First let me say this: I am not an expert or a scientist. Second: Hear me out. Don't read the first two paragraphs and assume that is all I have to say.
First of all I will tell you that Global Warming is a reality. There is no denying that our Earth has gone through cycles of warming and cooling trends. One of the first things I learned when I took Geology 101, was that fact. To be honest, I had no idea what in the world I'd be learning in the geology class, but quickly came to enjoy it, and actually did well considering I tend to struggle in science classes. My professor was adamant that yes, global warming was real, just as real as the ice age which left glacial deposits in Central Washington.
The real argument is: Are we as humans responsible for global warming? His answer, no. What do I believe? I believe that as humans we would love to think we are far more important in this world than we really are. We would like to believe that we know more than God, and we can do something to interrupt or destroy His plans. There is no doubt in my mind that He is in control, and no matter what we do on this earth, His plans will continue. So I don't think we are responsible for something that will be the earth's undoing.
That said, I fully believe that we are responsible for caring for this planet we are living on. The debate around global warming distracts from the real issue. We need to re-evaluate how we are caring for the world around us, not because we are bringing the end of the world upon ourselves, but as a matter of good stewards. We wouldn't trash our backyard, so why trash a park or forest land? (I have to admit that if you drive in certain areas around here, people do trash their backyards, but YOU, no, I know YOU would never do that)
I am amazed at how many people in our neighborhood put out two trash cans each week. This especially amazes me because most of the households immediately around ours are 2 person households. We have a 4 person household and only have 1 can. We currently recycle as much as possible. That is not to say we are perfect. I admit that sometimes a can or glass jar becomes so soiled that it would be a lot of work to prepare it for recycling and I toss it. Also we have purchased things in colored glass, and we don't have facilities that accept that here. And come birthdays and Christmas, there are always gifts that are so overpackaged to make it look good on store shelves. We end up with more than our one can after that.
To the horror of many, we do use disposable diapers, although not 100% of the time. I love the gDiapers and am not looking forward to the day I run out of those clearance priced bio-degradable liners! I also need large gPants for Mo, but at $16 a pair... yikes ((but they make a wonderful 2nd birthday present (wink, wink)). I am seriously considering moving him to cloth (with a liner for poopies) to help potty train him. He's almost ready.
While we are trying to do our part, there is always more to do. April is a great month not only because of Mo's birthday, but it also holds Arbor Day and Earth Day. So right now all over the web are tips to help you live greener. There are also wonderful activities for kids. I'm really working with Kaia on not using too much toilet paper and not playing with the water when she should be washing her hands.
My question for you is: What are you doing to live greener?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
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4 comments:
Good post, TJ!
I have to admit I'm not doing enough. We do some recycling and we try to use gren products and practices as much as possible but our cars are really terrible, environemntally speaking.
We should all do more!
We just moved somewhere with curbside recycling, so that's what I'm working on at the moment. It is actually pretty fun! I'm getting in the plastic habit first and we will do cans next. I've done paper all my life.
We only have half a can full of garbage every week with the three of us.
Oh, another thing I do is make my own laundry detergent. It's so easy, and it's way cheaper. I'm brewing up a post about this at the moment.
You asked what we are doing to go green --or something like that (on your show and tell post). We have done a few things--we have those special light bulbs almost in every light in the house. We also installed a ductless heating and cooling system, and a water saving washing machine. I also do my dishes by hand (I believe this really saves on the electricity--you don't have the heat cycle).We also installed more efficient windows.Besides saving on the electrical use it has saved us about 30 percent on our power usage which makes us very happy. We also use our Saturns for most driving and they save a lot on gas. (My daughter also uses specially made cloth diapers with velcro and plans to reuse them on the next kids.)--of course you do use energy washing them and drying them!! Plus we try to buy organic when we can--so that we aren't supporting chemicals etc.
We live out of town and recycling would be hard to do, but we can if we wanna spend the money on gas to get the stuff where it needs to be. We have 1/2 trash each week, use florescent bulbs, the low water washer. I use a dishwasher but only use it when it is completely stuffed full of dishes, no heat drying cycle. I buy bulk size and refill small laundry/ softener containers. My commuting husband carpools whenever he can. All we can do is try.. but I think this fallen earth has it's final day marked on the calendar just like me.
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