Eco Confessions of a "Not-So-Green" Green Parent
I recently heard from one of my subscribers who was thrilled with the info she found in The Green Parent but felt overwhelmed with guilt because she simply could not do all of the things she thought she should be doing to help protect the planet. So I thought it was high time for a few Green Parent “eco-confessions.” Here goes:
1. We live 3 blocks away from a perfectly fine public school. However, I drive my daughter 35 minutes (each way) to a private school in another town because I feel it is a better fit for her.
2. I eat meat and lots of it. I used to be a vegetarian (no meat, poultry, or fish) for twelve years and although I would like to someday get back to a veggie diet, I currently eat any and all kinds of meat. In fact, about the same time that I wrote Hold The Beef! I was literally filling my freezer with a large shipment of beef that my husband and I had ordered. Granted, the cow was raised as organically as possible on a small farm, and I do try to limit the amount of beef I consume each week, but the fact remains that I am not even close to vegetarian.
3. I use disposable diapers. My eldest child was raised almost exclusively on cotton diapers. However, when my second child came along, I became a little more lax. I now use a pretty even mixture of cotton diapers, disposables, and gdiapers.
4. I do not collect my kitchen scraps for the compost pile, despite my almost daily pledge to do so. I’m working on it…who knows, maybe today will be the day that I finally organize a system to do it!
And these are just my “eco-confessions” for today! Got an eco-confession you’d like to share? Post it here. And please, please, please remember that nobody is perfect….every little bit you do each day makes a HUGE difference…so don’t even worry about doing it all. Find the little eco-friendly things that work for you and your family and make them a part of your daily routine. And like everything else you do as a parent…if you flub up, just make sure your kids aren’t watching!
1. Through a writing, activism and talking, I actively encourage people to get out of the car, and ride, walk or mass transit it. Yet for one reason or another, I drive to work most days. Lots of guilt there.
2. Despite at least one friend of mine giving me lots of hell for using disposable diapers, we still use them. They’re not the best thing, but the ease of it all keeps me using them.
3. Back on the meat wagon after avoiding all animal flesh for a while. But I really try to go with only locally-grown and/or organic meats when I do give in to it…which is often these days.
How’s that for a long comment!?
Just found this article and very glad to do so.
I feel guilty about my husband’s career. We have to move every two-three years and I hate to think of the toll it takes on the planet. On the other hand, our kids get incredible experiences overseas and we do try to donate/recycle everything we can during moves. Also learn a ton about recycling, etc., overseas.
Disposable diapers, ditto. We are going to switch soon to cloth, now that we are not traveling so much (due to work), but still feel guilty.
Not being more religious about not buying plastic things/non-organic items or accepting them as gifts. Do I really want to make my Aunt Bertha feel awful for not buying the organic outfit for my kids (that she may not be able to find/afford)?