It's not easy being green...
Over the last couple weeks,
lizzymommy and I have started a raised-bed garden in our back yard. It's been amazing to me to see the plants grow and thrive - some have doubled in size in just the last week (Sage, I'm lookin' at you...).
The garden is just the latest manifestation of my ever-increasing eco-awareness. That sounds pretentious, but there's no other way to really describe it. As I get later in life, I feel that I have to do something to lessen my impact on this earth. Energy prices are skyrocketing, the planet is heating up, the polar caps are melting, and there's no telling what's in most of the food and water these days. I feel an obligation to do whatever I can, even though it isn't much. It's what compelled me to buy a Prius when
lizzymommy's Honda died. It's what drives me to buy organic produce whenever possible.
There's only one real draw-back to all this environmental consciousness, and it's also green: money. I can't afford to do what I feel needs to be done, and this is a source of stress. My home has single-pane glass windows and there is little insulation in the attic. I have drippy faucets. And that's just mentioning the needed repairs or replacements. What I want is far more expensive - solar shingles on the roof is at the top of the list. I find it criminal that more people in Texas don't have them, considering the amount of sunlight we get here.
But I'm making a decision now. I will no longer stress over what I cannot do. I will instead devote that now no-longer-wasted energy into doing what I can do.
lizzymommy and I have started a raised-bed garden in our back yard. It's been amazing to me to see the plants grow and thrive - some have doubled in size in just the last week (Sage, I'm lookin' at you...).
The garden is just the latest manifestation of my ever-increasing eco-awareness. That sounds pretentious, but there's no other way to really describe it. As I get later in life, I feel that I have to do something to lessen my impact on this earth. Energy prices are skyrocketing, the planet is heating up, the polar caps are melting, and there's no telling what's in most of the food and water these days. I feel an obligation to do whatever I can, even though it isn't much. It's what compelled me to buy a Prius when
lizzymommy's Honda died. It's what drives me to buy organic produce whenever possible.
There's only one real draw-back to all this environmental consciousness, and it's also green: money. I can't afford to do what I feel needs to be done, and this is a source of stress. My home has single-pane glass windows and there is little insulation in the attic. I have drippy faucets. And that's just mentioning the needed repairs or replacements. What I want is far more expensive - solar shingles on the roof is at the top of the list. I find it criminal that more people in Texas don't have them, considering the amount of sunlight we get here.
But I'm making a decision now. I will no longer stress over what I cannot do. I will instead devote that now no-longer-wasted energy into doing what I can do.
- Bringing reusable bags to the grocery store instead of using plastic bags.
- Bring a filtering water pitcher to work instead of grabbing the bottled water from the breakroom
- Bring an inexpensive bowl and spoon to work so I'm no longer using styrofoam when making breakfast.
- Weather permitting, open up the windows instead of running the air conditioner.