by Mike Gioscia.

 

A few years ago, I was more than ready for the New Year. Unlike previous celebrations, I was equipped with an amazing resolution, I could hardly wait for the ball to drop in Times Square. C’mon Dick Clark, I’m ready! Having been too self absorbed for years to think about the environmental problems we face in our everyday lives, I had recently awakened to the cause. The world needed me! And I was prepared to join the fight for the planet! I felt like a superhero, I couldn’t wait to fight our enemies (me being one of them)!

Seeing as that we all live here, in the world, I figured I’d have plenty of people joining me. Conserve energy! Buy a car that gets good gas mileage (22 on the highway does not count as good)! Recycle! Consume LESS. Remove High Fructose Corn Syrup from our diets! Wow, I was on a roll. ‘Who’s with me?!’ I shouted via email, backyard BBQs, and at work! Can’t you see what YOU need to do?!

That’s when I heard the crickets. Hello? Anybody? Attention people of Earth! I have come to save you!

Still nothing. Was I not loud enough?

Yes there were pockets of people out there fighting the good fight, and I aligned with them, but it seemed like The World, well, wasn’t interested in being saved. Could this be? Yes I was a zombie to ‘the call’ myself for years, BUT NOW I’M READY!

Then I remembered my previous resolution gaffs. The worst thing one can do, in late December, is announce “I’m going to lose twenty pounds!” Such an announcement has set a rather high bar, and the next time you see your friends, they will EXPECT to see a change. A big one. A twenty pound one. But wait! I didn’t lose the weight! I was just TALKING about losing the weight. Oops. More talk. No action. Saying you’ll quit smoking next year, month, week, whatever, is so much easier than quitting. Hey anybody can quit next month! Me too!

The World wasn’t interested in my talk. So what next?

Devouring all types of Green publications and websites over the previous months, I read the words that gave me my answer. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi said that. Good ole Gandhi!

My World! Duh. How simple. The World is a rather big place, and while my intentions were good, my scope may have been a bit large. But my world, and the things that encompass it, now that was something I could change! And save! And getting our family of four in line seemed less daunting than, yes, working with all the rest of you!

Greening The Family: Part 1, Slow and Steady

Any change can be a shock to the system. We are creatures of habit, we Americans. Get up same time, eat same thing, get coffee at same place, drive same route, etc. A schedule creates balance, and we don’t like many surprises. So Going Green can be daunting, like any change. So let’s go real slow. No huge checklists, promise.

Here’s something you can do right now! Yes. NOW. Read this, go do it, come back. Ready?

If you own your own home, go to your hot water heater, and TURN DOWN the hot water temperature. How much? That’s up to you. Mine has an A, B, C (hottest) choice. So I’m between A and B. Still plenty hot. Go ahead, I’ll be here when you come back.

Hum hum hum… do do da… la tee da…

There! Easy huh? Less than a minute I bet. Hot water bill? Lower. Saving money? Check. Conserving energy? Check-a-roni.  First step on the road to ‘Greener Living’.

What’s that? This is easy? You want another one?

OK! This one also saves money! Weekend away money, and it may be my favorite, but be warned, it’s a change!

I mentioned coffee. Mmmmm coffee. Drinking one right now while writing I am. How many coffees do you purchase a week? Let’s go low, and say you buy one $2 cup a day, 5x a week. I’m a writer not a math guy, but that’s ten bucks a week, or a whopping $500 a year (notice I gave you two weeks off even)! This year you can use that five hundie in Florida, or Vegas, or in the backyard, or to pay those Fantasy Football dues. Can it be?

Yes. Brew your own. I don’t care how much you love Dunkies or are addicted to Starbuck’s you have the power to make a much better cup o joe. Maybe there was a time when the coffee was brewed special by someone who actually cared, but as the level of service drops to lower and lower levels, and those lines get longer and longer, you can TAKE CONTROL back! Doesn’t matter how you do it, I would just recommend spending a little time figuring out the best way to make it happen. Change creature! Change! I bought a french press (not fancy, not electric) at a thrift store for $3. Best purchase evah! I make coffee every other day, keeping the remains in the fridge for next mornings ‘I don’t wanna make coffee and look BANG! here’s an iced coffee waiting for me right here’ feeling. And besides saving HUNDREDS… yes hundreds, I don’t create that PILE of plastic cups that are in your backseat, rolling around in parking lots, using up landfills, … everywhere! I can’t make everyone stop buying plastic cups, but in my world, consumption is next to nothing. And really, the coffee is much better!

Every week I drive past my neighbor’s huge trash can, overflowing with cardboard and plastic bottles, jammed with things that can be recycled. I get aggravated. Then I relax, because that’s a different world far far away. In my home world, I’m focusing on doing what I can, cause that’s all I can do. Right Mr. Ghandi?

‘This year I will conserve energy, save some money, and drink better coffee!’ Go ahead and shout it out loud! Who’s gonna argue with that?