Journey To Green

No Impact Challenge — Day 1….

Cynthia — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:27:28 +0000

I have always understood that having no impact on the environment occurs one step at a time. This week gives me an opportunity to be more conscious and reduce my carbon footprint with respect to commuting. In February 2009, I took a job that increased my impact on the environment more than ever in the last 10 years. I commute 46 miles per day by car. Needless to say, this takes a toll on the environment and my physical health.

To kick off Day 1 of the No Impact Challenge, I have uploaded a youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM-ppJ6dt3Y.

I also would like to encourage you to participate. You can find out more by going to http://noimpactproject.org/ to get started.

Can I really have no impact on the environment?

Cynthia — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:28:24 +0000

Yesterday (Friday, October 9, 2009), I watched (via hulu.com) Colin Beavan on the Stephen Colbert show which originally aired Thursday, October 8, 2009. He talked about how he made no impact on the environment for a year in New York City. From my vantage point, it was extremely painful for me to watch because my theory and reality of going green were not meshing. I want to be green, really, I do. Yet, I want convenience out the yin-yang.

As I continued to watch, Colin said that about 1500 people are going to do the no impact project for a week. Immediately, I thought I should do this and just as quickly dismissed notion. So, I compromised with myself and decided to sleep on it. This morning I went to the website and decided to sign-up for the No Impact Project. Registering for it was a bit confusing because I was routed to Huffington Post’s website. I discovered that Huffington Post will host the No Impact Week and the projoect will begin on October 18, 2009. I received an email that stated information about the project is forthcoming (Please hurry before I lose the courage to participate.)

One part of me is nervous as hell about making this commitment but another part of me loves the challenge. I have no doubt that it will be challenging. The biggest challenge will be getting to work because I live 22 miles from work. I try to take public transportation a couple days a week but it is more like a couple of days every couple of weeks. It really is convenient to drive.

This will be interesting and I am sure I will talk myself into and out of the No Impact Week Project a hundred times before October 18. However, I encourage you to take a look and participate as well. The find out more go to www.noimpactproject.org and let me know if you will participate.

Finally, for the record, I will not be giving up toilet paper during No Impact Week.

It’s okay if I pollute your neighborhood….

Cynthia — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:44:22 +0000

When most people think about going “green” they do not think of litter and its impact on the environment. For a long time I did not. I have always hated litter because it is an eyesore and there are health and sanitation issues associated with it. There are loads of stats about the environmental impact of litter. That is not what this post is about. The focus is about how people believe it is acceptable to litter in a less pristine neighborhood as opposed to a “good” neighborhood.

Recently, I was chatting with a colleague about how there are many things I like about my neighborhood but over the last few years of city living I have come to realize that I want a community with quality restaurants, one that is walkable, litter- and dog-poop free. I was relaying a story about how someone in my neighborhood allowed their dog to crap in the vacant lot and did not pick it up. [Digression: I strongly believe you should not own a dog if you are unwilling to clean up after it publicly.]

I moved from my dog-poop rant into a litter rant. Over the last few years, I have seen people drive up to a stop sign and threw a bag of trash out their car window and kept going. The first time I saw it I was incredulous and it continues to be disconcerting when I see it.

My colleague was in complete agreement about the whole littering issue. Then seemingly out of nowhere she said something to the effect that she would never litter in her previous neighborhood but if there was a neighborhood that was less pristine, then she would litter with something biogradable, of course. I have heard that argument before that if something is biodegradable, it is acceptable to litter. Note: Littering is littering, biogradable or not.

I did not know what to say and still do not. It is disappointing to learn that someone feels there is a justification for littering. It begs the question: Can we really save the planet? My reply is maybe, but we have to work like hell to do so.

Recycling and the blob

Cynthia — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:37:05 +0000

It’s always something with this green thing. Sometimes I waste so much time trying to decide what to do and how to do it. Do I wash (as opposed to rinse) my yogurt containers, or orange juice bottles or other plastic containers before I put them in the recycle? I couldn’t remember and got so frustrated, I threw them in the trash.

After awhile I felt guilty, pulled them out of the trash, rinsed them, and put them in a bag to take to one of the Chicago Recycling Center containers. My goal is to be committed to the green life but sometimes thinking about every little thing can be quite exhausting especially when one commutes by car 40 miles a day. Before you judge, it is unfortunate, that due to job circumstances, greening my commute life is not possible at the moment.

Later that night, I had a dream in which I was over taken by bacteria growth because I didn’t clean my yogurt containers well; it was sort of like the blob. However, I woke up before it could over take me.

Giving up the long hot shower is hard to do.

