Environmental Awareness: Going Green

I’m the first to admit that we’re not the greenest of families, but I like to think that we’re greener than most. We recycle and try to reduce our waste consumption. Our city has an organics collection program, so we send food scraps and yard waste to be made into compost. We have a little urban vegetable garden. This year, we planted eggplant, onions, tomatoes, green peppers and zucchini. And we have a rhubarb plant and an herb garden. We use our bicycles, not just to get exercise, but to get our shopping done. We get real Christmas trees. For our family of five, we have only one car and we all commute together. We collect and donate our used clothing and toys to a local charity for reuse. We’ve got various devices to decrease our energy use—including a thermostat and reduced energy light bulbs. At work, I’ve tried to encourage people to not print up every presentation and note that crosses their desk. Electronic record keeping is so easy these days, the amount of paper waste we see is so unnecessary.

Going green is very important to us, but I am the first to admit that I have guilty pleasures that aren’t that green. I am guilty of shopping at the big supermarket chains because they’re so convenient and inexpensive.

[tweetthis]Fresh fruit and vegetables are so much tastier than stuff that’s been stuck on a truck #gogreen[/tweetthis]

But, in order to try and get out of that rut, I have been trying to shop local more often. There’s a farmers market every weekend from spring into late fall about five kilometers from my house. It’s in the parking lot of a mall complex—and the food is all locally sourced. And to make our trip even greener, we usually bike down and back with the entire family. It’s just a small market, so we can’t get everything we need for the week, but fresh fruit and vegetables are so much tastier than stuff that’s been stuck on a truck for days. Check out my post on Urban Green: Going to the Local Farmers Market on UrbanMommies! It’s even got a recipe to give you something to do with those fresh vegetables.

 

How does your family go green?

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4 Comments

  1. We do a lot of those same things…except the bikes that wouldn’t end well I’m afraid, but there’s always more that can be done. It’s an important issue.

  2. Sounds like you and your family are doing great with the ‘green’, Liv! We recycle and buy local produce. I walk instead of driving when I can. I recycle clothing and household items that are in good shape. I don’t do enough though.

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