4.8.09

On being (sort of) green.

The village is full of hardcore greens. I’m more of a moderate. Or lazy. I will do what is green if it is not too inconvenient.

At Wellington Road, we recycle. We compost. We use energy-saving light bulbs. I try to think about packaging before I buy. I use cloth bags. I almost always buy local and what is in season. When I can, I buy organic, free-range. We try to grow some of our own vegetables.

And for the last two school terms, we have scaled back to just one car. My husband drives the car to work, and the child and I walk or carpool or take the train.

At first, I missed doing errands whenever I felt like it. I balked at having to do three or more errands at once if I had the car. And it is a pain to ask for rides when the weather (or the child) craps out.

But I have started feeling like we could save the expense of having a second car, that we really don’t need it.

Then again, a 2km walk to the train, the dairy or the playcentre, and back again can seem like a long, long, long way. Even on a good day.

There are no major hills in the village. Hallelujah.

7 comments:

Family Oz Blog said...

We recycle and do whatever we can here. It was much more hardcore in Seattle where anyone with a yard had a composting bin. My son keeps wanting to get one, I think for the worms. By the way, I linked to your blog in my latest entry about Christmas in July - hope that's ok.

MrsB said...

There is an advantage to being the only driver - I get the car all the time!

William said...

Nice post, and it gets right to the heart of why I believe government must step in to force us to be green.

We will do only what is "convenient". Even if you are deep green (and I am not) it is a badge or a fashion statement and is therefore convenient.

From AA to NZ said...

If it walks like a hill....

BALLET NEWS said...

Hello, I just wanted to leave a comment to say how much I've enjoyed reading your post today.

I love reading your blog - thank you very much for sharing your pictures and thoughts !

Anonymous said...

If it makes you feel any better, Google Earth shows it as 1.4km.

Anonymous said...

Buy a bike with a trailer on it to transport your kid to the shop.

Tell your husband to stop being so arrogant and catch the train to work.

Problem solved