It's Not Easy Being Green

A small firestorm erupted recently at work. Now if you spend any time at all in places with more than, say--three unrelated people you realize such firestorms occasionally flare up and normally extinguish themselves when no more fuel is available to feed it. This one, ironically enough, started with the pending annual fire inspection. We were asked to remove all personal electronic appliances such as refigerators, space heaters etc not only to assist with the inspection but also as an economic measure. Less draw on the energy = saving the district $$. Of course, this announcement also coincided with the Governor's threat and warning that school districts should prepare to lose state budget funds.

The firestorm spread because some staff members took this request to unplug as a request to make an unreasonable personal sacrifice to help save jobs. A leap, I know, but that's how it was interpreted by some. I'm just sitting there thinking that my personal little refrigerator is probably almost 20 years old and not too energy efficient. OK, I will remove it and use the window ledges about 6 months out of the year as my lunch and drink coolant. We'll be safer and it does make sense. It's much more environmentally friendly. Green. Like the green $25 the district will save to put toward a new teacher (?). Economically sensible.

I think we are all highly aware of the financial climate and making efforts to scale back, cut down and tuck money away. Judy's recent Christmas greeting is a prime example. She's probably a little ahead of the curve (in many ways) in conserving resources by email! Saves the expense of cards, stamps, gas, and photo printing for her. Saves the recipients the tape used to hang up the cards as well as the sort of tsk-tsk-tsk "what a waste" regret you feel as you recycyle your cards sometime in January. Not to mention all the time saved at both ends! Very efficient. Green and economical.

BUT this is going to take some getting used to. As much as I enjoy email, I admit I enjoy retrieving those extra envelopes from the mailbox, opening them and displaying them. I suspect there will be alot less of that this year. And, I of all people, could probably transfer that enjoyment to the "Check mail" button on my desktop.

Judy will probably get some reaction similar to those I've endured over my refusal to accept plastic bags. Maybe 12-15 years ago or so, I realized that pile of unruly plastic bags in my pantry was causing more aggravation than assistance. So I started refusing them. In the ensuing years this has caused more than a fair share of stunned looks from clerks ("Are you sure?"); rolled eyes from my family ("There she goes again") and ribbing from friends (an entire birthday celebration designed around plastic bags--yes, really).

BUT, there are no bags piled up in my pantry. No waste. It's all about the waste as various cities are taxing plastic bags as a means to discourage their use. And waste. I still get the occasional odd look from a clerk as I choose to lug out to the car the bottle of aspirin I just bought (whew). But not as often and most of my family members have adjusted. Their eyes roll at other quirks now. Maybe I'm just ahead of my time, the way I was with the plastic bag issue.

We may have learned some of this from Dad, who's carbon footprint must have been the size of his appetite. Did that man ever buy anything or throw anything away??? Ever?? So, of course, this brings me to the very symbol of the Green Reduce Reuse Recycle movement: those blasted swim trunks. And look what happened there.

So, Judy, it may take til Matthew graduates--from college--before such green efforts you make become part of a national movement, but hang in there. I'm here for you. It isn't easy being green.