Gaining Perspective

I've always considered myself a pretty environmentally conscious person. I don't litter, i turn the water off when brushing my teeth, and i've been known to use the policy, "yellow your mellow. brown goes down." Yeah. That was me. Saving the world one flush at a time. I got a pretty good slap in the self-righteous face, however, when my brother and I took a trip abroad this past August. We spent most our time in Japan, the land of efficiency and cleanliness, and took a side trip to china--the land of everything Japan isn't.

China is dirty. It's not yeah-there's-some-trash-on-the-street-and-what's-that-smell? dirty, it's I-don't-want-to-move-for-fear-of-getting-hepatitis dirty. What struck me the most in China, though, was the pollution. The phrase "you could cut it with a knife" never seemed so apropos as on our first day in Beijing when, to look out the window, you'd think you were witness to a rather foggy day. To be out in the "fog," however, you quickly realized that you were not standing in condensed water particles suspended in the lower atmosphere, but rather you were standing in smog. I asked my friend Dave (who lives in Shanghai) about it, and he informed me that the burning/itching in my eyes and throat and the running of my nose which started upon entering China was indeed due to the pollution, and that in central China, where the majority of the factories are, it's even worse. You can't see the other side of the street on a bad day, and people don't wear white because it quickly turns to grey.

My mind was officially blown, and I thought, "Way to go China. Sucks to be you." One of my finer moments really. Once the intellectual prowess of a third grader subsided, I began to really think about what I was laying witness to: what happens when we neglect the planet. While I haven't done in depth research on the topic (give me time, people), it's safe to say that while America is ahead of China in terms of how we treat the environment (that's not too difficult), we're rediculously behind the rest of the world (which became clear after traveling in Japan). That the U.S. doesn't resemble China's environment is due largely to some simple factors: China has more people, and a huge percentage of what we own is made in China (no really. Check the lables.) and other third world countries.

I'm a visual person, and seeing what I'm personally doing the one planet we've been given (I'm trying to avoid these cliches, but that one really worked) served as a swift kick in the pants. My brain starting working overtime on all the changes I need to make be a conscientious citzen of earth(more cliches...blast!). This blog isn't meant to be preachy (welcome to Rachel on her soapbox hour!). While I do hope it will inspire poeple to make chages, no matter how small, the blog's primary purpose is to keep me in line. My biggest fear in undertaking this far from small project is that I'll lose steam and sweep my good intentions under the rug once my initial gusto has worn off. In such a scenario, I'm hoping that my pride (it's got to be good for something), after announcing to the world my new ambitions, will keep me focussed on the goal. With that being said, wish me luck, and I hope, if nothing else, you enjoy.

I've made two lists. One of immediate changes I can make. One of goals for the future. They will be amended indefinitely but are a good starting point.

IMMEDIATE CHANGES:

Buy out of need, not want
change light bulbs in house to the new energy efficient kind
unplug things when not in use
buy as close to the source as possible (more on this in the next blog)
buy second hand
line dry
walk
limit tv/computer use
take reusable bags to the grocery store (vitamin cottage has GREAT ones on sale for 99 cents)
online banking (i'm in the dark ages on this one)
recycle (yeah. wasn't already. point and laugh now.) *number for city recycling: 242-1036*
more water conscious

LONG TERM GOALS:

learn to sew
own hybrid car
have a garden (a Darden Garden if you will)
become competent on a bike