On Being Green
We certainly are living in a crazy world right now. It’s wonderful to see that more and more we are embracing our need to be green and more environmentally conscientious of our planet and the universe around us.
I’m seeing more hybrid cars on the road today than ever before. I think twice about how much I can accomplish on a $65.00 tank of gas. My toilet paper is recycled, my laundry detergent is organic and I have changed every light bulb in my house to a CFL.
Thinking Green
Part of me longs for a weekend drive along the coast, the chemical powerhouse that actually got my laundry clean, the toilet paper that isn’t stiff as a board and a cast of soft white light as opposed to the oh so romantic, slightly purple, fluorescent cast I’m now becoming used to. Not to mention having to stand at the basement door after switching on the light until the bulbs warm up enough that I can actually see. Guess it gives the spiders a chance to clear out of the way first. But I must succumb…I must be green.
I feel absolutely horrid when I forget my reusable cloth grocery bag and have to opt for a paper one, or even worse, a plastic one. It drives my husband absolutely crazy when I line up my veggies on the grocery store conveyor belt sans plastic bags, zucchinis and oranges running amuck. I just can’t get past that guilty feeling of staring at the pile of plastic bags I have faithfully collected under my kitchen sink. I don’t need them, and I don’t need the worry on my conscience.
I have let the aphids and my plants have their own battle between each other in my yard, and have not used any type of insecticide or fertilizer that is not organic and natural. May the best pest win.
Drinking Green
I began drinking more bottled water because it was healthy and much more readily available. It became the beverage of choice on the run for me and many others. A total industry no less. I was drinking everything from “Glacier water from Alaska to deep sea water from Japan.” Now I hear that the plastic it comes in is an environmental disaster and that it can kill you as well…and the jury is still out on the actual water. Hmmm, guess I had better stick to wine. Which brings up the cork issue, its a diminishing resource. Better get used to the idea of unscrewing your next bottle of fine Bordeaux. Weird.
I had a beer with a friend at a local pub. It was served in a cup made of corn. Great! No plastic. Fantastic! I had a newfound respect for my green friends at the bar. Until I heard that the new need for ethanol and all of these new corn products is a hardship to places that depend on corn as a food source. Great. Guess I’d better tote my pint glass along with me from now on.
Wearing Green
Even the fashion industry is climbing aboard. I read an article just the other day that mentioned that it was “greener” to buy better made clothing and accessories at a higher price that become part of a wardrobe “collection” as opposed to landfill after the third wash. Makes sense. I’ll definitely remember THAT the next time I’m trying to justify spending 1500.00 on a handbag! Heck! I’m being green, right?
Green Bling
All of that being said, I began to think that the most green accessory, ever, was jewelry. Think about it. You would be hard pressed to find it in any landfill, at least intentionally. It gets passed down from generation to generation. It gets redesigned…and every little bit of the parts are treasured and recycled and reworked. Pretty much no part of it is ever wasted! Well, the next time I’m wrestling with picking up another pair of jeans to hang in the closet with the other five pairs I own, I might just do the planet a favor, and buy a fabulous piece of jewelry instead.
It’s good to be green!
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