I know I've been getting to the point as I've been sorting through all the crap I've accumulated over the years and trying to find a place for it all in my new home, that I just get fed up and decide to start tossing things in the garbage. Things that could easily be recycled or reused if I just took the time to think about it or deal with it, but I just don't feel like it.
Which is why this story from the New York Times struck a chord with me. It's about "green noise" or basically being overwhelmed by all the talk and demands of trying to do good for the environment and the conflicting information that's out there.
What do y'all think? Do you get overwhelmed from time to time, and if so how do you fight it? What's the best way in handling "green noise"?
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Thursday, June 26, 2008
Green noise
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6 comments:
I totally agree!! First they say don't drive, and then a study comes out that says driving (especially when carpooling) has less of an ecological footprint as does transit! Which one to choose?
When it comes to recycling in Vancouver there are strict rules as to what kind of condition your item can be in for it to be accepted. I would let it pile up and then finally one of my roommates would get us all together to go through it before garbage day. 30 minutes or 1 hilarious TV show later, we would have it all packaged up. I rather enjoyed multi-tasking and spending the time with my super busy roommates. Maybe the key is to have partners in green to encourage each other and push ourselves beyond our regular or lazy habits? Not being green due to laziness is one of the things I feel the most guilty about – in the end it isn’t a valid excuse :(
I have certainly felt that, and I really hope I don't pass it on to other people. There are times when it would be so much easier to not worry about green stuff. And sometimes, I do give in. I think it's like being on a diet. If you beat yourself up for the fact that you had a piece of cake and decide your whole diet is ruined, you won't be successful. If you accept that you aren't perfect and decide to do the best you can, you'll be able to keep going.
Throwing stuff out in a move doesn't mean you don't care about the environment. You're stressed right now. And when you aren't, I'm sure you'll go back to doing the great things you did before.
I figure that being green means thinking about what to do and being aware of the impact of all your actions. When something is too deliciously simple, then I feel it's been greenwashed, or over-hyped. Basically, I'm not going to take someone's word for it that I'm buying the most ecologically sound product.
I agree with Allie. I think the important thing is to do the best you can, but don't beat yourself up too much if you're not 100% eco-friendly all the time.
Yeah, it can get confusing and overwhelming. I don't really have anything else to occupy my time, though, so I don't mind.
I imagine the world at large, notorious for short attention spans and a demand for instant gratification, could be wearying of the message. Hope not.
When you are super-stressed, and moving is one of the most stressful things we do(I think it is close to divorce on the stresser scale-or maybe I made that up)then,by god,it does a body good to just say"F*** it" and give your junk the old heave ho! Gee, that was a pretty colorful sentence, eh? And sometimes you have to let go of the guilt tripping and just do something therapeutic, like tossing crap in the garbage.
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