Cynthia — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:32:48 +0000

The title of this post was inspired by the Neil Sadaka song “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.” Some how I had a general idea to write about reducing the amount of time I spend in the shower each morning. I do not know how or why that came to mind other than I like hot showers and on more than one occasion, they are extremely long. So, I must have been feeling a smidgen of guilt. The operative work is “smidgen” because those long hot showers seem to come at the right time.

One often hear how there is a shortage of water or there will be at some point in the future. A shortage so dire that rationing can occur and all kinds of terrible things will happen just to have water. Initially, it appears to be a dubious claim. You may think, how can that be? The reality is the issue is with potable water. The earth’s surface is mostly covered in water but but it’s salty. In order for it to be usable, this water would have to be desalinated, which is an extremely expensive process. What would be done with the by-product?

Is conservation the best way? Is rain water another options? Is there freshwater available? Is transport an issue? I will continue to think about these questions and more as I try to find ways to cut back on on my water consumption.

Speechless in Chicago

Cynthia — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:29:39 +0000

Sometimes something so egregiously dishonest happens that it leaves you speechless. A few days ago on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, I went to get gas around 6:30 a.m. at South 47^th and Woodlawn Avenue, 1164 E 47th St, Chicago, to be exact (I am not in favor of naming names but the shock to my system was just too much). It is a BP gas station that I’ve only gone to a couple of times. At any rate, it is very close to were I get on Lake Shore Drive at South 47^th Street to begin my morning commute.

At any rate, I paid for my gas. Then I asked the guy for two $1 bills in exchange for coins I nabbed from my coin jar because the coffee shop I go to only accepts cash. Funds were (and are) a little tight and it was a couple of days to pay day. I gave the guy my change and he put it in the cash register. He then said he would give me $1.50. I just looked at him for a few seconds not understanding. I finally said to him that what I gave him was $2.00 in coins. He shook his finger and said that he would give me $1.50. I stared. I was speechless for what seem like forever. I said with as much venom as I could must “fine but understand I will never, never buy gas here again.” At that point he says no, wait. I don’t remember but might have said F-you. I got my gas.

I was pretty upset about this as I started my 45 minute commute. I was still incredulous but as I drove something happened. Of course, I will not buy gas there but it got me thinking about what a friend of mine often says. “The strongest statement one can make is where you spend your money.” And that MFer will never get a dime of my money.

By the time I got to work my anger had dissipated and I was thinking about what action to take that would benefit me and be the most green in the process. While having my morning cup (got extra change from my desk drawer), I looked up BP online. Somehow I came across a couple of articles on the notion of a “buycott.” I had heard about it a few years ago but could not remember. I also came across more than a few articles about BP and some of it was not pretty.

At any rate, it’s officially that I will not be buying gas from BP and certainly not for the small person at the BP at S. 47^th and Woodlawn Ave. There are no if ands and buts about it. I am also thinking of ways to minimize my gasoline usage for the short, mid-, and long term.

For those who are interested in the boycott notion, please checkout the links on the blog (right side titled “Links.”).

Remember: There’s no greater statement you can make than where you decide to spend your money.

Peace,

CAS…

Journey to Green is coming undone

Cynthia — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:14:09 +0000

When I started this blog it was to try and make sense of all the do’s and don’t of the moving to a more “green” life. Since then, I’ve gotten a job that requires me to commute almost two hours a day. Needless to say this sucks. Not only from an environmentalystandpoint but a physical one as well. It was suggested that I take the train or in my case trains. It would take me three or more hours to do so.

In many respects the job I went to mirrors my gasoline consumption in terms of being more wasteful because I’ve started wasting more paper, food, and time. The company is a very heavy paper consumer, that is, they use a whole hell of a lot of paper. In fact, they have a green committee that prints, the “green” newsletter and posts it on a bulletin board on each floor. I found that hilarious. What I find depressing is that less than six months ago, I was using much less paper and gas, now I feel like I walked backed to the nineties and can’t stop.

Is the green movement helpless when companies waste so much under the guise of prodouctivity?

Welcome to my green world!

Cynthia — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:43:50 +0000

The modern American life does not lend itself to being eco-friendly. It is too convenient to carry plastic bottles, throw everything in the trash, and zoom here and there in our 21 MPG cars. Although I want to do my part to make the earth cleaner and healthier, I must confess the messages out there are confusing, absurd, and often overwhelming. It can be downright crazy. In fact, I am not alone in these feelings. When I talk to most people I know, conservation and sustainable living is the last thing on their mind. Not because they don’t care but because their immediate needs of housing, food, work, family and transporation are pressing. Besides, there are only 24 hours in a day. So, in order to save my sanity, I’ve decided to journey to green one step at a time. This blog is an attempt to document that journey given time and budget contraints.