Too often we wait for the perfect idea or concept to get going with worthy projects... I am reminded of the Monk who said, "start where you are". She meant the only mistake is to not start. When I'm wealthy and can afford a solar powered off the grid, zero carbon, Tesla lifestyle... then I'll get going... but today we can all turn off the light when we leave the room.. shower a minute less. Walk to the store..or to the mailbox (in my case a 1/2 mile down the hill) ... we can all recycle... it just means we start where we are and build from there... We are fortunate to have friends who keep track of their carbon use and offset their flights to foreign lands and so forth. I'm proud of them. I'm good with saving the recyclables on the floor of the passenger seat until I can put them somewhere where I know they will be properly recycled. We found ourselves going through 5 flats of 16 oz plastic bottles of water a month... we are now down to two. We bought and were given metal refillable bottle to use and we are using them... it's a start... that's a long way from where we were 10-15 years ago.. It started with the newspapers and petitions to get community bins put in local shopping centers for cans, plastic bottles and newspaper.. we just need to start and then look for more ways to do more...We run the beach Clean-Ups for Surfrider and think they are a great organization with a decent conscience and a rock n roll soul...Our oceans are filled with garbage. They need our help.. Please help.. Just start where you are with what is comfortable.. It will make you feel good... You'll want to do more...
..this first appeared on the site Environmental Booty. Our future depends on our knowledge and actions. What choices will you make today? Many Thanks to Shane Shirley-Smith
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I am honored to be a part of your wonderful mission. This is a wonderful post.
ReplyDeletegreat article which also brings to mind an often overlooked adage of activists: think globally, act locally. There are so many little changes we can make that can have great trickle down effects.
ReplyDeletea few years ago i lived in an appartmen building that didn't have a recycling program so i called the city to get a residential one and just put my stuff on the curb every day. at first i was the only one but within a few months we were over a dozen blue boxes by the curb each week. before the year was out the owners of the block had set up a proper collection bin all the residents could use right nextto the regular garbage bin!
change in this case was just a question of doing what i felt was right. never wrote a letter or talked any into doing this. just left my box on the curb as a silent witness.
:)