Living the Green Life

When Bush was re-elected in 2004, I was morose. I voted against him, my husband even helped out with the Kerry/Edwards campaign. I hated the direction he led the country, and felt like I couldn't do anything about it. I was knee-deep taking care of Ethan, and James was on the way.

One of the many issues I was depressed about was global warming. Scientists around the globe gave grim predictions of the future if we didn't address global warming, and yet our country thumbed our nose at them. It was enough to make me turn off the TV, stop reading the news in magazines and on the Internet. If all this bad stuff was happening around the world, I didn't want to know about it.

Then, a couple of years later, I came across the Eco-Cycle Web site. Eco-Cycle manages local recycling areas, allowing you to drop off cans, bottles, cardboard, even paperboard. I realized our neighboring suburb had a drop-off site, and I downloaded the list of items you could recycle: paperboard, cardboard, plastics 1, 2, and 5, cans, aluminum, magazines, even telephone books. Our garbage collector took some recycling, like cans, bottles and paper, but not paperboard or cardboard. So I began sorting our trash, putting aside all the paperboard and cardboard, juice boxes, etc. Since we also compost, I was amazed how little trash we had for the collector.

I made my first trip to the recycling site with all my saved, sorted stuff. My husband, who believes in recycling, still wasn't very encouraging. "The gas you're wasting driving over there offsets the benefits of recyling this stuff," he said. I didn't care. Walking my tubs of paperboard over to the giant recycling bins and dumping the stuff in left me feeling empowered for the first time in years. I may not have the time, energy, money or brains to take on our corrupt government and turn our country in the right direction, but hey, I could recycle! As a stay-at-home mom, I had the time to sort every piece of paper, including tags on clothing, and put them in the appropriate bins. I could keep the juice box containers and Happy Meal paperboard boxes I get from McDonald's and recycle them. The high I got from recycling helped me stave off the depression I felt from picturing my kids as adults, living on a planet with melted polar ice caps and California and Florida submerged in the ocean.

Since that epiphany, my recycling/living green endeavors have expanded. Last summer I began hanging my clothes up to dry. Realizing how quickly they dried in the hot Colorado sun, I made an effort to never use the dryer during warm, dry days. The money I saved on my electric bill was an added bonus.

I also started reselling and buying kids' clothes from consignment stores. It always bugged me to buy new clothes and toys for babies and toddlers, since they outgrow them so quickly. Buying clothes and toys that were a little worn, but otherwise in good condition made me feel so much better. My kids could care less if they were used, so why should I?

With the next presidential election looming, my cynicism in having our country vote for a candidate who will make the environment a priority is still at an all-time high. But at least, this time around, I'm trying to do everything I can live green, and I can feel good about that.