Justin Ahrens
Sarah Ahrens
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Kerri Liu
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Guest Blogger
Now I must admit that I have fought, somewhat, the green initiative that has become so fashionable. Not sure why, but most likely it is because it is something that takes effort (see this link). I am not a lazy person, but I am a very busy person. The thought of having to come up with ways to become green leaves me tired!
But the reality is that there are so many resources out there to help me. For example, see Yahoo’s Green Living Page. Most things have already been thought of and I just need to apply them to my life. The reality is, once I start it will become much easier and more natural.
I have four kids, ranging in age from 3 to 9. I have goals and dreams for them and one of them is to make them more socially responsible – and this includes being green. They hear about it in school, friends’ houses, and on TV…shouldn’t they hear about it in our home too? The answer is, unequivocally, yes!
So we are starting small, but will build our list as our kids start to grasp the concepts and develop the habits, which is the whole goal. Here is what we are doing now:
1) Turning off lights when you are not in the room.
2) Trying to decide what we want to take out of the fridge BEFORE we open it (my 6-yr-old came up with this one!)
3) Recycling – cans, bottles, paper, etc. We have a fun can crusher the kids get to use.
4) Refilling water bottles with our own filtered water.
5) Using compact fluorescent bulbs.
I realize that most people are doing these things or at least know about them. I am trying to develop the habits and having conversation with my children while we are doing these things – showing them why and explaining our responsibilities. As they get older we’ll have larger goals, but right now this is our little start…and it’s working! It’s becoming a part of our family vernacular and lifestyle. It may not be easy, but it is worthwhile!
For more great ideas on staying green as a family, check out this link.
Good stuff. However, if you are still eating meat, note that the growing and processing of beef is one of the biggest polluters of water in the nation. Fact: it takes only 365 gallons a day to support a vegan, 1000 gallons for an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and a whopping 4000 gallons for a beef eater. This is the second main reason our family went vegetarian 15 years ago.
Great post! My favorite site for ideas about making small changes is the Tiny Choices blog – I’ve learned so much from them, and it’s definitely helped us form new habits. Did you know that toilet paper and kleenex are all made from virgin trees, up to 20% old growth forests?? Apalling! So, we’ve switched to Seventh Generation recycled TP, and we made the switch to only using cotton flannel hankies for us and our guests, about 6 months ago – and our noses are happier for it!
Talk to me more about those boots, kemosabe.
Brad and Jen – good stuff! We have cut down meat big time, but going vegan? Not sure that will ever happen, love bacon way to much. But we all can do things to make us more and more responsible for our footprint.
On meaty issues, we subscribe to the Grass is Greener meat CSA, to support local/pasture raised meat and local farmers. And that’s the only meat we buy, so yeah, we’re eating a lot less meat, too – and boy does it taste better. And we’ve got a local veggie CSA June-Jan that provides most of our veggies, too, and we can’t wait for that to start up next month. This week, the farmer’s markets begin, and this local eater is psyched!
Jenn that’s a great idea! I need to find some local bacon…
What about chicken? I stopped eating the red meat, but is white meat bad for the environment as well?
Chicken is the most economical meat, as far as resources used to raise the meat. Beef takes about 7lbs of feed per 1lb finished meat to raise – chicken is about 2lb feed to 1lb finished chicken – and I can’t remember how much water beef vs chickens need, but you can imagine that cows require a lot more water. Let’s face it – the way we farm meat in this country is terrible for the environment – from what we feed animals, to the crowded feedlots, methane, ammonia from chicken feces, and how we dispose of the wastes created by farms.
If you’re interested in learning more about the ecology of what we eat – I’d definitely recommend any of Michael Pollan’s books – “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” is a great place to start and gives you some good ideas on how to make some small changes in how you eat, where you buy your food that will have a positive impact on the planet, as well as supporting local producers!
Thanks everyone for the incredible feedback and conversation! This is another example of the resources that are available to help us all…each other!
seriously, I just want to know about those cowboy boots.
Those are my green boots Dude. Don’t you have a pair?