Friday’s NaBloPoMo question of the day was:
What is the best first sentence you can think of off the top of your head?
I am often frustrated by well meaning local “green groups” who don’t understand the urgency of the situation. Its similar to the school food crowd. Lots of meetings and “baby steps” that don’t add up to meaningful change. So here’s my best first sentence:
“You don’t take baby steps out of a burning building, you run like hell to the exit.“
Green Baby Steps: Meaningful or Meaningless?
It’s getting hot in here. On the planet that is.
The time for baby steps ended two years ago. The year is 2013, we’ve had enough global weirding over the past years that everyone has finally woken up and decided its time to stop talking and start doing. All the baby steps of the past years, recycling, CFL light bulbs and insulation didn’t get really make a big impact. As for inconvenient truths, the weather is now calling to us loud and clear along with $20 a gallon gas.
Uncomfortable? Inconvenient? Imagine how uncomfortable and inconvenient a planet with runaway climate change will be! We are closer than ever to that possibility. The good news is, a shift has happened.
Here are three things that have shifted since people woke up after 2011, I consider them to be part of the silver lining of the big cloud of reality that is upon us.
Groovy reel mower from Fiskars, the scissor people!
1. No more lawn guys!
With gas at $20 a gallon, suburbanites figured out that their lawns don’t not need a mow and blow job every week by a crew with gas powered mowers and blowers. Reel lawn mowers and plug in electric mowers are now in high demand, and homeowners are mowing the damn lawn themselves! Just like in the old days. The air in the neighborhood is cleaner and quieter. People have discovered that cutting the grass can be good clean exercise that feels like a Zen meditation. Added bonus: being out in the sun supplies vitamin D which helps build resistance to colds, flu and cancer and is good for strong bones.
The bright orange Fiskars reel mower is in high demand.
Clotheslines are solar and wind powered clothes dryers!
2. Clothes dry on clotheslines.
Everyone gets it now. Using gas or electricity to dry your clothes is an extreme luxury. Countries like Italy have always dried their clothes on a nice clothesline out the window, its not really a big deal. Project Laundry List got this trend going a few years back. Clothes smell better and last longer this way.
Indoor and outdoor clotheslines are all the rage now, they come in a wide range of sizes and styles.
Community gardens are great places to learn how to grow veggies.
3. Everyone is growing at least some of their own food. This valuable skill was cultivated by thousands of unemployed college grads who went WWOOFing instead of staying home and bumming out about the job scene. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Our giant food system collapsed, and food got pricey and not so available because of the high cost and limited availability of fossil fuels. It turns out that small scale farming using sustainable methods can be a profitable”green” business. In addition to young farmers, community gardens sprouted up on sunny land on church property as most faith based organizations focused on growing food for the needy. Find a spot in a nearby community garden and get your hands dirty!
Baby steps are a waste of time, why not take some meaningful steps instead? Reel mowers, solar clothes dryers and community can easily be implemented NOW in communities across the country. We’d be healthier, wealthier and happier as a result. What are we waiting for? $20 gas? Click on the links in the story to learn more.
