Comments on: Green: Are Some Shades More Selfish Than Others?

By: Tan @ Trying to be a Granola Mom in a Fast-Food World

Tan @ Trying to be a Granola Mom in a Fast-Food World — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:38:50 +0000

This was a fantastic post for me to find – I am trying to be as green as I can for pretty much all those reasons listed (especially the kids one!). And I agree that it is all entwined – health, God, animals, kids… I also can identify with Peggy (first comment on this post) – that I still feel like a baby even though others look at me as totally “granola.” I have such a long way to go even though green living really isn’t hard or costly – it just takes some mindfulness. Some days that is just harder to muster than others! This post has definitely helped bring me some mindfulness today.

By: Marie Snyder

Marie Snyder — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:49:38 +0000

This is an excellent collection. I don’t remember my initial motivation for becoming green because I inherited it. My parents were eco-conscious from living through the depression and war. We wasted nothing. But I continue to be motivated to write and be out there about it all because I’m fascinated with human behaviour. Most people seem to have a hard time measuring long term destruction against short term gain, and we make ridiculous choices over and over – like everyone having disposable coffee cups at an Earth Hour festival I attended. That it’s too much for people to remember a travel mug (or buy one in the first place), is incredible to me.

I wonder if education and mentoring help. I can only hope.

By: Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green

Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:09:07 +0000

Great story Beth! You are right we all have different reasons and since they get us to the same place I don’t think it really matters. :)
.-= Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green´s last blog ..What’s In That Sippy Cup? =-.

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:03:06 +0000

Great post – fun to read everyones stories. I have always been into recycling and not interested in buying lots of ‘stuff’. However, it wasn’t until the last 3 years or so that I really took the time to learn about what a landfill is really, and what is plasic made from. Sounds silly in retrospect… I mean what did I think it was made out of, right? Also, I must seriously say that the problems we are having with the middle east motivate me to cut as much petrolium out of my life as possible.
I am into organics because of the pollution problems and wildlife problems from ‘conventional farming’. I really hardcore decided to buy all organic when I realized the treatment of commercial chickens… I’ll explain (o; It hit me that the market perversely goes where we point it with our wallets. So, if we decide to only pay $1.20 for eggs, then the market is going to meet that demand at the expense of the poor chickens. I realized that I need to vote with my wallet – spend a little more on eggs that were raised correctly. Spend a little more on sustainable farming. We are not rich either, I find that I can get by on a modest grocery budget by avoiding processed foods.
Finally, I am afraid for the world that I am sending my young kids into, what is it going to be like when they are having kids? I want to make a positive difference for them.
Okay, well that’s my story.
Em

By: farmer girl

farmer girl — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:50:29 +0000

Growing up on a small farm and being taught at a very early age that every living thing has a purpose and a reason for existing is fundamental to how I see the world. We had to make the most of the resources that we were fortunate enough to have. We heated with wood, canned our vegis, grew our own meat, and hauled our own water. When what you consume is a direct result of your own efforts, you do not waste. My folks worked so hard to provide for us and we were expected to contribute also. My Dad was delighted the first morning he woke up and the furnace came on, No getting out of bed to feed the stove! I remember being embarased to wear clothes my Mom sewed. I went to church camp and another girl had on shorts made of the same fabric. She was so proud that her mother had made them for her. I learned to see my Mom’s sewing, not as an expression of our poverty but as a symbol of her love for me. It helped ease the embarasement. I now see that I was very fortunate to grow up with parents that love me and grandparents near by.

My homeplace has sustained my family for 3 generations and I want to live and work in a way that passes it on. The farm is part of me, my memories are tied to every part of it. It is my legacy and I can feel the guiding influence of my Grandpa and my Dad teaching me how to love and care for it. The food I grow is sold to people I have known all of my life. I eat what I grow. It has to be healthy, I couldn’t look people in the eye if it was phoney or fake. I have to buy local in hopes that my nephew will grow up in a place that is vibrant and healthy where he can live as an adult (if he chooses). I am tired of my family leaving for the city. The best and brightest from my school days have left as well. Bright flight and brain drain bum me out! I do it for myself, my community, my family, and my land. Every plant and animal has a place and a purpose, as do I.

By: Dee

Dee — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:04:00 +0000

My initial motivation was just to be a ‘lite green’. Do a little and then assuage some of the guilt that comes with not doing anything. But then as my kids were born, one of them having allergies and eczema, and reading about the bottom line of unchecked chemical use in our daily life, I started to make more of an effort. As problems grow in our society as a result from our collective over use of chemicals, from physical to mental and learning issues, I feel even more moved to make a difference. When my children ask me why I care so much, I tell them it is in part because I wish for them to be able to conceive children easily and not have to be worried about what will be wrong with their babies. What a battle we have ahead…

By: Lara S.

Lara S. — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 04:21:22 +0000

Great post. I think that person on the radio hadn’t really thought of the subject before talking. Either that, or he/she’s very narrow-minded… The issue of the selfishness is ridiculous, it’s as if protecting the earth had to be painful, unhealthy and expensive…
Just today I was riding my bike and saw there was a sale of used clothes and other things, organized by Caritas. I found 2 used cotton bags to use as tote bags, 2 cotton handkerchiefs (very pretty!), and I also bought a new cotton tote bag made by unemployed women (with the Caritas logo). :) And I spent very little money.

The problem of disconnection to our planet is, in my opinion, the core of the environmental crisis we are causing. The idea that we are not a part of nature has allowed us to recklessly destroy our environment, forgetting we depend on it. We need to learn to think ourselves as simply another element in the network of our planet.

By: Robbe

Robbe — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:37:52 +0000

Great post. Reminds me of a conversation we had in a book study last weekend - whether we are part of the God's universe or a part from it. In the end, the reasons for doing what we do don't matter, it's the results. .-= Robbe´s last blog ..GPB: Sweet Sixteen =-.

By: Kyce at Old Recipe

Kyce at Old Recipe — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:25:01 +0000

Nice, Beth! .-= Kyce at Old Recipe´s last blog ..Cora Love =-.

By: Goo

Goo — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:18:05 +0000

For me being Green really started with having children and the fear that we would quite literally leave them with nothing. Up until that point although I loved dabbling in the garden and going on nature walks, I think my greeness was pretty much in all honesty about how I viewed myself - a lifestyle choice if you like. Children make you think more urgently about the immediate future but also the future in which you are no longer present. .-= Goo´s last blog ..Earth Hour, Solemnities and Festivities =-.