Bag lady

My latest obsession is trying to do what I can to reduce my waste and energy consumption. These are my grocery bags! I use the purple one the most. When I go to the store I have to blurt out "I have a bag!" and then I thank the ladies profusely for helping me to stuff my groceries into it. Recently, though, I have been going rather far out of my way to shop at the greenmarket downtown. I am really interested in the variety of produce and products. People are bringing artisanal cheeses, breads, pickles, jams, wine, and pretzels. That sounds like a bizarre meal, but they also have produce, meats, dairy and plants. The farmers are all from within the tri-state area and the woman who did my wedding flowers has a stand there. Besides learning what foods are in season and local, I am inclined to try things that I haven't had before. Like black edamame, fiddlehead ferns, and sunflower sprouts.
On an eco-show on Sundance channel, I heard the comment that we we vote for the things we want with every dollar that we spend. I believe that is true. Another really interesting thing I learned on that program was about a restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas called Local Burger. They get their grass fed beef from down the road and support their local farmers. Yeehaw!


This is all the food that was in my handknitted bags!!! Plus two bags of compost....
I have slowly been switching to less chemical filled laundry and dish detergents, body wash, shampoo, and toothpaste. It is all lavender flavored- which I love. My apartment is small, but we have a lot of electronics. So I switched our energy to ConEd Green Solutions. Supposedly, we pay a penny more per kilowatt for wind and hydro- energy. Mr. wanted a new AC, which was fine as long as we got an Energy Star one. He also recycled our old one by leaving it on the sidewalk with a sign that said it worked. It was gone in about 5 minutes. I have been unplugging things that aren't in use at night or the majority of the day. But I have many weaknesses like my iPod, cellphone, and computer.
I am really inspired by this blog- No Impact Man: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/. Colin and his family have been weaning themselves off fossil fuels, packaged food, and electricity. He is not preachy about his experiences and writes beautifully about the change of pace in life and things that hold real value for him, like making food for his family.

There are a lot of things in the world I have opinions about that might be moral or political or personal preference. But I actually feel that this is not one of them. Whether global warming is happening and the sky is falling or it is a giant myth that is created by the media, using less and being more conscientious feels right and makes me happier.