Sunday, July 08, 2007

It Ain't Easy (Being Green)

Slowly, over the past year or so, I’ve been going greener and greener. It’s hard to say that out loud, even in the merely analogical sense in which blogging something is saying it out loud. I think it’s hard for two reasons. One, I feel like an idiot for not having gone greener sooner. Second, I know how hard it would be to get as totally green as I’d like to be, and I know that there are things that I don’t even know about, so it’s a little embarrassing to admit that you have such a goal. It opens you up to being called out.

In my time in North Carolina, I had several housemates who were much more into these things than I ever was. Their passion for such things as vegetarianism, composting, eating organic, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and minimizing car use was pretty irritating at times. But it was also formative for me, as it turns out. Funny how the things that irritate us can come to be among the things we hold dear.

I decided it was important to me to live close enough to work so that I would walk. I actually bike occasionally, too, but I never drive. My former housemates would probably chuckle at that, since I used to drive pretty much everywhere.

I also greened my power. All my electricity comes from solar and wind power. If you are in Rhode Island, you can do this here. (There are other options, but this is the best, because it is local, non-profit, and comes from completely renewable sources. It’s also tax-deductible. If you need to do baby steps, they have a 50% green option.)

I compost, and I have a small container garden—mostly herbs, a few tomatoes and peppers. I also bought a share in a CSA with this farm. Well, half a share; I’m splitting it with some friends. But I’m thrilled to be buying local and entering into the discipline of my eating choices being shaped by what the earth gives rather than what strikes my fancy when I am standing in the supermarket produce department. It also makes for some pretty produce-heavy eating, which has to be good for me.

It also seems to me that all eyes, as it were, are turning to this stuff. I found this on a friend’s blog the other day, as she and her husband are attending to how much energy use goes into both shipping and storage (I hadn’t thought of that!) to keep our fresh foods fresh, even when they are local.

It's not easy, but it's important to keep trying to become better and better stewards of this world given into our collective care.

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