Week 2

We had an interesting week this week, and spent some time reflecting on what we are doing here and how we hope to make a change, even though it doesn't make sense to a lot of people.  The criticism we've received is interesting - most of it is based in cynicism rather than apathy. It reminds me of an episode of How I Met Your Mother when Barney says, "I know a lost cause when I see it. Same reason I don't recycle." When you are faced with a huge and seemingly insurmountable task like, say, correcting our use of the planet's resources, it's easy to think that there's nothing we can do about it - this not only absolves us of individual responsibility, it also requires exactly ZERO effort on our parts to work for something better. I don't believe that cynicism is a helpful attitude, whether it's applied toward the earth or the younger generation or politics. Believe that you can make a difference; that is the only way you will.

Here's how we incorporated our Zero Waste principles into this week:

1. I made muffins at the beginning of the week (without paper wraps) so each morning this week, I had a muffin and a piece of fruit for breakfast. No plastic wrapped breakfast bars required! A whole foods breakfast also keeps me fuller for longer.

2. We eat Asian food a good bit and have a few sets of chopsticks, so we brought our own to the sushi restaurant that we went to for Austin's birthday this week. We also brought our own to-go container for leftovers. We got called "weird" by our dinner companions (endearingly?), but saying no to Styrofoam is important. Styrofoam is the devil. Styrofoam is a petroleum-produced product that is toxic to the workers who make it, and it creates huge amounts of hazardous chemical waste. The chemicals leach into your food, it harms wildlife,  it does not decompose, etc. Say no to Styrofoam.

3. We bought second hand chairs off Craigslist for our dining room table (we were previously using borrowed folding chairs because we couldn't find chairs that we liked within our price range). The chairs are better quality than anything I looked at online, and are exactly the Danish style we were looking for. Before you buy new, look at lightly used options! There is some great stuff out there for a fraction of the cost.

4. We also bought a second hand rug from a FSWF group on Facebook for our living room. It was hardly used by the original owner, and we ended up spending $80 on something that would have cost around $400 if we bought it new. Great second hand finds this week :)

5. Many cultures have "dump" dishes that are intended to use all of the leftovers you have in your house before they go bad (stir fry, quiche, rice bowls, etc). Earlier this week I made curry with all the stuff in our fridge that was on its last leg. Remember to plan your meals around what you have! We spent less than $20 at the grocery store this week because we primarily used what was already in our house from the week before.

6. Things I miss: tempeh, salt and vinegar chips.

7. My first batch of kombucha was finally ready after 14 days of brewing! I added a cup of strongly steeped blueberry tea to the finished product and it now tastes like GT's ginger berry. I may never buy store-bought kombucha again. Thanks again to my sister for the SCOBY and brewing canister!

I haven't taken a picture of this week's trash, because all that was added were our old toothbrushes and another kombucha cap from a bottle I bought before my batch was ready. I'll report back at the end of the month to show what will hopefully be 1/12 of our trash for the year.

I am planning to write a post in the near future about plant-based eating as it relates to environmentalism. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions about plant-based eating that should be addressed! This is a very important topic that deserves much more time than it gets within the realm of environmental advocacy. Animal agriculture is a massive contributor to climate change - some studies say as much as all transportation systems combined. It has been said before that you cannot eat meat and be an environmentalist, but I don't think this is necessarily true.  I think all of us, across the board (carnivores, vegetarians, vegans) need to be more conscious about where our food comes from and how its production affects the environment. A vegan who eats strawberries in the winter may be doing more damage to the earth than a carnivore who eats locally raised poultry.  Think about where your food comes from, the resources used in its production, and the (often long) journey that it took to get from the farm to your plate. Eat locally, eat seasonally, and eat less (especially meat).

I hope everyone has a great week, with as little waste of time and resources as possible! :) If you are upset about what is about to go down on Friday, remember to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Be the kind of person you want our leaders to be - and hold them accountable - by becoming aware, active, and helpful in your community.