Pioneer Spirit

EcoGriff

Vol. 10

Kelly and I took a scenic train ride over the weekend where we were able to see some beautiful landscape here in Arizona. I was awestruck not so much by the scenery itself, but how we got there. No, not the train, but the track. I stood there looking down to the ground 150 feet below us and thought to myself: “How amazing were the folks who laid these tracks!”

When I read history or live it, (like taking this train ride), I am amazed by the American pioneer spirit. I am wowed by what these folks accomplished with none of the modern day tools we have today. These folks did not go back to hotels each night, they slept on the ground, drank black coffee, cooked by wood and fire, walked to work up hill both ways… you get the drift.

Where has this spirit gone? Do we still have it? Did Dr. Peter Venkman and the other Ghostbusters remove it? What is something strange in our neighborhood? Did it last longer then Ray Parker Jr.’s career?

I believe the spirit is still in us. I see it in my 2 year-old son every day. Every day for him is an adventure. Nothing seems impossible. Although things get frustrating, he believes he will win. Negativity does not exist. If I were to ask him to build a Proton Pack to capture some ghosts he would say: “OK! I don’t know what that is, but I am sure I can do it.”

I at times believe we have lost our way with the pioneer spirit. We focus more on finding easy ways to do things rather than the best ways. We look for convenience over substance. Wants are more important than needs. When the economy goes south and finances are tight, we think of the luxuries we can’t live without or try to decide if food are water are really needs. When we need to be focused, we allow the freakin’ Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to enter into our thoughts! Damn Marshmallow Man!

Making changes to be more eco-sensitive is not like building a train track with picks, shovels and sweat. It is about letting go of some luxuries so we can make choices that are better for us and for the environment we need to survive. Can you find the same luxury in a more eco-sensitive product? Bet you can! Again, this is not an all at once endeavor, but a gradual process. A lot of little changes add up to BIG impact!

ECOcation:

http://www.reusablebags.com/

Best,

EcoGriff

BOOM!

EcoGriff

Vol.9

Although I am not a Star Trek fan, I am beginning to feel the challenges Captain Kirk must have felt in trying to save the planet. He was working to save the planet from freaks and beautiful alien women, and I am saving it while trying not to become a freak and alienate all the beautiful women. It is pretty easy to see the parallels.

I am still saving the planet one step at a time. Literally. If you are a new reader to my blog, I have been walking to work 3 days per week. I have been doing it for about a month now. Overall I would say that it is a very pleasant experience. I have enjoyed looking at the Arizona landscape and having some me time in the morning and afternoon. It is difficult to hold a bad mood after a good 2-mile walk! Good for the heart, good for the soul, good for the planet!

There are two things I have learned in my walking. 1. The driver has the right of way. Yield signs where crosswalks are mean yield for oncoming traffic, not pedestrians. If you are a pedestrian and there is not a light for you to cross, you better cross quickly and with your eyes on the traffic. When you are at a light and can press the button for the little lighted dude to say it is okay to cross, nothing changes. You wait two minutes for the light to change and before you get to the other side, the hand is telling you to hurry your ass up or else. 2. There landmines everywhere. By landmines I mean dog crap. Try to cut through the grass somewhere and boom! Sidewalks are better, but if you aren’t paying attention, BOOM! They just jump out of nowhere. Sometimes I wonder if it is man poo! It does make me wonder what it must be like to have to world be your toilet. Oh, wait, I guess we do that as well. We just call it trash.

Walking so much has changed the way I drive. I have become more aware of not pulling into a crosswalk, yielding for pedestrians to cross, and asking others to pay more attention.

Six weeks, no meat! Although we are not planning on staying long-term vegetarians, Kelly and I both are struggling to find the meat to break the streak with. Do we do it with an expensive dinner or just eat a piece of Nate’s bologna? We plan on staying on a plant-based diet for the long haul, but we will add meat (fish mostly because of shrimp and sushi) when we go out to eat. If you have ideas on what you think would be a good meat to break with we would love to hear it. Kelly’s birthday is coming up and we will most likely break our streak on Friday, April 23^rd. If not then, it may not be until July when we go back to the Syracuse area. There is restaurant there called the Dinosaur BBQ. Come July we will be tearing some meat from the bone!

ECOcation:

We talk a lot about saving the planet. The reality is, the planet does not need to be saved. If we go away tomorrow, Earth is good to go. These changes we make to become more eco-friendly, eco-sensitive, green, etc. are for us, human beings. When we say save the planet, we really mean save the humans. Just remember, it only takes a ripple to start a wave! One person can make a difference. You just have to believe you can. I do.

Best,
EcoGriff

Choices

EcoGriff

Vol. 8

The definition of “normal” is conforming to type or standard. The challenge with that definition is that “normal” differs depending on the person. That is a pretty hard standard for us to live up to when the target keeps moving.

I bring that up because the quest for my wife and I to become more eco-sensitive seems to make people think we have jumped off the deep end and are now living outside the norm. Maybe I am reading to far into this, but here are some interactions we have had recently with folks. You be the judge.

• You guys aren’t going to have time to do anything because you will be spending all your time reading labels.
• You are walking to work? Why? Oh, that is fine now, but what are you going to do when it is 110 degrees?
• Really, you shop at Whole Foods? It would be nice to have money to burn.
• Organic foods don’t taste any different.
• It is a myth that organic foods are healthier for you.
• Do you feel weaker now that you aren’t eating meat?
• I like to live my life in the middle, I will never have a compost - it’s too extreme. Hey, I recycle, I don’t throw my stuff out the car window.

