The Journey to Green

A tip in "The Green Year" this week reminds us that not everyone knows that "going green" is more than a buzz phrase, something trendy to do for pop culture history at this moment in time.
Many of us who are going green are doing so because we fully believe that we are at a major crossroads in history, that we can't wait for the lagging auto industry or government to mandate change. We believe that if all of us don't start doing even the small things, that our children and grandchildren and future generations will be left to deal with the fall out.
It is the small things that can make a difference. When I made our first step going green over 20 years ago by using cloth bags instead of paper or plastic, my husband, who worked at the largest landfill in the Kansas City area, poo-pooed what kind of an impact that could have. It took me 20 years of counting, but when I informed him that me and my mom had saved over 10,000 bags from the landfill in that time, he realized that even the small steps one family of three people can make can help.
It irritates me when I see columns saying in essence that no matter what we do, we leave a carbon footprint.
That's true. We're now heating our small house with a wood stove instead of using electricity. I know that the smoke is still leaving an imprint on the environment, but it is less so than the nuclear plant is producing in Louisiana that supplies our electricity, and the amount of energy it takes to just get that electricity here. Again, it is not something that can be tangibly seen that will immediately have an impact, but something we are doing that will have an impact over time.
And, it is impacting our budget in a positive way immediately.
Many of Jodi Helmer's tips in her book, "The Green Year," gives data on what kind of impact taking the small steps can have. For example, she states that most of the 15 billion batteries used each year end up in the landfill. By purchasing rechargeable batteries, how many will your family save? How many will 5 families, and 20 save? See, we can all have an impact.
So, if you're not convinced, or your family is not convinced that the time is now to make every effort to help our planet, do what Jodi recommends this week, invite your friends and family over, pop yourself some popcorn, turn off the lights and watch a documentary on the environment. She recommends "An Inconvenient Truth" and "The 11th hour."
Going green doesn't have to overwhelm you. Start small. Recycle, reuse. It will also save you some green.