No Impact man is both an admirable project and one of my favorite blogs. It got me thinking, though. What will happen to No Impact Man and his family, at the end of their one year project. Will they keep on with their totally carbon neutral lifestyle, or, like extreme dieters on the rebound, will they go back to their old Prada life of indulgence? I realize this is a question about me really, and the extent to which I can sustain a green lifestyle.
Back in April, when I decided to start the La Marguerite blog, my intent was to better understand the psychological barriers that make it hard for regular folks like I to adopt a greener lifestyle. I was not going to try to be greener than I really was. I just wanted to observe and report. Four months later, I am questioning, is that enough? Am I skirting the real issue of my resistance to change, and using the blog project as a way to justify my old ways? When I asked Green Guru, his answer came, sharp and brutal. ‘What are you waiting for? Just do it!’ Not what I wanted to hear. It was good, it forced me to confront my inconvenient truth. I am not ready to give up the small conveniences that make everyday life so sweet, I want a little more time to indulge, I like things just the way they are. This bargaining has been going on for some time. And the blog is my best ally.
This morning, I mentioned to Green Guru, I was going to buy the new Newsweek edition about global warming and denial. He suggested I read it online instead. I protested at first. I love reading my magazines. I love taking them with me, so I have something to keep busy in case I get stuck somewhere. I love clipping articles for my Green folder. I love falling asleep reading the paper or magazines. This time, I relented. I went online and saved all the important articles in a Word document. The rest, the pictures, I could look at later. I am no No Impact Girl, I am a Green Girl Wannabe.
I am a green girl wannabe too! I am such a hippy/rocker chick who has an affinity for the earth and all that lives on it, cept for people….I’d rather save the polar bears than the people!
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We can all do our part for the planet. It doesn’t have to be big things. Small things done by a lot of people add up too. I started recycling recently. I wish our town would recycle more items than they do. I have also replaced some of my regular light bulbs with the energy savers.
Barriers? There can be many. Time. Money. Knowledge. Some examples:
Time: it takes a lot less time for me to drive to the local grocery store than it does for me to travel to the nearest farmer’s market. I’d have to take a bus then a subway to the farmer’s market in my town. (You can’t drive there – no parking). I have done it in the past, and notice that by the time I get home, much of my food is spoiled, especially on hot days.
Money: I’ve always been very frugal, but on a tight income, it was hard to buy some of the things I needed to be more green. I had to save up for a while to buy some Glad Rags (reusable menstrual pads).
Knowledge: I’d love to compost, but I don’t know how. I’ve read some things online, but still have questions. No grease, for example. So does that mean if I have leftover salad that is starting to spoil, I can’t compost it because there’s oil in the salad dressing?
I do what I can to conserve, reuse and recycle, but could probably do more if time, money, and knowledge weren’t an issue.
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