Monthly Archives: January 2007

Are All Environmentalists Vegetarian, Vegan, etc?

One thing I’ve noticed is a strong tendency for some environmentalists to assume that one OUGHT to be vegetarian, vegan or similar if you’re into protecting the environment. But I have to disagree.

Certainly there are many good points to eating lower on the food chain. But what many people forget when they make such assumptions is that not everyone is at the same point in their interest in the environment or they may face challenges in changing how they eat.

I don’t mind eating some vegetarian meals. I have a few recipes I and my family enjoy. But I don’t currently have the knowledge to eat a well balanced diet without meat. It means a lot of changes.

I also have a husband with no interest in vegetarian food. Standard meat lover. He’s not overly pleased that I would sooner prepare chicken than beef, and that I insist on a lower fat content than he likes. Continue reading →

Going Down to One Car

I was hoping to avoid this… we already have the two cars already and mine was used pretty minimally, but very necessary when I use it. But now the cost to repair my car is beyond what we are willing to pay to keep it, so off it will be going soon!

It needs a new computer. That’s about a $1200 repair, above and beyond the $500 it took just to get to where we found out it needed that. Pretty frustrating.

Now I have to figure out the best way to get rid of it. It’s a ’93 Saturn, so not all that old when you really think about it. But somehow I don’t think anyone will buy this beast when it needs a new computer right off the bat. Pity because it’s been a rather good car otherwise. Aside from the odometer quitting and the wiper blades occasionally not working, that is.

But the car did good for me for a number of years and now it’s going to be a while before I can replace it. While we can get by on one car for a while, and that will save us some money (which we greatly need right now), in general we do need two cars. My husband often has to drive as a part of his job, so I can’t just drive him to work every day that I need the car. It’s just not that simple. Continue reading →

Going Green Bit by Bit

Living a greener lifestyle feels complicated. But you can start with the easy steps and make a real difference, even if it’s a small one at first.

Let’s start with your light fixtures. As your light bulbs die, replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs. These cost more at the store but use less energy and last up to 10 times longer, so they can be well worth the money. These are much better than the old fluorescent bulbs which had an awkward greenish cast and slight flicker at times.

Do you drink a lot of bottled water? Stop buying the little bottles and buy a reusable one. A good water bottle is easily washable and you can use tap water, filtered water or buy larger bottles if you just have to have the bottled water taste. But I find just having tap water ice cold helps the flavor tremendously.

If you just can’t stand the taste of tap water try a filtration system. A good system can really change the taste and get rid of some of the flavors you don’t want in your water. Continue reading →

Goodwill’s E-Recycling Program

I was watching the news in my area talk about Goodwill’s program to recycle computer parts. What a wonderful idea. I headed right over to their site to learn more. After all, I do have an old computer we don’t use but haven’t disposed of yet. Wonderful to hear there’s a good way to do it.

They take all kinds of computer parts in my area. The unusable is recycled, the usable are used in job training programs.

This event runs until January 13 in the San Diego area.

Green Homes are Becoming More Popular

I love just wandering the internet and finding these little tidbits. Ones like it becoming more affordable to build greener houses make me very eager for the day when I can afford a home and have such options myself.

Being more environmentally friendly is starting to make economic sense to more people, and that’s where the real progress will probably be made. It used to be that an environmentally friendly home cost too much and looked too different. But now, with the technology improving these issues are going away.

Given the budget, I’ll get pretty ambitious with going green on a house. I’d love to have solar paneling, which isn’t even something used in the home discussed in the above story. I’m not that concerned with it paying for itself in a reasonable period, although I understand that with rebates it can; I’m concerned about using green technologies whenever I can.

Of course, for me right now it’s all an idle dream. I can barely afford to get my poor old car fixed, let alone replace it with something greener. But I’m working hard to earn what I need to get where I want to be in life. Comfortable, not rich, and able to support the causes I believe in.

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