I've been forgetting the "green tip" in my last couple of posts. Why is it so easy to start a bad habit and so hard to start a good one?
I am very sad to see the way environmental concerns have taken a way back seat lately.
The New York State Attorney General swore he'd make the environment a top concern and no way would he support "Hydrofracking". In fact he was suing to keep it out of New York! But now he has to defend the regulations the DEC has set forth (basically allowing the "frackers" to police themselves).
President Obama recently decided to pretend he was George Bush by saying the new EPA regulations were too much of a burden to business.
There was also a recent survey in which a slight majority of people said the economy and creating new jobs was more important to them than protecting the environment. ( I believe this was new Yorkers in regard to "fracking" again, but could not find it)
I know it makes me sound elitist and like I think I'm more enlightened than everyone else, but how can people not see the big picture?
So- I do what I can.
I bring my shopping bags to the store. If I forget in stores where I am only buying a couple of small items, I reject a bag entirely. If I'm in the store with a cart half full when I remember, I go out to the car and get them- that's a good way to not forget again!
I limit my driving. I don't go to the store for one thing, or drive 50 miles for something I can get locally.
I keep my thermostat set very low in the winter and wear an extra layer.
I do not buy seasonal items, throw them away and buy new ones the next year.
I compost my food waste to reduce my landfill usage.
I recycle everything it is possible to recycle, and pick up after others who do not. (I have picked water bottles off the top of trash cans in public places. My husband loves that one)
All of these are simple things each one of us can do ( no, you do not have to be a trash picker). But if everyone did it, we could make a HUGE difference!
I am grateful for:
Living in a country where I can make a post like this and not be arrested for it.
The brave men and women who protect my freedom every day.
Late summer days.
Sleeping under a quilt with cool fresh air coming in the windows.
Getting a major project done in the garden.
It is really easy to make a choice to be environmentally aware; once the decision is made it is easy to find hundreds of ways to choose to be ecologically responsible. All these easy steps add up to a great life style.
ReplyDeleteWe compost, a lot because we cook from basic and real food ingredients.
We have been using cloth bags since the mid 80's and I still have them to use. I think I will do a blog post of my old cloth bags.
I love people who care about what waste they may be leaving behind.....