Today is Earth Day. How is one to react?
For several decades, anyone who has shown any type of concern for the environment has been swiftly labeled a treehugger.
However, during my entire, albeit short duration of adulthood, being “green” has become trendy. Car companies brag about their newest development of hybrid cars, grocery stores encourage us to buy reusable tote bags, and even tiny tots are being bred by Disney to “send on” the message of environmentalism (See the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, & other Disney 'Friends for Change' perform an ode to environmentalism here).
The movie “No Impact Man” (released in 2009) keeps the momentum going, shattering the stereotype that environmentalism is nothing but a useless hassle. Producer and main subject of the film, Colin Beavan successfully takes on the challenge of living a year with leaving “no environmental footprint” not as an individual in exile, but alongside a young family in the middle of New York City. The film concludes that if he can do it, anyone can.
No doubt, the film is one of extremes. Giving up electricity, takeout, and motor vehicles are not things anyone beside Beavan would usually be willing to endeavor. From the beginning of the film, Beavan admits that he is embarking on this impossible journey NOT because he expects others to follow unquestioningly behind him. He doesn't even plan to continue to perform all of his “experiments” beyond one year. Instead, he wants to use his experience to raise awareness and inspire others to do whatever small thing possible to lessen his or her negative impact on the earth.
As extreme as Beavan's experiments were, I'm willing to incorporate several of them into my life. Especially when I start a family and have small children, I would love to not have a TV in my house. As the Beavan family demonstrated, such a simple act successfully brought the family together and forced them to get out of the apartment and do more interesting activities together, like go to the park or on more family trips. Besides, if I'm really craving an episode of Glee, there's always Hulu to the rescue.
I was also inspired to buy more locally grown food. I'm a pretty culturally diverse diner, so I don't think I could completely rule out restaurants or imported groceries. However, I would definitely consider getting most of my produce from local farmers. The weekly Farmer's Market in Union Square makes this especially easy to do. Lastly, I absolutely hate taking out the trash, so if I ever had a balcony or a backyard, I would actually give the worm compost bin a fair try. Imagine all that money I'd save on trash bags!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What are some "green" steps you are willing (or not willing) to take?
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