don’t really have a good excuse for it, other than the fact that I was really busy spraying my hair with aerosol hairspray and turning on all the lights in my house before leaving in my SUV to drive down the street to buy processed food from China in heavy plastic packaging.
I’ve had a change of heart. Last week Blockbuster Online delivered An Inconvenient Truth and we popped it in late Friday night. Now, maybe it’s just because I was about to start my period, but I was very moved by this film. And not only was I moved, I was also thoroughly informed, embarassingly horrified, and sincerely motivated to make some changes. Ryan felt the same way I did, which encouraged me to believe that my reaction wasn’t related to my menstrual cycle at all. After all, Ryan’s period doesn’t start for two more weeks.
You see, I have a rule. As soon as I feel like someone is trying to use guilt or fear to motivate me, I shut my ears off. When I have made decisions in my past based on guilt or fear, I’m never happy with the result. For me, I like to hear the facts and then take time to think things over for myself.
I avoided this movie on the very suspicion that it would be chock full of over-the-top propaganda. But it wasn’t. It was chock full of scientific data, and the scientific conclusion is this: We’re a nation of Paris Hiltons; spoiled rotten consumers. We’re the worst offenders on the planet doing the least to help the situation. We flagrantly exploit the earth, giving little thought about the long-term consequences. [Don't worry, even though I just typed that last sentence I'm not going to stop shaving my legs or using toilet paper.]
I think the thing I liked best about the documentary, though, was the information at the very conclusion about what we can do to make a big difference. You can find a list of ten easy things here. When I looked over the list I thought, “What? This is it? I don’t have to handcuff myself to trees? I don’t have to weave my clothes out of dandelions? I don’t have to walk around in Birkenstocks?” I was thrilled to find out that using different lightbulbs, buying locally-grown food, line-drying my clothes in the warm months, and recycling my every day garbage are small changes (I can’t even call them sacrifices) that add up over time.
If you have already made earth-conscious changes in your life (and I’m guessing that most of you have since I’m usually the last person to wake up), please tell me—what do you do? I’d love some more suggestions to include on the banner I’m weaving out of dandelions.
We had the same reaction to the movie (okay, well, I slept through most of it but Jeff filled me in when I woke up). Here’s what we are doing: changing to longer lasting lightbulbs, recycling (already were, yay!), reusing anything we can from ziploc bags (yes, I wash them) to salsa jars to the plastic bags we put our veggies in at the supermarket. The more of those things we can reuse, the less ziplocs we have to buy to replenish the supply and the less end up in landfill. I put my plastic grocery bags back in the car once I’ve loaded in the groceries, then reuse them the next time I go to the market. Many stores like Whole Foods will actually give you a small credit – $0.05 per bag or whatever – for bringing your own bags. We changed our dishwasher’s drying cycle from heated dry to air dry. We are on our way to cutting out paper towels and napkins totally in favor of cloth napkins and dishtowels. We buy only earth-friendly cleaning products (Method, Next Generation etc.) and are switching to recycled TP. We are turning off lights and unplugging appliances like hair dryers and curling irons when not in use. We are buying soap that doesn’t come wrapped in a box or plastic (available at Whole Foods or natural food stores). When I am shopping for small things (e.g. picking up Rx at the pharmacy) I refuse their bags and use my purse. When I buy shoes, I make them keep the box they come in – maybe if they have to dispose of enough, they’ll find some earth friendlier packaging. We live in a city with okay public transportation and we ought to use it more – we did before Jeff had an accident and now he has trouble on buses but I should at least use them more, so I’m trying to at least once a week. We’re putting off buying a new car until we really have to, since it takes more energy to produce even a new hybrid than to just keep riding around in our 10-year-old VeeWee. We signed up online to cancel all our junk mail (it takes time to see results). We should start receiving & paying bills online to avoid all that extra paper coming to the house. We buy about 90% of our food locally to reduce the greenhouse gases of transporting them. I guess that’s it. It’s all small stuff that really is no skin off our backs but I hope it’s making a small difference. I am tortured, knowing we could and should do more, but this is it for the moment. If you’re interested in an extreme experiment, check out No Impact Man’s blog — he, his wife, and daughter are living an experiment for a year where they try to have no net impact on the environment. Even though most of us wouldn’t want to do that, it makes you realize what’s possible and has really gotten me thinking about what I can do. I feel like our country could be on the verge of radical environmentalism, which could be a very good thing.
Okay. I guess I’ve exhausted my comment word count here for the rest of the summer!
Catherine, I am VERY impressed and inspired. Thank you for working so hard to make up for people like me. You’ve given me a lot of great ideas!
