Going green...

I hear you, Al Gore and Leo DeCaprio. I hear you telling me that the ice caps are melting. And, New York is going to be swallowed up into the ocean within my children's lifetime. I hear you saying that global warming is real and that the polar bears are in danger. I'm not sure I believe you....but I hear you.

I do want to be a conscientious citizen. And, I want to be a good steward of God's gifts and creation....I really do. But, I'm not quite there yet in my actions.

For example, I'm not a big recycler. Perhaps that's part of being a political conservative. :) Perhaps it's more to do with being lazy! I would recycle....if it was easy. Sorting through our used articles and prepping them for the 16 different refuse bins we'd need for aluminum, paper, plastic, etc., etc. doesn't sound appealing to me. Plus, in order to set my trash out in all of those nice little blue containers, I actually have to pay EXTRA to my trash company. I mean really...if it's so great for the environment, I'd think the government would pay ME to go to the trouble of recycling.

Anyway...I'm starting to come slightly over to the greener side of life in spite of being a bit suspicious of the validity of Mr. Gore's message and frankly not wanting to be personally disturbed with changes that come with going green. I think it started when Richard (in his already-blogged-about way of shopping) came home NOT with the Bounce Free dryer sheets that I'd asked for, but rather a box of environmentally healthy ones. He claimed they were the same price for the same size box, which surprised me. They feel more like paper than the soft cloth of my reliable Bounce, but since he bought 2 packs (that's 160 loads of drying!!), I decided to try them. They worked great! Now, that's what I call easy green-ness.

But I keep thinking about the blue recycle bins. For me, it's still much easier to throw all the trash in one single spot. I'm just trying to get our kids to put things IN the trash can....I can't even imagine trying to get them to SORT it first! But, I'm on the lookout for greener products like my dryer sheets. Appropriately priced, no heartache. And, I'm trying to do some of the little things like unplugging my appliances when not in use. And, not leaving lights on in rooms where no humans are present. I'll start there. Maybe green-ness will grow on me!