Green with Children

The Truth about Going Green

When you live in relative affluence--the fridge has food, the kids have everything they need, your neighborhood is safe, you occasionally go to dinner or a movie, maybe even take a vacation once or twice a year--it's easy to lose sight of how dramatically different life is for the rest of the world. Maybe even for your neighbor.

This weekend, I realized it's like that about going green, too.

I have been surrounded by friends and neighbors as attuned to environmentalism as I am, if not more. We actively work to conserve energy and water, none of us use paper napkins, and we dramatically limit our paper towel use. I don't even own any Ziploc bags anymore--snacks and lunches get packed in reusable containers. This summer's backyard barbecues remind me that I live in a bubble.

Outside my bubble, where most Americans exist, paper plates, paper napkins, paper towels, single-serving water bottles and idling motors are the norm. Meals are routinely served on paper in the summer, lemonade is sipped from plastic cups, and water comes in a 12-oz. plastic bottle. When they toss that bottle into a recycling bin, they feel they've done their part.

These parties are fantastic for all the right reasons--great friends and family enjoying delicious food, drinks, laughs, music and, of course, the summer. I was constantly distracted by waste, however. Paper plates were abandoned after a small serving of potato salad. Plastic cups were lost or abandoned half-full. Often, the recycling cans were not clearly marked. I've become some sort of recycling freak.

At one party, Julius managed to coat his hands and arms to the elbows with dirt. When I took him in to wash his hands in the bathroom, I sucked my teeth at the paper towel in lieu of a hand towel. Then I laughed at my own righteous indignation. I'm writing a blog about going green. Of course I'm going to be doing more than the average person. As much as I do find my new "eco-mommy" life as easy as, if not easier (and cheaper) than, my "trashy mommy" life, it still looks like a big leap from there to here from outside my bubble.

For years, I fully believed that we had many environmental problems, but I did nothing about it. Once I decided to try, each step toward a more eco-mommy lifestyle led me to the next. The decisions became easier as the greener options consistently proved to be simpler. Soon, my eco-consciousness infused the way I think about almost everything. And now I live inside my green bubble.

It's so hard to pull people into the bubble without sounding preachy, tedious or superior. This isn't converting to an ancient religion. It's more like learning to drive a stick shift. Sticks will make you appreciate your automatic more, make you more aware of how a car operates, and ultimately--in my opinion--make you a better driver.

And lest you think I'm too high on my horse, one host did take a step toward environmentalism that I myself can't do. A flat, warmish keg of beer was offered in lieu of cans or bottles.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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