Mom's Ratings:
 Good Idea
Great Idea
Green Hero |
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Mountain Mom's Story
We live up in the Rocky Mountains where the
air is thinner and the heart works harder...and
better. We need a little more heat in winter,
and can get more warmth from the sun. We
need to drive a little farther to get supplies,
and almost everything is more expensive here.
So going Green hit me here sooner than it
might where you live. The cost of living
is only going to get worse, and our resources
are only going to get more scarce. I started
by recycling everything, driving a teeny
weenie car and passing out jackets to the
family to keep the heat down. Well, none
of that worked very well because it was too
much of a change and too much of a pain.
I took a step back and the family breathed
a sigh of relief. Now, I've thought about
how to do everything just a little different.
The idea is to get the most bang for our
buck, to do the most good, and not suffer
traumatic lifestyle changes.
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I developed my own rating system based on
how much effort, money or results my suggestions
involve. For example, for a no-brainer like
a programmable thermostat, the expense is
small, the effort is near zero, and the results
are substantial. A project like composting
does a lot of good, but the effort is great
and the results aren't felt too far beyond
your own back yard. So if it's really worth
trying, it get 3 trees . But if it's something that gives a smaller
payback for the effort or expense required,
it gets only 1 tree, .
I don't have the time to be an environmental
activist (but you might), but once in a while
we get a chance to vote in ways that can
make a difference. Our local utility is a
member-owned electric co-op, and they have
done well to keep electric rates low. Voters
were recently passed a ballot to require
utilities to get 20% of their electric supplies
from "alternative" sources (wind,
hydroelectric, solar cells, etc.). Our co-op
was able to opt-out of the requirements.
However, they still need to come up with
new electrical supplies, and yes, that means
new power plants, and so far they are favoring
coal as a fuel. That concerns me since just
in the last few years, the ultra-clear vistas
we used to enjoy here in the mountains have
become noticeably more hazy, and we're told
it's due to the power plants upwind from
of us.
I know the phrase "Think Globally, Act
Locally" seems almost trite, but to
not consider it seriously pretty much guarantees
that the environmental sled we're riding
on will continue to slide down hill faster
and faster. There will be a day when each
of us will start asking ourselves, "why
didn't somebody do something earlier?"
Well, I am, and I hope you'll consider taking
just a tiny baby step today, so that it won't
become a giant leap needed in the near future.
I hope you find my "Mom's Green Tips",
like the one above, useful. If you have one
that fits my different way of looking at
Going Green, I'd love to hear it.
MOUNTAIN MOM'S PRIVACY POLICY:
I don't collect any personally identifiable information about
you on our site and I don't use cookies. I do monitor how visitors use my site on
an anonymous, aggregated basis. This information
helps me improve the site's delivery of information.
I provide links to sites outside of my own
and I can't be responsible for any tracking
they do. I do provide link id's to some sites
which allow them to identify where the link
came from. Such 'affiliate' sites may track
your visit to their site with cookies or
other means.
DISCLAIMER: When I "recommend"
a process or a product, it may not be that
exact product. I just want to you to consider
these products, or similar, to get you started
down the road of making the "right"
decisions in considering more earth-friendly
goods.
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