Writers:

January 2008 archive

Do the green actions of individuals even matter?

BARNEY COMMENTED, ON JANUARY 17, 2008 AT 5:18 P.M.:
Dear Eco chicks. With so much sustainability and green talk going on, I'm wondering what impact one person can really have. If I only have the energy to change one or two things in my life to lessen my impact on the planet, what should I do? Is screwing in a new light bulb enough? Cold showers? Bury my car? Paper instead of plastic? Have a green burial? Help me make sense of all this.

Posted on Jan. 31, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. Discuss (5 comments)

It's All About the Sink

Sometimes being sustainable is all about having access to a sink. At work, when coffee is served at meetings with people coming in from outside, it's hard to avoid those disposable cups. (At the Nature Musuem, the staff mostly bring their own mugs from their desks--but what is someone coming in from the outside supposed to do? Put a little creamer in his or her mouth and drink directly from the coffee urn spigot?)

I've been known to bring my own cup to meetings at other places -- but there is that awkwardness of what to do with it once it's dirty. The bathroom sink is usually an option, but if you're at someplace that makes a point of only having hand dryers and no towels, then you have a wet mug to carry around with you.

Am I taking this too seriously? Should I just make my peace with the disposable cup? Should I direct my concerns to other more important things than remembering to bring my mug everywhere I go in case the urgent need to consume fluids comes upon me? Should I donate money to have sinks installed everywhere that I might have a meeting?

Posted on Jan. 23, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (3 comments)

Urban Nature photo

Is anybody besides me really enjoying seeing photographer Colleen Plumb's photos popping up on the Little Green People home page?

In addition to being a terrific photographer, Colleen's work adds to the conversation about urban landscapes in developed nations. What's real? What's natural? What's right? Is everything equal--human-made and nature-made?

I'm a big fan of her work, and I'm not alone -- her 2007 show at the Notebaert Nature Museum was named best photo exhibit of the year by Time Out Chicago.

I'd love to hear some other reactions to these images.

Posted on Jan. 20, 2008 at 11:51 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (3 comments)

Pleasure of Hot Showers

In an upcoming podcast, Laurene and I are going to be discussing the "Navy shower," where one takes a very brief shower, turning off the water while lathering up, as a way of conserving water.

It does conserve water -- as much as 57 gallons of water per shower, if you're the type who might luxuriate otherwise in a 10-minute long cascade. And beauty experts say it's good for your skin to take quickies.

But I don't see myself switching any time soon. If I have to save water, I'd rather skip a shower once or twice a week than I would take a shower that I don't enjoy. "Use ordinary repetitive occasions in your own house as invitations to practice mindfulness," Jon Kabat Zinn writes in Wherever You Go, There You Are. "Be present for things like taking a shower, or eating. When you are in the shower, are you really in the shower? Do you feel the water on your skin, or are you someplace else, lost in thought, missing the shower altogether?"

Remember after a camping trip, and how amazing the hot shower felt upon your return? Every day can be like that. A shower is a completely incredible thing, not to be missed.

Posted on Jan. 14, 2008 at 10:21 p.m. by Jill. Discuss (1 comment)

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Posted on Jan. 8, 2008 at 1:28 p.m. Discuss (0 comments)

Luxury vs. Sacrifice

Is it just my inner Puritan, or does it seem like so much about being good (and green) requires a sacrifice of pleasure? Showers, for instance -- make them shorter and colder. Raspberries in January -- don't buy them. Fly to Paris for a crazy, romantic weekend -- better make that Paris, Illinois, oh, and can you take the Greyhound?

I'm developing a little list of green things I do that actually make me happier and my life feel richer.

1) Bringing my own canvas bags with me to stores. I hate the plastic ones, and those incredibly thick paper ones (at Whole Foods, they're always double-bagged) clutter up my kitchen because they're so substantial I can't bring myself to throw them away, even in the recycling. Canvas bags work better, and hold more, and most of mine are from conferences I once attended or from organizations I like, so they're also like little scrapbooks of my life.

2) Walking to get places. I do so hate the scent of gym. Helps me avoid them, a least a little.

3) Composting. If you don't have a compost pile this one is a little like my trying to explain to a dedicated non-parent why having a child is rewarding. From the outside, all you see is the incredible mess of it all. If you do have one, then you know how fascinating it is to poke and observe and have the hugely satisfying reward of spreading it on the earth and planting some tomatillos in it.

4) Downloading songs vs. buying a CD. So green, so easy, so satisfying.

5) Giving and receiving gifts of experience. At least that's what I call them, the gifts of tickets to something or the hand-made gift certificate offering to do something for someone or vice versa. Everyone's time is the most valuable thing they have, so to get that is better than any Tiffany brooch. (I think that may be the only time in my life I've ever written the word "brooch." Do people still make them? Do people actually ask for them for presents? Is that even a word?)

Posted on Jan. 8, 2008 at 1:28 p.m. by Jill. Discuss (3 comments)