"There are generations yet unborn, whose very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make and the actions you take," said Andy Andrews in his book, "The Noticer." While I haven't yet read the book, this often-used quote has profound appeal.
For me, Green Quick Fixes is one way I act to shape the environment. I have also found that this weekly column gives my life a certain tempo. It's made my life greener because I implement the eco-friendly strategies and choices that I research. And friends and family — even some who tend to scoff at the green movement — report they are going a little greener, as well.
But taking action and speaking green are two different things.
For example, it's one thing for a popular coffee company to have a corporate policy that panders to green sentiment among its customers, but it's another thing to choose to add drive-throughs at many of its locations.
According to the California Energy Commission, for every two minutes a car idles it uses the same amount of gas needed to drive one mile. Just 30 minutes of idling per week uses nearly half a gallon and increases vehicle exhaust, a leading hazard to air quality.
It's irresponsible for a corporation with a strong environmental policy to encourage its customers to idle cars in order to purchase its premium coffee.
It is one thing to speak green, but entirely another to ignore one's own culpability. And culpability is perhaps the hardest aspect to swallow for myself or anyone else going green or genuinely wanting to change the current fate of the world.
We are all eco-sinners in one way or another — myself included. But I'll harness this byproduct of my work as a source of zero-emission power to forge ahead toward the goal of eliminating my carbon footprint.
One year later
Fifty-two weeks ago, Green Quick Fixes began by defining a carbon footprint as a way to measure human impact on the environment through assessment of carbon dioxide produced by human activities.
Each week's installment proceeded from the notion that small changes add up to huge environmental and consumer savings across many categories — energy needs, consumer choices and daily habits.
In its first year, Green Quick Fixes provided easy strategies that helped readers reduce energy consumption, conserve and protect water resources, and minimize pollution and addressed major environmental concerns affecting this region. I've also paid special attention to public health topics such as eliminating toxics in backyards, makeup and household cleaners.
Over the next year, through more research and testing, I will continue to show you Green Quick Fixes that can really green up lifestyles, and I'll be covering environmental topics of large interest — including this region's short- and long-term energy supply outlooks, how to plan a green wedding, eco-friendly driving habits, green automobile and retail reviews, and zero-emission energy installations around the North Shore.
Itsy-bitsy green bikini
It's time to get fashion-focused on greener practices. Since I don't yet have new green beachwear for 2009, write to me and tell me why your bathing suit — one-piece, two-piece, men's board shorts, and more — is the greenest suit on the beach and why I should get it. Send a picture, note materials, where purchased, how much and explain why your suit is Earth-friendly to afox@msgreenquickfixes.com. The greenest suit will be featured next month in The Salem News.
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Andrea Fox, a Beverly resident, has been writing about environmental sustainability and eco-topics for nine years. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a watershed protection advocate in Salem Sound Watershed.
