20 November 2008

I Don't mind being "green" but.....

I am glad to be separating our trash into two containers. The recyclables are plastic, bottles, cans, paper........the rest goes into the dumpster. We have two trash pick up days in Louisville. This is a good habit to begin. But maybe I'm watching too much news because I'm starting to feel guilty if I put an empty toilet paper roll in the real trash instead of the recycler. Like I don't have enough to feel guilty about. (Yelling at my kids, messy house, making a lousy meal, surfing ebay). I don't think the media is helping with this.
I think Global Warming is real, I understand many in in Africa use only 5 gallons of water per day, compared to an American using 150. I just could get overwhelmed with the enormity of the problem. So we are told all the things we can do to help. I think it's good to know how the rest of the world lives. But if those in Africa had the water available like we do, I think they would use just a bit more - maybe the difference wouldn't seem so obscene.

We also have giant washer and dryers in America. Europeans have tiny washers and no dryers. A dishwasher is for the rich. Currently, the house we are renting has no dishwasher. What a miserable quality of life I am living. Yes, there are dirty dishes in the sink and on the counters most of the time. This, I do not feel guilty about.

Returning back from our Michigan Christmas trip, we discovered our orange recycling bin has been stolen. Now, do I wait for the new one to be delivered and hold the separated trash, or do I take this opportunity to just dump it all together. Haven't decided.

2 comments:

Laura Hoekstra-Bettig said...

Dump it together is my thought. Just like what we are currently doing as our garage is now housing the electric grill. Which is in the place our recycling "bags" were and they have no home at this time.

The other thing is this: we do not have free curbside recycling and so this has become one more thing to nag my husband about. "When are you going to the recycling station?" (as the bags overflow...) I think it is better not to nag and, therefore, not to recycle. Don't tell Betsy.

Cindi said...

This statement is so true! I don't mind recycling here in Louisville because they make it convenient by picking it up and separating it for you. In Virginia if you wanted to recycle it was all your responsibility to separate glass, plastic and paper, clean it, remove labels, and deliver it to where it was suppose to go and each category had a dfferent place. Do you think I'm going to do all that?? No way! But here, it's nice to be able to just put it all in one place and they pick it up. However, like you, I do find myself with my hand hovering over the regular trash can with a recyclable item and feeling a little guilty if I let go and don't change my mind. Kind of ridiculous I guess.
I get so mad when I see a really cute t-shirt only to find that it has a "green" message and I would never wear it because of that. I understand and believe that God designated man to be in charge of His creation and to take care of it, but it seems that people have started worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. It has become a religion for a lot of people who are searching for something to make themselves feel "good" about who they are and what they are doing. It's sad. Oh, and by the way, the Earth was actually found to be cooler last year than it has ever been, but would you ever hear that on the news?? NO WAY! Well, for now, I'll recycle when it's convenient but I'm not going to sit in a dark house and turn off the water when I brush my teeth. If I want to pay a higher water bill and electric bill, that's my business. It's not doing anything to affect my environment as far as I see it and to penalize me for doing so is ludicrous. I thought we lived in a free country??