Ecology, Its Price

SUMMARY: We live in world-changing times--literally--

From Facebook: My comment on another writer's posting of the article mentioned below, June 30, 2019.

Back then: In high school, I wrote and delivered (many times) a [winning] speech on "Ecology: Its Price", went on a campaign to convince my parents to never again buy TP or paper towels or tissues that were dyed pretty colors (it was pretty common back then to have paper that matched your room...and I loved it until I read about the dyes and dying processes) and to recycle all our metal and glass, which we had to take down to the local volunteer recycling parking lot at the Junior College, smash them ourselves, and toss into huge bins for later pick-up, long before anyone thought it was cool (or required!) to do that kind of thing. A few very small steps in the right direction.

In between: Since then, on my own, I always recycled everything that I could, carrying them to recycling centers until local garbage companies started providing separate bins for curbside recycling.  I compost my own food waste so it doesn't go into landfills. (Used to compost all my yard waste until just a few years ago, due to my physical limitations.) Since then, it gets harder and harder to give up the things that one is accustomed to. I don't often eat meat any more. I'm resisting putting A/C into my house. But ...

Now: ...I still drive a gas-powered minivan [because I have larger dogs and need room for their crates and gear, right?] and drive places a lot and am planning my third round-trip flight to Walt Disney World in 4 years and have realized that the amount of plastic that I bring home just from the grocery store is insane but despair of having the personal energy to bring it back down again (I was perfectly happy to bring home peanut butter in glass jars; why would they mess with perfectly good washable reusable recyclable glass and metal packaging??).

Future: I'm pretty terrified about living to see how our current ecological disaster plays out. And my part in either mitigating or making worse. Driving--flying--home energy use--plastics OMG--diet--changing how I shop and how I prepare food--saving water--crazy things like, if I don't eat meat but I own dogs, there'll still be a meat industry for pet food, yikes--  I donate to organizations that I think have the right idea and that take action on the ideas, and I'm including political influence in there. One thing at a time, I suppose, like anything else. One small step at a time just like I did Back Then.

(In response to someone posting this article about what climate scientists do at home to save the planet, which has good but tough ideas on how they've changed, and scary comments on how scared they are.)

A post in 2020 covers the same awards but digs much more deeply into pollution and its history in my lifetime and my experiences.