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About Me
- Geowareness
- Geowareness is a nonpartisan, nonprofit blog attempting to combat apathy and inspire the current group of 18-30-year-olds to social activism. Our goals are simple. We want to change the world.
5 comments:
I have tried to make small changes in my lifestyle, such as turning off the lights, turning the thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter, recycling ALL my extra paper and walking more. However, it is honestly a little frustrating being "green" sometimes. I cannot afford organic cleaning supplies, like Seventh Generation. My hope is that those companies that make environmentally friendly products, such as organic produce and cleaning supplies, make the price a little more consumer friendly.
My husband and I have made some major and minor changes this past year in an effort to be earth friendly. We bought a gas-efficient car (37 miles/gallon), and it's the only car we have. I live close to work, which really helps since I walk all the time. We've also stopped using plastic bags at HEB. We bought the green bags which are reusable. I always turn off the lights when I'm not using the electricity. But, nonetheless, we've got a ways to go.
-Alicia
I agree with FARM. It is hard to make changes when organic supplies etc are so expensive. I try to car pool when possible. I turn off my AC. I try to recycle when I can, which normally means I let all of my empty water bottles accumulate in my car and then I take them to Faith's house. I have started invest in the reusable bags from HEB so that I so not have to waist so many plastic bags.
I certainly don't want to downplay individual efforts to become greener (I have the reusable bags from HEB and studiously purchase more efficient/greener products), but the 'green' activities I find peculiarly lacking across the board are those activities which will truly encourage businesses and our government to do more to accelerate the green movement. The majority of the buying power in the US is housed within corporate America, not consumer households. My company, for example, has committed to becoming carbon neutral this year and runs our Round Rock campus on 100% renewable/green energy, but other companies are not so quick to step up in substantial ways. The power industry and the automotive industry will require leveraged changes by the federal government before they really make a push.
Why are all of the hybrids on the road coming with premium options that make the ROI on such vehicles untenable for the average consumer? Why are we still building fossil fuel-fired power plants in lieu of greener, more efficient solutions (that actually stand a chance of meeting our growing demand) like nuclear power? Why aren't building codes being changed to require things like solar powered water heaters (which have been nearly universal in countries like Israel for 40 years, saving billions in electric production and untold amounts of carbon)?
The short answer is that the government languishes behind age old tradition. They are willing to interfere in our lives and these industries in so many other ways, but unwilling to make serious changes where it counts. Think what you want about Pres. Bush, but he signed and is now beginning to enforce a mandate that all light bulbs sold in a few years will be CFL's. It changes an industry, yes, but it also forces a behavior change that can have a huge impact on our carbon output as a nation.
I think about this question of affordability frequently, because even worrying about being "green" is a luxury of the wealthy, so to speak. If you're worried about having clean water or simply enough food to feed your family, chances are you don't care if your toilet paper is made from recyclable materials. What's more important is that it's these poorer nations and communities who are often in the most desperate need for healthy, nutritious, chemical-free food and environmental policies that promote sustainability. Some of the poorest nations in the world are ones where environmental catastrophes like droughts, tsunamis, or simply a lack of environmental infrastructure threaten their very existence. Our most pressing challenge in the coming years will be balancing all of these elements in our environmental policies.
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