Try to be green (03/09/2009)

It seems like I can't pick up any magazine these days without seeing an article promoting a green way of life.

I realize I'm showing my age, but I remember when green was just a color and not an environmental issue. Then along came Kermit the frog and he told us that it wasn't easy being green. In that context green was another word for different.

Now the powers that be tell me that I should live a green lifestyle in order to protect the planet. So I should turn into a frog? Um ... that doesn't sound too appealing or possible.

In addition to promoting a green lifestyle, I am also supposed to reduce my carbon footprint. Again, I am showing my age because when I think of carbon, I think of carbon paper. And a carbon footprint would be the result of stepping on the carbon paper and then walking around leaving black traces everywhere.

I find it amusing that the greatest hoarders of carbon are trees but nobody suggests cutting them down so as to return all that carbon to the earth.

If one were to live a green lifestyle they would automatically reduce their carbon footprint. Actually, if we were to live as our grandparents and great-grandparents did then we would be living a greener lifestyle than we do today.

But was it really so responsible to burn wood and coal for heat? Was it really responsible to have a dozen or so children in the hopes that most of them would live and help out around the farm? Do we really want to go back to that way of life?

Most of us like the modern conveniences. We like going to the bathroom in the middle of the night without having to go outside, especially in the winter. We like central heat and air conditioning. We like all our gizmos and gadgets.

We like going to the store for groceries instead of having to plant, weed, and preserve. We like buying our meat wrapped in plastic instead of having to kill it and clean it first.

A lot of the advice on living green can be boiled down to that old phrase, "waste not; want not." For many Americans this is easier said than done.

Excess packaging fills my recycle bin every week. Do we really need multiple safety seals on everything? Do we honestly believe that taking a sealed bottle out of a sealed box is necessary? Does that little cardboard box make the product that much better or safer?

You can replace all your light bulbs with florescent ones, walk everywhere, adjust your thermostat so that you freeze in the winter and roast in the summer and it will help slow the depletion of resources.

You can take all your own bags to the grocery store, buy only organic produce and reduce, reuse, and recycle until the cows come home. It will make a difference

What it won't do is extend the life of the planet. It won't rebuild the forests. It won't return the earth to pre-human existence.

I believe we should reduce the amount of waste in our lives but I also believe that it is impossible to leave this planet without making an impression on it.

It is possible to be conservative in the consumption of resources without being ridiculous about it.

One other thing, all those articles I mentioned at the beginning - they all advocate buying something. Personally, I think it is more responsible to use what I already have even if it isn't the most energy efficient thing around.

What I am saying is to avoid wanton waste but also realize that going back in time to a pristine world is not an option.

It's our world and we have a responsibility to take care of it to the best of our ability. And you don't need to purchase a single product to do so.[[In-content Ad]]