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May
15

Day 1: Unplug.


Posted by aolson | 05/15/08

Lime, Jade, Olive... all this green is overwhelming.
All this talk about "green," everywhere you look. Even when the focus isn't green, it is - how can this story take a green angle, how can we work the environmental impact in there...
I'm not complaining, I love green. Love the color, the flavor - I love grass and mint chocolate chip ice cream and there is a green house up the street I really wish would go up for sale. And money. Most things green, I enjoy.
So with the inundation of green-ness that every aspect of our lives seem to be taking on, it was bound to happen: I've started wondering how hard it would be to go green.
I mean really go green, not just stop running the water while I'm brushing my teeth and using special light bulbs. In terms of green - those actions are the equivalent of a pale seafoam, bordering on a teal - is it green, is it blue, who knows?
I want to be a true, undeniable green - forest green or hunter green. A shade that cannot be mistaken for another hue.
So what does that mean? Is it even possible for the average person to turn their lives green, to start in the middle and make it work, or does it require a complete demolition and rebuilding?
I thought - I've got to know...Google can help me.
I tried not to prejudge when the at the top of the "how to go green" results list was from a website called Treehugger.com.
Or, when the first in a rather extensive list of how-to guides on the site was titled "How to Green Your Funeral."
Ah, Ok, "How to Green Your Rental." That's me.
I spent an increasingly overwhelming five minutes skimming through the guide then closed the window. Great information, but too much of it. I needed to start small, see how I handled the transition, and move on from there.
Maybe, when it comes to greening, you have to start at a tea green and work your way to a pine?
I looked around my desk and started unplugging, switching off and tidying up - the monitor on the desktop does not need to be on, I'm using a laptop... which no longer needs to be plugged in, the battery is charged... and all this paper can be flipped over and used for notes, instead of filling up the trash...
That was easy.
That was really easy.
I mentally mapped my apartment and thought about how many appliances were plugged in when I wasn't even home to use them - lamps, televisions, coffee maker...
That's when I made the decision. I want to be greener. I'm willing to put forth a little effort to save the polar bears, even if the government isn't.
I'm challenging myself to adopt one eco-friendly change every day for thirty days. Today, I'm paying more attention to how many electrical appliances are plugged in unnecessarily.
Sure, if I was a little more motivated, a little more committed, I could make a complete overhaul. If I wanted to spend loads of cash, time and energy, I could be green tomorrow - well, by this weekend, anyway. But I'm an average person, with an average lifestyle, and I want to see how hard, frustrating, practical or impossible it will be to make one change every day in a realistic effort make better friends with the environment.
Stop me, though, if I start using phrases like, "one with nature," or cite my dedication to reserving water as my rationale behind not showering. Even in saving the planet, some lines just can't be crossed.


CATEGORY: Environment

TAGS: green, challenge



May
17

Days 2 & 3... Line Drying and Creative Cleaning


Posted by aolson | 05/17/08

I don't have a lot of time today, between covering events and heading to Canton for a graduation, but I wanted to make a quick note of what green choices I made on day 2, yesterday, and 3, today.
Friday was laundry day and I opted to throw my clothes on a newly-erected clothes line rather than into the electric dryer.
Three loads went up; two came down dry and one was a little damp so I re-hung those items this morning and enjoyed the fresh scent of my clothes all day.
Today, my fiance, Ting, and I were cleaning house so we took advantage a few things already in the cupboard and avoided the harsh chemicals. In the future, I will buy some eco-friendly cleaning supplies, but for now I wanted to see what we could do without spending any money. Baking soda and vinegar - amazing. One or both took care of every cooking stain and spill in the kitchen and the wooden floors. I left the bathroom alone for now, I want to do a little research on natural cleaners that disinfect, too, because I'm pretty sure the vinegar/baking soda miracle only extends as far as the eye can see.
I have a few ideas for Day 4. Ting and I are going to his sister's college graduation, and I think she would appreciate a 'green' gift. We aren't bad people - we haven't gotten her a gift yet because she says she doesn't know what she wants, and this is big occasion, so we're not going to pick up a sweater we think she might wear and call it a day.
At any rate, I have a little more time to flesh out my green-gifting debut. But I know that I'll be abstaining from greeting cards, even if they are made from recycled paper and printed with soy-based ink, really, what can a mass-produced card say that I can't? And whether it's bad for the environment or less bad for it, I think the best thing I can do is not buy one, altogether.



CATEGORY: Environment




May
19

Day 5 - Puppy pays the price


Posted by aolson | 05/19/08

Treehugger.com made a good point - spaying or neutering a pet is a green move.
Decrease the number of animals reproducing, lessen the overall load on the planet. I'll buy that.
So, since my dear little Finnegan has finally reached prime castration age, I called the Vet and made the appointment to have him neutered.
When I hung up the phone he was standing at my feet, just looking at me with droopy Basset Hound eyes. I started feeling a little guilty, knowing he would be in pain for a few days and I would not be able to let him run around and play until he healed.
Then he looked me in the eye, squatted on the hardwood and relieved himself - without breaking eye contact.
Hey, pal, you can thank me when you don't get testicular cancer.


