so, its 10:30 - better late than never right?
here i am, 32 years old. i spent a great deal of time as a child learning from my mom about environmental issues. when i was in high school she was on a one woman crusade to get her employer, the united states postal service, to recycle. i went to college. and then shawn and i moved in together. and we started accumulating stuff. and more stuff. we moved out of our apartment and into a house. more stuff. but at least we could now recycle. that offset the stuff, right?
katrina was a turning point. the role global warming played in that hurricane season got me thinking. and then we went to new orleans to volunteer. and i went back. and back again. 6 or 7 times in a year and a half. there are so many ways in which new orleans could open anyone's eyes. here's a few: the toxic mold that was born in that chemical infested water could absolutely scare the shit out of anyone; dragging someone's waterlogged belongings out of their house could make anyone think long and hard about all their own stuff; seeing the entire ecosystem turned upside down in the bayou could leave anyone wondering "what have we done?"
and here i am today. trying desperately. doing what i can. giving just about everything i purchase a second or thought. could i make this? do i really need this? i usually can (make it) and usually don't (need it.) recycling more. trying to conserve energy. cleaning out the closets and donating. repurposing. reusing. replacing evil cleaning chemicals with safer, greener ones. banishing plastic bags. composting. rethinking christmas and chanukah. everyday i learn of something else we can do. and we should.
thanks mom. it took some time but you had to know all that green would eventually rub off.