Despite the fact that I agree with most of what I believe is said in the movie, I have avoided it for some of the reasons you have stated (I REALLY don’t like being bullied by sensational propoganda, even if I agree with the message) and also Al Gore’s hypocrisy – he used 20 times the national average in gas and electric in 2006!! I prefer a spokesperson who can lead by example. Like Leo who I saw show up at The Departed premier in a Toyota Prius.
Anyway, more to the point. What I do: I walk everywhere. The best thing about living in NYC is the convenient public transportation and for me the 25 minute walking distance between home and office. I honestly love not owning a car. I also live in a green building which is fantastic – it has reduced energy features, reduced pollution and reduced water use built in. But that really isn’t me doing anything. I do recycle and I started using the funky light bulbs a couple of years ago and seriously they last forever. I use enviro friendly cleaning products (mainly because they were in a gift basket when I moved in to my building but Mrs. Myers qualifies as well!), since I don’t shop too often or in great bulk I generally try to take my own bag – I have a nylon bag that stuffs really small that I will carry in my purse if I know I need to stop at the store. In the summer I shop at the Farmer’s Market near my apartment. My family ingrained energy saving practices into me since birth so I was raised to never leave a room with the lights on. Also, I recently learned that leaving chargers plugged into the wall continues to suck energy so I’ve started unplugging them when they aren’t in use. I’ve also been pushing my office to have better recycling practices because they are TERRIBLE! Not sure if we’ve made much progress but I am trying. . . I even found some very cute flip flops this weekend made entirely of recycled materials! Comfy and stylish.
Love the additional ideas from Catherine above – especially cancelling junk mail!! sign me up!! – and there was a great article in the NY Times about the no impact family. Fascinating – but not something I am volunteering for. I think we just have to keep making small adjustments that become good habits and then take another step forward.
Wow! Catherine and Soul-Fusion! You put me to shame! I’m thoroughly impressed, and I’ll try to incorporate some of that into my life. I don’t have much to add, but two ideas:
1) Utah-centric: xeri-scape. Seriously! If you have the chance to do any landscaping in your yard, go drought-friendly! We upgraded our sod two years ago to drought-tolerant, and it’s made a huge difference. Our neighbors grass gets twice the water, and is already bleached and dying in spots. We’re now xeri-scaping our front yard. It takes SO MUCH LESS water, is so much better for our drought state, and (frankly) is much more natural for the area. So even if you’re just putting in some different plants in your front flowerbed, try picking Utah (or whatever state you’re in) native plants that thrive in this environment and take less water.
2) At the risk of sounding green (literally), potted plants in your home. Not only does it feel great to have living plants in your home, it does wonders for the oxygen levels in the house. And while I don’t have any hard proof on it, I’m pretty sure that it makes your house smell better …
3) I don’t know about other states, but Utah Power offers an alternative energy program. We pay a little extra on our power bill each month (and I’m talking like $4.00) and opt to use wind-power instead of coal power. Our household doesn’t make an impact much in and of ourselves, but when everyone does it, it really adds up.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4499562022478442170&q=global+warming
Um…I hope opposing opinions are allowed. But I absolutely disagree. And when the founder of GreenPeace and the current and former heads of the National Weather Service told a different tale, I listened as well.
Yes, we need to live cleaner lives and clean up the environment. Yes, recycling is great and smart. I just don’t buy ALL the hype, because, well, people are people.
Sorry, Lancelot, opposing opinions are not allowed. You will be shot at dusk.
Just kidding. Of course, there are always opposing arguments, and I’m willing to listen and learn more. More than anything, I just buy into the idea that I personally could be doing a lot more. Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.
Tiff,
What all this means is, next time your garbage disposal gets stuck, consider it a sign from Uncle Al to start composting. And remember this, when it’s yellow, let it mellow. When it’s brown, flush it down.
Okay, I’m back because there were so many great comments. I have to second Hollers suggestion of xeri-scaping in Utah. On the east coast, if they fall just a few inches short of average rainfall they cry drought and the states crack down. I remember most of the lawns around the capital, the white house and on the mall in DC were brown during a drought year (even during a Republican administration!) but in Utah no one thinks water conservation applies to them and they continue to wash their cars every other day and OVER water their lawns that are really more suited for lush, humid climates. Not having a yard myself I don’t know a lot about them but I have heard about drought friendly grass if you don’t want rocks for your yard which is what most people think of when they hear xeri-scape.
And I heartily second the indoor plants suggestion – the extra oxygen is great and they literally add life to your home.
As Lancelot (sorta) says, even if you believe that global warming is a hypothesis and not a fact, what it comes down to is that we don’t hurt anyone or anybody by trying to pollute less, create less junk for the landfills, recycle more, and use less of the earth’s natural resources. All that’s good for us, no matter the temperature.
Thank you, Catherine. Well said. Should’ve said that myself.