I missed a couple posts last week because Jason and I were called to Maine to help care for my parents. We also had to bring Oliver, because until the vet gives him a thumbs up we still need to monitor his health. It was a lot of work and very little sleep, and in times like that my environmental values go right out the window. We were recycling nothing, using paper towels by the case, making multiple trips to the store because we forgot stuff, and wasting tons of food by making more than anyone would eat.
We tried to be good beforehand by packing lunch, snacks, and water bottles for the ride up. That also made the trip faster, because we didn’t have to stop along the way. But once we got up there we didn’t even have the energy to think about the environmental impact of the things we did.
The whole thing has made me realize that part of the reason we can reduce our footprint is because we have the time and the money to do it. Making our lives less stressful and saving money are actually environmental goals, because they free us up to focus on how our habits impact the environment. From now on I’m going to try to keep in mind that our actions are all interrelated—if we improve in one area, it helps in others, too.
And I’m going to try to get some sleep.
