Baby Steps

In line with my New Year's Resolution to be more environmentally conscious, I bought a couple of reusable bags from Publix. I figured with these and maybe one or two more we can do most of our grocery shopping without plastic bags. Fermicat brought up the common cat owner conundrum. Aren't those plastic bags good for the litter box? (That's what Wrigley seems to be thinking!) We have so many right now that even cutting back by 60-75% we'll have more than enough to last us until we move. And there is no way I'm packing plastic bags and moving them to our next destination. So getting these reusable ones seems like the best option for now. When we move, we'll have to replenish our stockpile.

Resolution 2008: Be More Like My Mom

I remember writing last year about all the twist and turns my life took in 2006. As far as 2007 went, there isn't too much to report. Besides spending more than three months away from Deano which understandably left me a little changed there wasn't a specific "things will never be the same" moment. I see that as a good thing, because whether I'm ready or not, 2008 will be a big year for us. By this time next year, I will be a Ph.D. living in a different city. And almost everything else I can think of will be completely different.

I usually don't do New Year's Resolutions. But when I was in Minneapolis for Christmas, I came to a conclusion I'm guessing few 28-year-old women come to: I need to be more like my mother. Several months ago, my mom and stepdad vowed to change the way they live, giving up their favorite products and amenities in favor of environmental and social responsibility. First, they stopped drinking bottled water to reduce plastic bottle waste and instead began to bring large acrylic bottles filled with tap water to work. Then they took another step by refusing plastic bags at the grocery stores and bought several canvas bags. They bought bags both specific to the grocery stores they frequent and general ones for all other stores. This sounds pretty simple in theory, but in practice it proved difficult because many stores are firmly set in their ways and not very open to being handed a handful of canvas bags. But they stayed firm in their resolution and have not collected more than a few bags over the following months.

Lastly, they have done research mostly using the Better World Shopping Guide to find out which companies deal in fair trade, treat their employees well, minimize waste and pollution, give back to their local communities and don't participate in unnecessary animal testing. This required major changes from giving up favorite hair products (Biolage), snacks (Nabisco) , beer (Miller) and candy (Nestle) in favor of more conscientious brands. It is currently prohibitively expensive and time consuming to only buy from the top companies because they are generally all-natural, organic and the companies themselves extremely small and not widely distributed. But my mom and stepdad have vowed to keep all their products at "C" grade or above and always choose the better of two similar products.

This year, I am also vowing to cut out the worst offenders, buy more from the "good guys" and generally be more aware of the practices of businesses that want my money. The Better World Shopper likens such shopping to "voting with your checkbook". I'm not idealistic enough to think that I alone can make a difference, but my money is hard-earned and I should be more careful who gets it.

One more thing. I should mention that my mom and stepdad have always been environmentally aware. They have always driven fuel-efficient cars and are advocates for nature conservation in Northern Minnesota where they own a lake home. But, like the best of those among us, they felt that they could afford to put some time and money into bettering themselves and this year I am trying to do the same.

A Girl Can Dream...

Today, the man who should have been (and many argue was) elected President in 2000 won the Nobel Peace Prize. This may serve as only small consolation seeing as though seven years later we find ourselves in an endless, poorly executed war. A war that has cost the tax payers hundreds of billions of dollars and has been orchestrated by our dim-witted hill billy President and the former CEO of Halliburton. The President, his administration and their war have spent such an unbelievable amount of money for their "crusade" (despite the fact that they are "conservatives") that us scientists are hardly getting any money to research alternative energy sources to wean ourselves off the Arabian oil teat. The same usual suspects along with their incompetent cohorts managed to botch the government response to the single most devastating natural disaster in the nation's history. The irony of this whole debacle would be delicious if it were in the pages of a Philip Roth novel rather the reality of 21st century America. It leaves a person to wonder what the world would have been like if an environmentalist would have become President.

Of course.... it isn't too late. Mr. Gore has said time and again that he isn't throwing his hat in the ring for another presidential bid. He seems so happy in his role as environmental activist, and more comfortable in that skin than when he was Vice President. His argument is that he thinks he is getting things done this way. Raising awareness. You know, getting people to use compact fluorescent light bulbs and recycle and keep their houses two degrees cooler in the summer. I believe in these things. I drive a fuel efficient car and take mass transportation to and from work.

But the problem of global warming is bigger than that. And the government has the power to change things. It has the power to invest in our future through science and education and to end the dependence on oil. Yes, oil is insanely profitable to the most influential people in our nation, but an administration with a conscience can cut the cord. And I think an environmentalist President could do that.

Okay, I'm a little drunk and still slightly giddy but think about this. A Gore-Obama ticket. So far the democrats' biggest complaint about Obama is his lack of experience (to clarify, it isn't my complaint, just people in general). A couple terms in the White House as Vice President and he'd be perfectly primed for his own presidency. He could still execute his vision of unifying the country through hope while working under the first President to be elected after winning a Nobel Prize (and an Oscar). The best part is, they'd be almost guaranteed to win. If everyone who voted for Gore in 2000 did so again and all the people who voted for W and later came to regret it, they could get nearly every vote in the country. It would be the greatest story of vindication ever told. Not likely, but a girl can dream.