Practical Greening: This Is Not a Religion, People...

It's amazing how when we as human beings catch hold of a good idea, we almost automatically find a way to ruin it.

Environmentalism sounded cool when I first began to learn about it in school, but by the time I was an adult, I was turned off by the ritualistic, cultish type behaviors of those who thought that they were going to actually save the earth by not running the tap when they brushed their teeth and by saving organic garbage for fertilizer. I cringed at the harsh moral judgement of those were not as committed as the self-proclaimed enviro-elite, and I still do not understand the almost instinctive loss of aesthestics and style that accompanies the serious greening of one's lifestyle. Some of those people look a mess.

Can going green not be practical and realistic? And fun? And sometimes fashionable?

Can it make sense? Can giong green even be relative?

I am as green as I can be right now, and I still use styrofoam sometimes. I conserve as much power as I can, but I don't lose sleep if I leave the bathroom light on. Although we let the yellow mellow sometimes, I think that's kind of gross, and the furthest I've ever gotten to composting was giving our dog Zeus (may he rest in peace) our scraps.

And I don't feel guilty at all.

Why? Because I take the time to research the facts concerning "environmental impact", and the facts are clear - there is no garbage crisis nor will there be, I do not use enough water or electricity to make or break an ecosystem, and I am a human being, so I reserve the right to enjoy my dominion over the earth and its resources. I don't believe in being neglectfully wasteful, nor do I believe in being religiously green. I won't tank the monthly budget to buy biodegradable disposable plates made of corn and buy all organic food and purchase alternative energy certificates and only wear organic cotton clothing and pay the note for a brand new hybrid because my old, normal gas guzzling automobile is no longer sufficient and this and that and the other.

It's just not practical!

I will do what I can, and reserve my resources for those things that matter most to me and to the environment. I will make sure that I am not doing more harm than good with my reduction, reusage, and recycling before I hop on a soapbox and tell everyone else that they're killing the future. I will be thoughtful in what I purchase and how I use it, but only to the extent that it does not decrease my quality of life. I will worship God and not Al Gore.

And I don't feel guilty about it at all.

I go green; practically.