Green Matters™
by Crissy Trask
Welcome to my blog where I share almost anything I think will help make greener living undeniable and simple. News, tips, insight and resources served up weekly. I also share my perspectives on others' perspectives and actions. Agree or disagree, I hope you will find them thought-provoking and a starting point for conversation.
Previous Post...Next Post...Information on Reprints...2010 Blog
AUGUST 24, 2009
Check your lifestyle before bragging
about recycling
Last week I was invited to the home of a friend of a friend. When they found out I'd written a book on greener living, they suddenly began telling me what great recyclers they are…I guess to distract me from the two SUVs in the garage, the pantry full of bottled water and the odor of bleach-infused household cleaners in the air.
I hear the "We're avid recyclers" speech a lot actually. People who are acquainted with me and my work can get very insecure about their lifestyles when I'm around. The less earth-conscious their apparent lifestyle choices, the more amazing they make themselves sound in the area of recycling. My reaction is always to politely smile and acknowledge their efforts, but on the inside I'm a little embarrassed for them. Do they really think they are fooling anyone--or worse yet, is it possible they are fooling themselves? Recycling is great--don't get me wrong--but it's only one small thing among hundreds that individuals can do to help the planet; so when it's all anyone is doing, bragging about it is lame.
I know that not everyone can be model environmental stewards, but I also know that everyone, no matter what their circumstances, is quite capable of leading a more exemplary eco-conscious lifestyle than the one they live today. And such a lifestyle includes more than recycling. It demands making corrections wherever choices are wasteful, toxic and excessive.
2009 BLOG INDEX
Posts by Topic
Air Quality
6/8/09, Leaf Blowers:
An Environmental Nightmare
Cleaning
4/14/09, Don’t
Be So Quick to Blame the Low-Phosphate Detergent
Energy
7/6/09, It’s Summer
Time and the Livin’ is ‘Green’!
4/7/09, Window Films Can Lower Your
Cooling Bills and Your Tax Liability
3/14/09, Bundle Your
Gadgets
Food
10/27/09, Super
Freakonomics Authors Come Down Hard on Local Food
10/22/09, Hey Foodies, What
Are You Feeding Your Pets?
Green Terms
5/26/09, A Closer Look
at the Definition of “Recycled” and Some Other “Re”
Words
Plastic, and other Trash
7/13/09, Will a
Ban on Bottled Water Lad to Bad Beverage Choices?
4/22/09, Bottled Water
Gets Reinvented
3/2/09, Inefficient Packaging
Awards (No. 1)
Perspectives
9/14/09, Gullibility
is Derailing Progress
8/24/09, Check
Your Lifestyle Before Bragging About Recycling
8/19/09, Simple
Solutions Won’t Work Alone: Comprehensive is the True Agent
of Change
2/22/09, The Unhappiest Generation
2/12/09, Inauguration
Attendees Fail to Demonstrate Change
Reduce
8/5/09, Direct
Mail Marketers Want to Force Junk Mail on Us
3/21/09, Better
Yard Sales
1/25/09, Wasting Trees:
Why I Hate Junk Mail
Reuse
10/14/09, Wrapping
with Your Butcher
5/7/09, Craigslist
Buyers are A Flakey Bunch on the Whole
Recycling
6/22/09, Not
Separating Your Recyclables from Your Trash Can Hurt
3/4/09, Recycle Your
Water Filters
Transportation
6/15/09, Avoid
Hot Car Syndrome to Reduce Emissions…and Discomfort
Water
3/27/09,
Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a
Drop…
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