Monday, January 5, 2009

New Year’s Green Resolutions

Statistically, New Year’s Resolutions are broken within the first week of the new year. This year was no different for me. I popped a Frango Mint about 16 minutes into 2009. So much for no chocolate or sugar.

I decided I needed to change “resolution” to “goal.” This way, I have something more solid and concrete to shoot for. Also, I have a whole year to mess up and correct a goal.

Among the usual career/eating/life goals that I always set for myself, I’ve added a new category…green goals.

On the top of my list is our trash situation. For two people, we generate A LOT of trash. One of our big things is that we drink a lot of seltzer water, so, much of that trash comes in the form of plastic bottles.

The good news is they can be recycled. The bad news is that when a recycling day is cancelled due to a holiday (like on the past two Thursdays), we are swimming in a sea of empty bottles in our tiny apartment.

But the problem isn’t really the cancelled recycling days, it’s our consumption.

Why do we need to be drinking all that seltzer in plastic bottles? Why do we need to buy processed food wrapped in 12 layers of plastic and cardboard? We should be drinking more water from our earth-friendly Brita pitcher or eating locally grown fruits and veggies from the farmers market. It’s not only a smart choice for our health, but will also cut down on the plastic island we’ve created.

And that marks my number one goal…less consumption. Do we really need this? Can we go without it? Can we substitute it for something healthier, less packaged, made locally?

My second goal is my mode of transportation. Thankfully, we live in New York City …the mecca of public transportation. I live on the 1st and 2nd Avenue bus lines but occasionally, I’ve been known to jump in a cab for no better reason than I’m really tired (or cold, hot, or just don’t feel like waiting for the bus).

It’s not only terrible for the environment, it’s also taxing on my purse. The average cab ride home is $12! Try that a couple times a week. I could be using that money to help plant trees or something! What I should be doing is walking my butt to work. Not only would it be friendly to the environment, it would be super friendly to, well, my butt.

My last goal is to do a beach clean-up. I joked earlier about swimming in the sea of plastic bottles and our plastic island, well, there really is a 70 million pound plastic garbage island floating in the Pacific between LA and Hawaii the size of Texas. My own plastic bottle contribution is only adding to it. I’m a huge ocean fanatic, so this is super important to me.

We’re now five days into the new year and I’m doing pretty well. No cabs, two plastic bottles, and I replaced the Frango mints with almonds. If only they weren’t in individually wrapped, plastic bags...well, I have a year to reach this goal.

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