Embarrassing Confession: I am going green (but only on my own terms).I have been very skeptical of this whole environmental movement with it's annoying ("go green") propaganda. When I go into a store and see a purse, t-shirt, or spiral notebook with an environmental message I cringe. When I read the countless magazine articles and advice about "becoming green" I wince. The messages are everywhere, seeping into my subconscious and making me feel GUILTY.
Don't get me wrong, I love the planet. I believe we have a responsibility to take care of it. But let's be realistic. Taking cold showers, toting re-usable shopping bags, and driving hybrid cars isn't even going to put a dent in the damage that China is doing. Honestly. If you think our air quality is bad, take a trip (if you dare) to Beijing. Don't be surprised to see the locals donning gas masks.
I have only three qualms about going green. One, it's in style. I am not a lemming. I do not go along unquestioningly with popular opinion. I have a natural tendency to fight conformity. If the celebrities are doing it, I run the other way. Two, it ANNOYS me that the environmental movement uses guilt as its motivating factor. I am even more annoyed that this tactic works, especially on me. Three, I find it disconcerting that going green carries such strong political implications. If environmentalism were taken off the political agenda I would be more willing to explore it without reservation.
Here's the lo down... I have traded all of our petroleum based cleaners (detergent, dish soap, hand soap, etc.) for all natural, plant based products. Trader Joe's and Target have the best prices. I bought re-usable shopping bags (they actually take $ off your bill when you use them in AZ). I am planting round two of our organic garden this week. I bought a drying rack and clothes pins in an effort to use the dryer less. I only buy organic baby food in glass containers, and try to make my own when possible. J-P switched all of our light bulbs. I try to only cook meat (mostly fish) once or twice a week. I pull weeds instead of spraying them. I quit buying cases of bottled water. I drive slower. I recycle more (although the jury is still out on whether recycling is worthwhile).
4 comments:
AMEN.
you have echoed my sentiments exactly. not jumping on the marketing bandwagon does not mean we hate the earth!
Way to go! Can't say I'm there yet but it seems like a good thing. Living in Oregon, I'm not sure how long I'll last. One thing I do now that I NEVER did before though, is recycle. You get some serious dirty looks around here if you don't. I was at a little guy's birthday party at the park, helping his parents clean up afterwards and mistakenly put soda cans in my arm pile to haul off to the trash. I thought about it as I was doing it too- I thought, no one is going to cart these all the way home to recycle, so even though we're in Oregon I'm sure it's fine. On my way to the trash I was intercepted by the father. Wordlessly, he removed the cans from my arms and breezed away, clucking judgementally under his breath. Whoopsie.
M-A, you are so funny. I have never put that much thought into going green, but the guilt does get to me too. I try to do little things here and there, but so far haven't made much of an effort. I would have thought this was something you'd have done long ago, you're so into natural stuff. Kudos to you!
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