Well, we're not actually becoming total hippies, but for some reason lately I've been struck by how much stuff we go through in a week and how much more we could do environment-wise.
The kick started, I think, because of Joanna's dieting to deal with health issues. We started eating a lot more organic foods, and it seems natural to move from trying to eliminate a lot of artificial chemicals in our food to eliminating waste and/or being more efficient. On top of that, I'm doing more work in the yard, and that always makes me want to take care of things a bit more carefully. And on top of that, my reawakening to the world of hiking in the last year or two has brought all kinds of simmering environmental issues to the forefront of my brain.
This is apropos of nothing, and I'm sure it makes just riveting reading, but I just bought a couple of new containers for recycling at home yesterday. (We do a pretty good job of sorting out glass and plastic, but we haven't been good about paper—so we have a new bin just for that.) And today, I'll be looking for a composting bin for all our organic waste. I actually built one a few years ago, but it has really open sides and, at least in our area, animals just came and used it as a buffet. (We're fairly certain that's where our in-house population of mice came from.) And in our climate, the stuff inside just dried out. An enclosed, dark-colored bin is called for. What we'll use the resulting compost on, I'm not quite sure, though it would be nice to have more of a garden in front of our house.
Again, as I'm typing this, I'm struck by just how non-interesting this must be from the outside. If I didn't have grading, I might launch into a discussion of our responsibility as "stewards" of the Earth and all kinds of fun things, but time does not so allow. Feel free to engage in that discussion in the comments for me.
Next time you see me, I'll probably be wearing tie-dye and smoking weed on my commune. Que sera, sera.
2 comments:
Not SO uninteresting, or if it is, I am a boring creature! I love it when people start being more aware of our responsibility for the creation. God is quoted in Genesis saying that He put man in dominion over the earth, and nowhere in scripture does he recant. That must mean we are still in dominion, and quantum physicists have discussed that we're in interplay with the universe just by our very existence; a heavy burden, indeed!
We started greening up about a year ago, with the first step being reduction of junk mail. Glory! That has been wonderful! We still get local stuff, but all the catalogs and credit card apps, oy.
We just signed up for paid ($2./mo) curb side recycling, so now I don't have to haul much to the center any more. We recycle at least as much as we toss, which means we are only contributing half what we used to into the landfill.
I looked into compost bins, and decided to wait on that one. I like the idea, but am focused on a different project right now. Maybe next year. Kudos on your greenin' up, but I don't think tie-dye is the best look for you... just sayin'
TM
Ok, I'm getting verklempt...talk amongst yourselves...I'll give you a topic...If everyone in the world made their own compost, would we notice how bad landfills smell?...Discuss....
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