ARE YOU GOING GREEN?
I’m from Boston, where one’s first thought on hearing the phrase “going green” is that it must be St. Patrick’s Day. That’s a big day around here – a holiday, actually. Oh, the holiday is formally called Evacuation Day, but it means that state offices are closed, so local folks can enjoy St. Patty’s Day parades.
But that’s not the green I mean. I mean the environment. And wow, am I bad about some things. I use paper towels like they’re going out of style. I buy bottled water by the case, drink those little plastic suckers dry, and toss them out. When I’m cold, I raise the heat.
That said, I’m starting to think green, which means that I feel guilty when I do the above. I was mystified last week, listening to a news piece about oil fields in west Texas that were abandoned twenty years ago but are now being reopened with new technology that can bring up oil the old technology could not. Hey, I’m thrilled for the locals. But when are we going to put our efforts into producing alternative fuels – renewable fuels?
In a recent speech, Hillary Clinton referred to “green collar jobs.” Now please. I am not endorsing Hillary Clinton, simply borrowing a phrase from her speech. “Green collar jobs” is a great term. I had never heard it before, but I do believe that we need to develop an economy around alternative sources of energy. Of course, that’s still a ways off. So what do we do in the meantime?
Well, I bought a hybrid last spring. Granted, it’s an SUV, but it’s still a hybrid, which means that instead of getting 18 mpg, I’m getting 27 mpg. That’s an improvement of 50%, which means significantly less gas used.
I’ve also purchased reusable supermarket bags. They’re nice green things with the supermarket logo on the front, good storage space inside, and long handles. I keep them in the trunk of my car – that’s my hybrid – and take them with me into the market. I get a nickle rebate each time I use one of these bags. That’s four bags totalling 20 cents, times five visits per month, equaling $1.00. Bingo. I’ve paid for one reusable bag in full.
My latest green endeavor is one I picked up while working out last week to the TODAY show. Do you get endless catalogues? How many do you read? Me, I toss half of them in the recycle bin (hey, there’s another good thing!) on my way into the house from the roadside mailbox. Think about the waste – of wood, paper, water, time, effort, muscle (my poor postman!) – I could go on and on. But that’s where www.catalogchoice comes in. Click on it and register, then start declining those catalogs. I registered right after the show, and now, each day, I take the catalogues as they arrive in the mail, go to my computer, pull up www.catalogchoice, and click “decline”. If you have a customer number, great, but it’s not necessary. You do have to be careful to enter the name to which the catalogue is addressed; some use my middle initial, some do not. But even adding names is simple, which means I can decline on my husband’s behalf as well. The TODAY show says it may take up to ten weeks for a denial request to take effect. But that’s better than nothing. And I feel good in the process!
Next up? Those spiraling, fuel-efficient light bulbs.
What do you do to help the environment? I’d like to hear.
Comments
Gosh, those are all brilliant!!
I am a lot more environmentally aware since moving to New Zealand. Recycling is big here. And there is a massive 2nd-hand market, so there is an outlet for absolutely anything one no longer wants.
Conversely in Africa, where I am from, the poverty is so great that you can place a thoroughly broken wooden chair at the end of your driveway and it will be picked up within 20 minutes because some poor soul either thinks he can fix it, or use it for precious firewood. Holey clothes are fallen upon so gratefully. Empty milk bottles are taken for collecting water from rivers. It's weird living in a place where there aren't the same desperate needs.
So, I have learned to recycle, and it's a fascinating process. Paper, plastic, glass, tin, clothing, metal items. I am bad with shopping bags though - the plastic ones are freely available and although we use them over and over, it would be better if they weren't there at all. So I think I'll make that my goal for this week. Stock up on fabric bags!!
Posted by: Melissa in NZ | January 30, 2008 04:38 AM
I am trying to be green... I live in a rural area and recycling bins were late to come to us. We had to drive our recycling to a center, which was fine for a while and then they switched the location of the center and it was in the other direction. It was a pain, so for a while my recycling was hit or miss. Now we have huge bins at the top of the driveway, ugly as all get out, but lately there is more going in my recycling bin than there is in my garbage bin.
I drive a small Toyota Matrix. Maybe a hybrid next time... I don't use those reusable bags mainly because we re-use them as disposable lunch sacs and my oldest daughter collects them to pick up after her two dogs on their daily walks. We have switched over the bulk of our light bulbs to the spiral ones. I compost, but that is a three season thing with me. I will not shovel to get to the compost heap in the winter nor will I have the little worm colony in the house.
I will check out that catalogue website you mentioned though. We have a recycling bin right beside the mailboxes, so that is convenient to get rid of all the wasted paper advertising.
Posted by: Kathryn | January 31, 2008 10:41 AM
I know it's a green theme, but wanted to take this space to congratulate you on making the NY Times Best Seller List. Although I didn't buy your hardcover (it's not available nearby and I didn't want to charge it) I've been earnestly keeping an eye on it and wishing it well. Now, it just has to move upward and I'll be even happier!! 11 to go! :)
Then, paperback at some point because Walmart is our only book option and that's when they'll carry it!
We recycle too --- one garbage can for garbage (that we probably fill every three weeks) and three garbage cans for recycling. In fact, that's on the to-do list tomorrow. We could put it at the curb, but not in such large quantities and I'd rather make one trip to the recycling center with a truck load than several little ones down the street to where they'd pick up small amounts.
I loved the comment about NZ and Africa --- definitely a perspective to keep in mind here where we are so lucky.
Posted by: Shirley | February 2, 2008 11:21 PM
One thing I have done is to line dry clothes. Granted, I no longer have my clothesline, thanks to a fence repair project taken on my husband and my neighbor. However, when I had one, all my dainties were snowy white, as were my sheets and my blouses. The real bonus was that I saved $40.00 a month from the early spring to the late fall we have in Texas. It sounds like a real pain, hanging out all that wet laundry, and then taking it off the line. My reward was cleaner whites and a lowered electricity bill. The environment would be a lot cleaner if my husband would rig up another clothesline for me. Hint, hint!
Posted by: Mary Ozee | February 15, 2008 11:26 AM