I think the movie worked, at least for me.
I see myself as a pretty ecologically and ethical person. The husband and I recycle, use CFL's, and try not to buy firsthand if we can buy secondhand. I love garage sales, thrift stores, and resale shops. However, there are things I could do to lessen my impact on the earth in which God entrusted us.
Here is a brief list:
- Stop driving to work - I work about 4 (town) blocks away from our apt. However, I often find myself driving to work for multiple reasons, but mostly because I am always running too late to drive. I know you city folks think im ridiculous, but just remember when we all drove to class when it was a 3-5 minute walk?
- Actually remember my grocery bags - I always forget to bring my reusable grocery bags to the store! I have so many of them yet they do me no good since I always forget them.
- Walk more- Again, this relates to always running late. Also, I am lazy and hate being sweaty.
- Air dry clothes - Since we got this new dryer I have not air dried much clothing. this is mostly due to the fact that we have no convenient place to put the drying racks in our small-ish apartment. Call me crazy, but it just feels weird when laundry is drying in the kitchen.
With that being said, there are a few things that I feel I need in order to be a happy and productive member of society. Those are things such as air conditioning, electricity, and a washing machine.
We all have our limits. What would yours be?
I think the more money a person has, the easier it is to do more no-impact-man-esque things. I want to buy tons of food from the farmer's market, but I'm not in a position to pay $5 for a qt of strawberries that I can get at a grocery store for less than $2. The stuff that's free (walking) is something I'm kinda good at... but it might be different if I had money for a parking pass. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm always saying that if I lived in Washington I would bike to work every day the weather made it possible. I would say get a bike but where would you store it. And also, lugging it up and down those thing stairs would suck.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, the ONE time I remembered my reusable bag at Target, the cashier forgot to put it in the bag and used a plastic bag which he put into the reusable bag. Methinks someone didn't get the point.
Micah - Agreed. Perhaps there will come a time in your life when you can buy veggies and fruits at farmers markets, but now is not the time. :)
ReplyDeleteEmily - I do have a bike. It is chained up by our water meter, and has been for the past year. Walking is simpler for me. Where would I put my bike while I was at work? In Indy I could put my bike in my office, but i cant do that here. Plus, I am kind of scared of riding it on these bad sidewalks and busy streets!