Living green is not about sacrifice, it is about making conscientious choices. It is about our daily actions that effect the care we give to ourselves, our families, our community and our surroundings. We, as individuals, can effect every part of everyday.
Sustainable green living is about enjoying that which the earth gives us, while ensuring through our actions and choices, that those who come after us are able to do the same.
It sounds really simple and it is. Unfortunately, we as a society, have lost the focus on this simple way of life. Whether or not you think global warming is occurring, or that we are running out of natural resources, be it water, oil, food….or if you believe what you read about the chemicals in our food, cleaning supplies, and lawn care is all a bunch of hogwash, really is not the bottom line.
The simple truth is, we as individuals should not take more than we can use. We should not be wasteful in how we use what we do take and we should leave some for others.
During the second half of the last century, we developed a lot of new innovative products that we thought were great. They helped us produce more food, made our chores seem easier and take less time, and made us feel that our quality of life was very growing. More was more, and more was best. With new technology we were able to put a great amount of raw materials to good use. Our homes were warm in the winter, cool in the summer, cars became a part of every household, a wide assortment of foods and product from around the world became available at our corner grocers, and so on.
We all want to live the “American Dream” , and the truth is, much of the rest of the world did too. So we were all full speed ahead… everything was GREAT!
Only one problem, as consumers, we didn’t know what we didn’t know! So fifty years later we are where we are, and now know that we need to question more, and make some personal changes for healthier living. More is not always best, some of the stuff that we thought was great, was only really great short term, there were longer term consequences.
Many of the same choices exist, we just know more now, so maybe what we choose will be different going forward. Technology continues to move forward, this time more aware of the consequences. New products for our homes and families are now available, alternative energies are being offered. In other cases, some of the older traditional ways have stood the test of time and are proven to be gentler on the earth and her inhabitants.
Look at the new information found here and at other sources and re-look at your choices and see if there are things you want to change… now that your know more.
