Hello. My name is Steven and I drive a Subaru Outback Legacy Wagon---it probably gets only 20 miles to the gallon in the city and not much more on the highway. I'll sometimes use the air hand dryers in public bathrooms twice to get my hands nice and dry. I leave my appliances and other electronics plugged in almost all of the time. I've thrown out paper coffee cups when out and about. I buy Nike sneakers even though I know that New Balance Sneakers are made in the United States, not Indonesia. I've discarded plastic silverware. Often times I'll leave the television on when I leave the room for an extended period of time. Occasionally, I enjoy buying new clothes, many of which are made in developing countries. I rarely buy organic or locally grown produce. I've thrown many alkaline batteries into the garbage (per the instructions of my local Hazardous Waste Facility). I've seen recyclable aluminum, plastic and glass containers on the side of the road and haven't picked them up. I've left lights on countless times. I've thrown furniture into the garbage. I do not carpool.
Those are just a few of my environmental offenses. I could probably think of a hundred others. We all have principles and a sense of idealism in regard to our place on this Earth. Many of us want to do all we can to help foster and enhance the environment. Many of us feel like hypocrites sometimes for doing some of the things we do in the course of a day. Unless you ride a horse around and read by candlelight, you are committing a plethora of environmental offenses.
But I know you---yes, you! You try your best to try to make up for these offenses by doing positive things, like recycling, for example. You replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. You turn down the thermostat at bedtime and while you're out of the house. You've reused nonrecyclable food containers you've gotten from restaurant leftovers. You've used rechargable batteries when you can. You try your best to make sure to turn off lights when you leave a room. When financially possible, you pay extra for organic products. You try to buy locally grown produce when available. You've picked up a piece of trash you've seen on the sidewalk and thrown it away. You support local businesses. You've purchased a hybrid vehicle. You shop at thrift stores. Your electricity comes from wind power.
Does this sound like you? I bet it does! So, yes, we are all hypocrites on some level in our lives, but we make the conscious effort to try to do the right thing when we can, and are always battling with ourselves to try to change the things we are doing wrong. That's what makes us good stewards of the environment! So, shake off that guilt and feel free to buy that cup of coffee at the highway rest stop (just try to rinse out the paper cup at home and recycle it)!
PLEASE SHARE YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL STORY, BE IT A CONFESSION, A TRIUMPH, AN INNOVATION, OR WHATEVER! LET ME KNOW THAT I AM NOT ALONE! ;)
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