Who knows theses days. This past year or so has brought a blizzard of information on becoming green. It used to be you heard the obvious suggestions; recycle whenever possible,don't buy things that don't degrade, turn off the lights, replace bulbs, lower the thermostat, carpool, etc. Most are pretty obvious. But the more you read, the more confused you are. One article says "wash your dishes in the sink, the old fashion way." That seems to be common sense . But I have just read it is more economical and less water is wasted if you wash dishes in your dishwasher; provided of course that it is full . Do they take into consideration the energy used to make that dishwasher? Or the fact that it ends up in a dump eventually? Whats more important; the water wasted or energy used to run it. Who knows. Plastic or paper? Who measures this stuff and how? I suspect that 90% of the information we are fed comes from big business trying to sell you their goods. They want you to buy a new one. They try and put you in the mindset that you must replace what you have with a more eco-conscious model. Yep, you should ditch that ever faithful Kenmore in favor of a shiny red front loader. Never mind that yours is headed for the dump. And that's not environmentally friendly. I just read a fashion type magazine, and they featuring a pair of $3500 pair of shorts. BUT WAIT ....they are made out of organic cotton. What the cotton ate only organic feed? The cotton didn't absorb any pollutants? No boll weevils were killed with pesticides to grow this cotton? I suspect that the cotton used is very much the same as other cotton. You can not convince me that wearing those $3500 shorts is better for the environment. Someday, I think we will see an agency stem out of the EPA; they will make official ratings on so called green products. We need to know what is really earth friendly and what is just being pushed by the media. I think we need to really be careful not to get swept into the wrong cracks here...It will be very easy to convince yourself that some of your efforts are earth friendly, when in fact they are self friendly. Educate yourself and research whenever you can before you make a purchasing decision. If you love those $3500 shorts, then by all means go for it. But if you think you are taking one for the planet.......think again.
10 comments:
This made me laugh out loud.
This is a great post Pat. I particularly agree with the "says who" mentality of what really is good and right. Organic cotton.....really. ;)
It is a maze of crazy, trying to keep up. I just do what I can, because it makes me feel good, and hope that it's helping in some small way.
The best thing that has come out of my own "greening" has been the awareness of buying local. It's good for the economy and the environment - with the added bonus, I've discovered, of yielding the best quality stuff and interesting people.
The worst thing has been all the counter-intuitive things that I do on a daily basis that would drive me crazy if I thought about them too much!
I think (although I wouldn't swear to it) that organic cotton is grown with only organic/environmentlaly friendly pesticides and fertilzers. And as such, it's probably a good thing. But if someone letting gets rooked into paying that kind of nsane money for any item of clothing thinking it will save the word, that's sad. And even sadder if you toss a pair of perfectly good shorts when you buy the new eco pair. It's hard - I do think even little efforts ar eimportant, but you can't throw out what you already have. That's why I'm keeping my car - as much as I'd love a hybrid, mine is running beautifully and gets about 30 mpg and I just can't see walking away from that.
I'm afraid green is going to be very expensive for a while. On the other hand, a rip of is just that.
I wish people would just do some easy things like turn off lights, fun full loads of wash, and cut back on gas. That's a good start without much cost or sacrifice.
Marnie
you are all right...it is expensive and it isn't easy to do but well worth the effort!..we are working on the papeer towel issue at my house now...thats a tough one, but i will say i have significantly cut back on paper usage! Thanks all for the comments
Pat, I cannot tell you how immensely flattering your comments on my last blog post were. I was so happy with what you'd said that I actually read the statements out loud to my birth-mother, Anne, who I was visiting at the time.
I'll definitely be reading your blog from now on, too.
I really am curious, by the way, to hear where you thought I was. I always wonder as I'm writing on here whether or not a dedicated sleuth could pull away the pseudonyms to find my true location.
E-mail me and tell me what you came up with. I'd ask you to just leave a comment, but in case you're right I don't want other people to see.
Yes.. going green is definitely the slogan of the day and of many a business.
I do feel that I do much better at what I feel is best for our planet, thereby our children and grandchildren but I must admit to drawing the line at going back to washing my dishes in the sink. I will gladly only start the cycle when my dishwasher is full to the brim.. but use it I will. :-)
Hi Pat. You can find me at
http://justmekids.blogspot.com
Good post.
Post a Comment