About Greg

So, did you hear that Earth Day was Monday? Yeah, I missed it too. It just doesn’t seem to have the same appeal that it used to, does it? Perhaps the novelty has worn off. Well, maybe this will grab your attention instead:

Fact – The United Sates comprises 5% of the world’s population but it consumes approximately 25% of it’s natural resources.

Yikes. How’s that for a fun statistic?

It doesn’t take a math genius to realize that this system can’t sustain itself. With China and India aiming to replicate our “success” there is no way that we can support this. It is time for us to acknowledge that this system is unsustainable.

Look, I’m not some complete tree-hugging, pot smoking, Oregonian. I don’t walk around in Birkenstocks in 3 feet of snow. I’ve never worn a tie-dyed shirt to work. I like to think that I am a pretty pragmatic person. I understand that we aren’t going to be able to save the planet by changing the habits of every single person on it. Still, I have to acknowledge that we are rapidly moving in a direction – on multiple levels – that is not sustainable. It should be pretty clear to anybody paying attention that we can not go on like this forever. Yet, how do you tell that to somebody who is dying because they don’t have access to something that you can purchase by the case load at the grocery store?

Everywhere I look, we are destroying our only home. We continue to buy more and more junk, made out of non-renewable resources. (Did you know that most plastics are made out of petroleum, BTW?) Then we throw that junk into a landfill, where it will never decay. I mean- this is madness. What are we leaving behind for future generations? Are we really that selfish? Have we no conscience?

This is one of the many reasons that we have decided to live a frugal lifestyle. As Gahndi said, we are aiming to become the change we wish to see in the world. The less we consume, the less waste we create. The less we consume, the less energy we use. We know that we can’t save the planet on our own. None of us can. However, if enough of us make a change in our consumption habits, the total of our efforts can make a difference.

Our Attempt to Save the Planet

Here are a few of the changes that we have made in our lifestyle that are both saving money and helping us to save the planet: [Read more...]