Yesterday I hung most of the laundry in the cellar to dry. Actually, I've been doing this for a while, although towels and some shirts go in the dryer. This is one of my ways to cut down on 'man-made' energy. But then this morning I caught myself taking a long, and I mean long, luxuriously hot shower. I have a long way to go.
All those phrases we hear and say about saving the planet, going green, being environmentally clean—what do I do about the implicit problem? I want simplicity, but I want certain comforts and privileges-- those ones that I treat as a birth right. At the stage of my life I’m not buying new ‘sitters’ for the house; I’m not redecorating the living room with new furniture; I have enough clothes to live into the next millennium. On the other hand, I’m certainly not willing to give up my drives back and forth to the cottage, nor my jet travel to Italy or Scotland. I have a long way to go.
I'm well aware that if everyone got serious about their spending and its effect on the planet, the economy would shift mightily. Maybe person-by-person, situation-by-situation, as is actually happening, is the best way to go. I can hang up the laundry and take short showers. Today the Boston Globe reported that as of January 1st plain bottled water cannot be purchased or served on the University of Vermont campus. I can give up buying bottled water, but am I ready to eat my breakfast without turning the pages of the newspaper. As I’ve simply said, ‘I have a long way to go.’
All those phrases we hear and say about saving the planet, going green, being environmentally clean—what do I do about the implicit problem? I want simplicity, but I want certain comforts and privileges-- those ones that I treat as a birth right. At the stage of my life I’m not buying new ‘sitters’ for the house; I’m not redecorating the living room with new furniture; I have enough clothes to live into the next millennium. On the other hand, I’m certainly not willing to give up my drives back and forth to the cottage, nor my jet travel to Italy or Scotland. I have a long way to go.
I'm well aware that if everyone got serious about their spending and its effect on the planet, the economy would shift mightily. Maybe person-by-person, situation-by-situation, as is actually happening, is the best way to go. I can hang up the laundry and take short showers. Today the Boston Globe reported that as of January 1st plain bottled water cannot be purchased or served on the University of Vermont campus. I can give up buying bottled water, but am I ready to eat my breakfast without turning the pages of the newspaper. As I’ve simply said, ‘I have a long way to go.’