Skip to main content

What difference does it make


There is one question constantly nagging me; am I even making a difference? Is what I am doing really worth it? To be honest, I am not sure. I have been able to measure my changes somewhat though not necessarily accurately. I have remeasured my carbon footprint, but the change was not remarkable. I still drive a car and heat my apartment with electricity in the winter. I do know that I buy less and throw away less. But I am just one person, and I alone will not make a difference.
            I advocate for and talk about reducing waste with nearly every person I meet. Family, friends, classmates, people I volunteer with, and even unsuspecting strangers in the grocery store have heard me talk about ways to reduce waste. I have learned that the best way to get attention for my cause, is practicing it myself. Bringing my own Tupperware to the grocery or my plate to school will always prompt questions from other people. I find it to be the best way to get a conversation going. 

Plastic free school supplies. Image source.

Truthfully, I can really see the impact I am making when friends and family come up to me to show the changes they have made. Whether it is a small thing like bringing their own water bottle or my brother calling me for information about composting. Awareness is spreading and that is huge.

Popular posts from this blog

It’s not personal, it’s business

Everyone blames coal and oil companies for the current situation regarding climate change. There is always seems to be this focus on companies who care for nothing more than their bottom line. As I have said previously, everyone is so willing to place the blame on someone else in an attempt to avoid actual change themselves.             Now I am not a great defender of big oil, but I argue that they are not the ones we should be blaming. The ones at fault are us, the consumers. If there was not a market for these resources, no one would be selling them. There is a reason you will not find cassette tapes at Walmart.             If we the consumer want change, then we have to ask for it. We have to make conscious choices about the things we purchase. This means we are going to have to really understand the brands we are choosing to support. Brands follow the ...
Read more

Not for the love of animals, but for sustainability

I do not necessarily subscribe to a specific diet. I do not claim to be vegetarian or vegan even if most of my meals meet those requirements. I guess you could call my diet plastic free. It sounds strange but that is the goal when I go shopping for food.             I was really inspired after reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. His book really focused on being in touch with the food we consume. So much of what we eat today is highly processed with added sugars, emulsifiers and stabilizers. Our great-grandparents probably would not recognize most of what America is eating today as food. Pollan’s advice for a healthy diet is, “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” Image source.              It is well understood that the meat industry in the US is a major environmental problem.   Beef production requires a significant amount of na...
Read more