CATEGORY: Environment




May
22

Days 6,7, and 8 - Food.


Posted by aolson | 05/22/08

I may be behind on blogging, but I have been keeping up with my self-imposed green routine.
Day six - Tuesday - I attempted to grocery shop in an eco-friendly manner. It was overwhelming, it was frustrating, it was a little depressing. I went into Wegman's with the intention of purchasing only foods that were packaged in recyclable containers or wrappings. I even chose Wegman's over the less expensive Price Chopper because it's semi-local and has a reputation of offering more variety. I spent a solid hour and a half in the store, spent about $100 and failed my mission miserably.
I didn't buy any vegetables, save for an avocado, because each item would have had to go into a plastic bag. The planet hates plastic bags, I'm told.
That philosophy also steered me away from: cheese, hot dogs, breads, crackers, meats, frozen foods, bulk items...
Ok, everything. I was able to buy milk - but only a half gallon, because there are no paper gallon cartons, only plastic jugs. I was also allowed canned fruit and vegetables.
I made it through all the aisles and stared into my barren cart.
I'm sorry, Earth, I had to go back. A girl has to eat.
I was forced - forced! - to buy plastic-wrapped breads, buns and rolls, (maybe Atkin's is earth-friendly?), beef and chicken on styrofoam palettes and wrapped in plastic, the list goes on. I don't even know what materials make up a potato chip bag. A combination of foil and plastic? Have they developed this technology specifically to drive me crazy?
So, I bought only the bare minimum. And I did still shop at a local store, so I did not fail completely, I guess. It was little consolation at the time.
Yesterday, Wednesday, marked one week. I celebrated by refusing to turn on the oven and boycotting the stove. It was a bland food day, but I survived - I hardly had anything to cook, anyway, following the previous days' shopping adventure.
Today is Thursday, Day 8. I am going to plant something. I'm leaning towards my own fresh mint - green my mojitos! - and maybe some tomatoes. More on that later.


CATEGORY: Environment




May
27

Save your steps, Get outside, and Buy Used


Posted by aolson | 05/27/08

I've started living Tuesday to Tuesday, so thinking back to Friday is sort of a challenge for me.
The mid-week blurriness I had grown accustomed to throughout school has gone from consuming Monday through Friday to blending Wednesday through Sunday.
Not that I'm complaining, just explaining - ah, Friday.
Friday I bought myself a garbage can. Not a trash bin, a garbage can, the serious refuse receptacle of home owners. It was pretty exciting.
I settled for one made of 78% recycled plastic. It was noticeably flimsier than the other types available, but it was also the least expensive.
The way I see it, that trash can is green on two levels - the first being that it was manufactured in a more eco-friendly way, if only slightly, than the alternatives.
The second is this: I've mentioned before that I have a puppy. He's so cute I generally don't mind bagging his feces when he actually makes it to the lawn - which is very, very slowly becoming more common.
What I do mind, is carting that bag back up to our second-floor flat, throwing it in the trash and having it sit there for the rest of the week until garbage day.
So, now that there is a real garbage can available, the bags go straight into the can. That's greener, because otherwise it would be double-bagged, first in the grocery bag I use to pick it up, then again in the trash bag that lines the can. Not having those bags inside the bigger trash bag leaves more room for real trash, which means less wasted space and ultimately, less waste.
You are probably wondering just how much I'm feeding my dog that the amount of wasted space in a trash bag is significantly reduced by this action. The truth is, this probably doesn't make all that much of a difference. But it is something I am willing and able to change, so who am I to not make that change because I cannot quantify the benefit?
And I know - I'm throwing out perfectly recyclable plastic bags and that is a huge mistake. I'm working on it.
That was Friday. Saturday, I took some time to appreciate what it is I'm doing all this for.
When I first started here at Eagle I profiled a tackle shop on Route 174 outside of Camillus, the Wayfarer Company. While I was there I signed up to take a fly fishing course with my father, an early Father's Day gift. He had been wanting to learn for a long time.
So on Saturday my dad met me in Syracuse and we drove - carpooled! - to the shop for the class. We spent three hours on, or in, Nine Mile Creek. That was three hours that our televisions were not turned on and our cars were parked.
We were perfectly green for three hours, and we didn't even have to try - we just went outside.
By Sunday, my future sister-in-law, Candice, was tired of sleeping on our futon. And tired of living out of her suitcase.
Since she came to stay with Ting, her brother and my fiance, and I, (and Finnegan), we had not had a chance to get her set up in the spare room. That was Sunday.
The three of us opted to check out the Salvation Army, Thrifty Shopper and garage sales before we settled for purchasing new products from a big box store.
It was a valiant effort, but ultimately unsuccessful. Our second-best option was to buy new, but locally, so we picked up a complete bed at an independent retail store.
It wasn't the ideal solution, but it was the lesser of two evils, like many other changes and decisions I've made throughout the course of going green(er).


CATEGORY: Environment




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