Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Decisions and changes I don't have to make

I've spent the better part of today putzing online, reading locavore and "green" related blogs instead of working, courtesy of a sharp blasting sinus headache. I should go home, but I didn't.

I realize from my reading that there are a number of different issues that others seriously grapple with that I won't have to face in this journey I'm taking towards being a more conscious consumer. In no particular order, they include:
  • Car vs. public transportation: While I'd like to have this issue to face, where I live public transportation is a total joke. One of these days when I'm feeling ranty (probably in the height of tourist season), I'll probably do an entire post on the astonishing amount of money that's being spent on widening roads and creating traffic bypasses (through family homes, farms, and businesses) in order to accommodate thousands of tourists' cars, and yet there's no viable way for most of those tourists to get here via bus, or get around the area once they're here if they're not staying right in the main beach areas. And the needs of local low-income families who have absolutely no way to get from where they live to where they work without having one car per working person are totally ignored in the state and county budgets. In the interest of full disclosure, I should be seriously ashamed of myself for not walking or riding my bike to work more often since I live so close.
  • Cloth vs. disposable diapers: Having never had the opportunity to have children of my own, and not being the one who gets to choose how to diaper my granddaughter, I don't have to make this decision.
  • Reusable pads and cups vs. disposable pads and tampons: The joys of menopause, what can I say (yeah, TMI to many, but I'm just truly glad that I don't have to battle my environmental conscience every month!).
  • Distant vs. local sources for tofu and tempeh: I'll eat tofu and tempeh, but as a unrepentant omnivore, they're certainly never my first choice for protein.
  • Leaky old-house original windows vs. double-pane higher R-factor windows: That decision was made for me by the previous owner. I would have never for a moment considered ripping out our old house's original windows, but I would have not at all enjoyed the work that I'd likely be facing to make them more energy efficient.

3 comments:

rae-ann said...

:D your post made me laugh. And then I read the part in your profile about struggling to keep your top on while taking off your jumper which made me shed a few tears of laughter LOL!

Honestly, you can take yourself round and round in circles sometimes trying to decide what is 'for the best' and all you do is succeed in chasing your tail.

Yay for you that you no longer need to think about these things.

Have a great evening,
Mrs Green x

Foodscaper said...

Leslie! I couldn't figure out how to respond to what you posted on my blog- so sending it this way! You may want to erase this as it has nothing to do with this post!
****************

Fabulous! I just checked yours out too :) Yes, we do have alot in common- I like your description of a slowcavore....ha, ha.... I agree, I am just a normal person trying to make my way through all of this information. I still shop at Costco and support the government at large (I say this because some of my friends think I have gone native.....not really....just being smarter about my choices!). So I know you understand. The point of my blog is to not only chronicle my journey, give some tips, and to be short and sweet about it. I am a working mom, who is working on a zillion things at a time -- and I try to make them short and sweet! I also have a yahoo group called Loudoun Locavores --- but since you live far away it probably wouldn't be of help to you. Thanks for adding me to your listing -- us like minded folks need to stick together. So where do you live? Maybe I should go read your blog again -- I am on travel in Seattle and just got to read this quickly.

So tell me about your garden!! Got any pics? Make any mistakes? I did - lots! I sprouted my cukes WAY TO EARLY and had to plant them outside as they are sending out tendrils! I also planted wya too many artichokes.....soo frivolous!

glad to have met you and enjoy to talking to you again!

have a SUPERB day.

Linna

Leslie said...

Mrs. Green, thanks for popping in! Yeah, the joys of menopause are creating my own "global warming crisis." Hmm... perhaps there's a post in that title... ::grin::

Linna, no garden pics yet but that's because all I have are my herbs that survived the winter and some 2" high sugar snap peas. I'm getting some tomato and pepper plants later, then planning some fall crops and a few things to over-winter. Since early planting season always coincides with the busiest time in my semester, and this has been one of my busiest semesters ever, I was lucky to even get those peas in! Next year will be better (though I always say that...).