Top 10 Green Faux Pas (originally published on Chicago Now)
This list is based on observations I’ve made about the little things we can do every day to be green. Little things are important because they keep good green practices front of mind and visible to others, hopefully causing others to join in. To find out how you can make the biggest impact, calculate your total carbon footprint.
When I was growing up my hair was a mess: frizzy, bushy and permanently dented from being tied in a ponytail. Part of this was due to era, the late 80s/early 90s, but a lot of it was because my hair was addicted.
Although part of this comes from a deep paranoia that I will find a private eye going through my garbage and picking out a #5 plastic thingy that could have been recycled, mostly I reflect on my green-ness from a sincere desire to do better and know more.
I found that it was easier for me to THINK about my green actions if I had a way of organizing them in my mind. And, like everything else, once the organization exists, it is much easier to accomplish the goal.
My husband and I are environmentalists the way some people are Artists, or Christians, or Democrats. It defines how we live—how we shop, who we hang out with, what we read, and, of course, how we parent.