Comments on: Disagreeing on Green Values: Why Michael Thinks I’m Ned Flanders

By: Beth Terry Answers Questions for a Green Newbie | Not An Activist

Beth Terry Answers Questions for a Green Newbie | Not An Activist — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:53:10 +0000

[...] Beth Terry: I try not to nag people because that just causes resentment. Instead, I explain what I’m doing and just try and set an example. I actually wrote a post about this very topic, and created a video with my husband Michael – Disagreeing on Green Values: Why Michael Thinks I’m Ned Flanders. [...]

By: Betsy (Eco-novice)

Betsy (Eco-novice) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 03:02:14 +0000

I loved reading this post, Beth. I wrote a little while ago about going green with a reluctant spouse:
http://www.eco-novice.com/2010/10/10-tips-for-going-green-with-reluctant.html

Now I love hearing my husband explain to other folks why eating organic , etc. is important. He’s much more evangelical than I am (I am sort of closet green, except on my blog, of course).

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:41:25 +0000

Beth, This was so great to read after my little “cry in the night” moment. This morning my husband is joking about the plastic-wrapped banana argument from last night — and throwing in digs about acupuncture (which I’ve never had but would like to) while he’s at it. And I loved your video–so sweet! You were right, that was a great place to stop.

Wish I’d seen this blog dicussion when it happened — I might have been a little more sensitive to how to manage the green thing at home — but at that point, I was only barely discovering your work and the PPC. Anyway thanks Beth and everyone else who commented — onward!

By: Simplify Your Life by Using Less Plastic

Simplify Your Life by Using Less Plastic — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:32:47 +0000

[...] Beth: For the most part, yes. In the beginning, they were skeptical. I think they were worried I was judging them. But because I realize that I am in no way perfect, I don’t feel I have a right to judge others. I just want to be an example. And my family sees that. I think they are proud of me, actually. I have a funny video on my web site: an interview with my husband about how he feels about my plastic-free ways. It’s here. [...]

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:02:37 +0000

I so relate. While we mostly manage OK, the one thing we do have problems with is food. I made the decision to cut down on my meat eating to two meals a week because of it’s environmental impact. Big problem living with a big meat eater!! While he doesn’t eat meat for breakfast most days, all of his other meals usually have some kind of meat in them. While we respect each other’s choices, it has made it really difficult to share the responsibility of meal making. Even though he doesn’t say as much, he hates my meals, he hates beans, lentils etc. And if either of us cook just veges so he can have his meat on the side, then I am probably missing out on the protein I need. It was me that made the decision to change, so I do feel responsible for making things work. It is just quite a hard one to make work, but sure we will get there.

By: Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green

Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:49:16 +0000

I love the video Beth! And this a great subject. :) .-= Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green´s last blog ..A Wake-Up Story =-.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:37:52 +0000

I am definitely the one in my home making the environmental decisions – my husband goes along with most of them. But before I make a change that would affect him, I run it by him and based on his opinion I may or may not make the change. Paper towels are a good example – we still use them, though very infrequently (3-4 rolls a year). I asked my husband if he would be ok switching to reusable cloths instead, which we already use for most cleaning, and he didn’t want to, so we’ll keep the paper towels. They ahave a high recycled content, and we use so few that I’m ok with it and it makes him more comfortable. He does sometimes feel like I change the rules, but I think there are so many eco things we try to do at home that he does occassionally forget the rules. He also hates it when we’re out, get a drink in a recyclable bottle, and I will carry the bottle with me all day to bring home and recycle if we don’t see a recycling bin. That drives him crazy, but I don’t mind and I’m the one carrying it. Many green changes can be justified financially, so he’s ok with those (like keeping the a/c at 75 in the summer). All this has definitely made him more environmentally aware as he tells me of all the green initiatives his work is doing, and asks the right questions about what his company is doing, what eco features make new buildings LEED certified, etc. A few years ago he wouldn’t have even known about the topics to be asking questions, so he has come a long way and I am very proud of him for that.

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:01:28 +0000

I'm fortunate that my husband agrees with me. He's from Sweden where green living had early devotees. What I find frustrating is when green principles get blindsided by one member of a town's Board of Health. That's what happened here on Cape Cod. We are threatened by NStar's spraying up to six herbicides under the power lines, where vegetation must be controlled per Federal law. Our Select board wanted to stop all herbicides in town, but this one influential member of our town family protested that we should not rile the company that provides our electricity. Suddenly all the green supporters of opposition to NStar capitulated. I know this is a bit off-subject, but it demonstrates different shades of green in a larger context. So frustrating! .-= Alexandra´s last blog ..In Honor of Howard Zinn … To the Barricades! =-.

By: Tia

Tia — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:20:52 +0000

Well, I am a single mom so I make ALL the decisions about how environmentally aware our home is. I recently started making my own laundry soap, to avoid phosphates and plastic (bottles or scoops) and my son thinks it looks disgusting. (He is right, its not aesthetically pleasing but it does work great!) However, he is only 10 years old so he knows that he is going to use whatever Momma makes/buys. I am hoping that seeing the decisions i make will have a long term effect on both of my kids. I won't buy them kids meals because of the plastic toys but if they choose to spend their allowance on that, I don't forbid it either. I guess I want them to think about these decisions but I don't want to be a dictator about it. They are very aware of recycling, turning off lights, not wasting water; as are most kids their age but i think that they are more aware of issues like the damage caused by plastics, meat consumption, animal cruelty in food production and organics vs non-organics. As I continue to learn and make positive changes in my daily life I can only hope that they will learn to do the same. .-= Tia´s last blog ..Have I gone too far? =-.

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:56:27 +0000

Raven, it is important to me to have this blog accessible to as many people as possible. And since this video was very talk-heavy, I realized I needed to do the captions, so those who are hearing impaired or don't have sound on their computers could understand it. But I have to say, it's not easy for me. I type pretty slowly with a lot of mistakes and can only do about 10 words at a time, stopping and starting the video. So I can't promise to do captions for every single video. But where the video would be impossible to understand without captions, I will definitely make a point of doing. It's cool that Youtube has this new feature. You don't have to match the caption to the frame yourself. You just upload the transcript and it figures it out for you. Sometimes it's not quite right if someone is not talking loudly or slurring their words. But it mostly gets it. Apparently, Youtube is experimenting with automatic captions that will save us from having to type transcripts. THAT will be awesome for me! .-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..When is Wool Yarn not 100% Wool? =-.