The funny thing about this is that Kelly and I are not wearing this on our sleeves. Sure, we talk to people about it, but it is not like we are out on the street corner, wearing a sandwich board and telling people they are going to hell. (Ok, Kelly does on Thursday evenings, but it is not like she does it every day). It just comes up in conversation. I am just a bit surprised that folks seem to get more defensive over our eating and shopping habits than they do about us not having cable TV. Of our choices I think the TV thing was more of a deep end jump considering TV and I have a long storied relationship together. Seriously, TV and I go way back. Oh the stories I could tell. Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, now I remember.

Have you ever just wanted to punch someone in the face? Maybe twice, then kick them when they are down? Chuckle while they look for their tooth in grass? Yeah? Me too! But we don’t. Life is full of choices like that. Moving towards living a more eco-sensitive lifestyle is about choices. Daily little choices and some larger lifestyle choices, but the bottom line is that they are just choices. Living a more eco-sensitive lifestyle is not about having the money to do so. Really, it isn’t. You are going to spend money anyway. It just comes down to what are you going to spend your money on? How much of your salary each month goes to things you can’t remember what you spent it on? Not a judgment, just asking. Would you believe that our grocery bill has gone down because we stopped buying meat, but buy 85 percent organic on everything else? I am pretty sure if we added the meat back in we would break even. It is about choices. Do we need this today or can we wait until next week or until it goes on sale? It is process that takes time because some things do cost more. You do not have to go all-in tomorrow. Small steps. Kelly and I are still doing a little bit at a time. Hell, I still drive a vehicle that gets 16.4 miles to the gallon. The two challenges I have with trading it in are: 1. I love it. 2. I don’t owe anything on it. No car payment currently out-weighs my need for something more eco-friendly.

As I have said in previous posts, I am not an expert, but I strive to know more. The more I learn, the greater the chance I make good choices. You see, education without application is a waste. As Kelly and I continue to learn, we can’t ignore it. As we gain knowledge, we are armed to make better choices. We know we can’t afford to make all of them, but we will do what we can. If there are varying shades of green, we will be as rich a color green as we can.

On a side note: Thank you to all who recommended Food, Inc. It was a rousing tale of one-sided storytelling, but enjoyable. Not sure I will be able to look at red meat the same way again, so again, thank you.

ECOcation:

Read Living Like Ed. Great book to let you know you have a long way to go before you are off the deep end!

Big Mouth

EcoGriff

Vol. 7

March 31^st brought a close to our Meatless March. I learned a few things over the month. Here are 10 pieces of wisdom I can pass along to you:

1. Vegetarianism is a life choice, not a cult (really there are some nice vegetarians!)
2. Meat is not the only food group
3. Quorn is almost as versatile as corn
4. Vegetables other than carrots, celery, lettuce, radishes and peppers deserve a spot on the dinner table. Hell, they do well at lunch and breakfast as well!
5. Most restaurants only have a couple of veggie options on the menu. Sure, you can order things without the meat, but the price stays the same.
6. Veggie Burgers are not created equal! Some just plan suck. Some are delicious. Like bean burgers and portabella burgers!
7. Meatless meals are much less expensive than ones with meat (except at a restaurant. See # 5).
8. Meatless meals do not have to be choked down. They are very tasty.
9. Everyone will have a meatless recipe that you MUST try.
10. You will increase your gas production. Now that I think about it, maybe vegetarianism is not good for the environment!

It was a great month. I can honestly say that Kelly and I feel better since putting our meat intake on pause. It has us still thinking about what role meat will play in our lives as we move forward. Today (April Fool’s Day no less) we had the option to go back to meat and we didn’t. We didn’t really even miss meat at all (Well, Kelly did read an article about Chipotle a few days ago and began to crave pork, but other than that nothing). We are pretty sure that we will stay meatless at home. I will choose to eat meat when we go out to dinner, but Kelly is not sure yet. Only time will tell.

I am still walking to work a few days per week. This week I have actually walked every day so far. I am really enjoying it. Great for the environment, great for my heath, and great for my attitude. It gives me time to think which can be dangerous at times! It is in these types of moments I come up with things like Meatless March. My poor wife!

Here is something that I have found interesting since becoming more Eco-Friendly. People still view this choice of ours as being odd. The first thought is that we have gone off the deep end and become modern day hippies. Even though Walmart sells organic products, a high percentage of the people I talk to misunderstand or don’t know what organic means when talking about food. Some who think they know immediately think I am talking about eating tree bark and berries. I assure you I have not eaten any tree bark. None than I am aware of anyway. I have had people want to argue that we pay more for food that is not any healthier. To their point: Yes, you can purchase organic foods that are not good for you (i.e. chips, candy, pastries, etc.). My counter point is that they are healthier for you than their non-organic counterparts as they do not have pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals that are harmful to our bodies. We all have choices to make with our lives. This is just a the choice Kelly and I make now. We prefer to choose foods that lack the ingredients we can’t pronounce. You should not listen to only to me, but do your own research and come to your own conclusions about it all. I am not an expert, but a learning environmentalist with a big mouth!

I have also learned that there are not a lot of chubby environmentalists! I am bucking that trend. Good for me!

ECOcation:

Learn more about organic: http://www.organic.org/

Best,

EcoGriff