April 22, 2009
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The Green Evolution
Today is Earth Day and a good time to reflect on how our existence impacts the Earth every day of the year. Our family has come a long way. We started out as two young professionals who used being “busy” as an excuse for things like paper plates and plastic cups and other conveniences that were not in the best interest of our environment. As we matured and our family grew, we just went about our lives without really thinking too much of these behaviors and others, such as cleaning up every kid mess with a handful of paper towels and maybe a baby wipe and Clorox wipe for good measure. We thought we were recycling when we put out our cans and plastic bottles each week, but there was so much more we could have been doing.
Finally, we woke up and made a commitment to turning green. It started small – with a few twisty light bulbs, otherwise known as CFLs. Then a few reusable bags. Next, a decision to stop buying plastic cups and paper plates. Over time, we began to use cloth napkins, eat more organic fruits/veggies/dairy and less meat, microfiber cleaning cloths and only “green” cleaning products. We began to recycle every single item we could that entered our house — aluminum, steel, plastic, paper, cardboard, flat board — even shoes!
It has been over two years since we declared ourselves a green family. We are now making our own cleaning products, starting to compost, planting an organic garden in our yard. We are paying more for our electricity so that we can purchase it from renewable sources. We have come a long way, and are constantly evolving in our efforts to do the best we can for our environment and teach our children to do the same.
Our experience speaks to how much one average suburban family can do to improve its carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the Earth. We started with small changes but have found that over time, these have amounted to a complete shift in our lifestyle. We are proud to be turning green and always looking for ways to be even greener!
Have you made changes, big or small, in an effort to be more green?
Comments (4)
Not too many yet… My sister pays more for the renewable resorces… we are lucky because ours is all power from the dam generators. SO we were doing that right without knowing it.
We don’t use paper plates, recycle our cans and bottles and even the tops of our pizza boxes when we get them…
We recycle our clothes by giving therm to good will… I have even taken things to the metal yard this year… that was fun because I got paid for my junk! Woo hoo.
I guess that’s all we’ve really done. I know there is so much more we could do… I will look to YOU for inspiration!
Happy Earth Day!
I wish I had seen this early enough to help you get featured for Earth Day!! I love reading about your green efforts. Your family is an inspiration. :D
@angi1972 - @ordinarybutloud - Aw, shucks to both of you. Thanks for your lovely words.
Eh, featured schmeatured.
the question is, should it be encouraged or forced?
another thing to consider is whether certain kinds of recycling help the environment or actually hurt the environment because more resources (water, energy) are required to recycle a product than to produce it.
I did some research and am a firm advocate of recycling aluminum and PET plastic bottles. in terms of efficiency and sustainability, those are absolute no-brainers. I CRINGE when someone throws an aluminum can into the trash. it definitely costs more to make new aluminum products than it does to product them by recycling.
other things I’m not so sure about, like glass. Unless we’re re-using it like milk bottles, I’m not sure recycling glass makes sense. I’d like more research on that.
CFL’s are great. in that regard, I’ll sacrifice a small nuisance (they take a few moments to fully brighten) for the cost and energy savings because of the lower wattage. but the CFL’s contain mercury so if someone is tossing that in the garbage, that’s a huge no-no.
I disagree with paying more to get electricity from renewable sources because we have the technology but are not utilizing it. France is doing it, why can’t we?
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html
you’re absolutely right about one thing: a lot of this is reflecting on your lifestyle. it started out as a small sacrifice but now it’s part of my culture. having designated bins for aluminum and plastic. using the city-provided recycling. taking old appliances to e-waste recycling. taking home the plastic cup from the restaurant and re-using it as a drink cup or a rinse cup for the bathroom sink. switching to High Efficiency washers and energy saving appliances. CFL’s for everything. many people opt for the 13-gallon trash bags for their kitchen. I have a smaller trash can and re-use the plastic grocery bag. i may have to take out the trash more often because the trash fills up faster but it’s already part of my lifestyle. I also have a half dozen resuable tote bags (cloth, recycled plastic/vinyl) that i take with me when I go shopping and use those first, then go with plastic and paper if i need it. if I do walk out with a paper bag, I’ll reuse those paper bags for my next trip and subsequent trips as well.
I don’t mind doing these things and I’m trying to think of ways to do more. however, for every one “green conscious” individual, I am certain there are a thousand others with “low watt” thinking that haven’t given a single thought to how they can move toward a sustainable society.
what to do…