What Won’t You Give Up?
Posted on June 10, 2008 by
Howling Hill tagged me for a meme on what I won’t give up to go green.
- Contacts. HH said she wouldn’t give up her glasses. Makes sense, right? We’ve got to see! Awhile ago, when I did a tip on greener contact lens solution, she suggested that contacts probably aren’t super green. And I agree, glasses are probably the greener way to go. The problem: I can’t stand wearing glasses. I’m a freak about it. It’s not a vanity thing. I love the way glasses look. I just can’t deal with being able to see (blurry stuff) out the sides of my frames. I need my peripheral vision and I get nauseous without it. Also, I can’t eat while I’m wearing glasses (which I know is totally weird, but I just can’t), and even with glare reduction coating, the glare drives me nuts. A few years ago, I scratched my cornea and had to wear my glasses for two weeks. I thought I’d get used to them, but the last day was just as bad as the first. I suppose I could go for Lasik surgery, but it scares the crud out of me. My contacts come in minimal packaging (a six month supply fits in the palm of my hand), all of it recyclable. If a greener contact option comes out, I’ll jump at the chance to try it. But I won’t give up my contacts. Doing so would have a major negative impact on my quality of life.
- Chocolate. I love chocolate. Sure, it’s not a local food, but I minimize the impact as much as possible by buying only fair trade certified organic chocolate. I eat a square or two almost every day. I think it improves my mood and keeps me from craving junk food or feeling deprived. Putting this fair trade/organic only rule into effect has also helped me pass on a lot of junk food.
- Avocados. Again, not a local food for me, but not something I’m willing to give up. I put avocado chunks in our salads (and Argo’s dog food — great for his coat) once or twice a week. Avocado is one of my favorite foods. Recently, I had a cholesterol test, and my bad cholesterol was a little high (probably surprising to anyone who knows how I eat, but it’s a genetic thing). My good cholesterol was rated as “excellent,” and the doctor says that’s helped balance things. I attribute this, in part, to avocados, and also to including things like nuts, olive oil, and fish into my diet — again, not local foods. I am willing to cut down or eliminate conventionally processed foods and things that aren’t great for me to begin with, but when it comes to foods that support good health, I am not willing to be limited by my location at the moment. That said, I do belong to a CSA, am working to grow my own food, and buy local eggs and dairy as often as possible, but supporting my health and my specific dietary needs is something I won’t compromise.
- My television. I suppose I could give it up if I really really really had to, but I don’t want to. We don’t have cable any more (nor do I really miss it). Sure, not having a TV would cut down on our electricity usage, but I’d rather just sit around in the dark the rest of the time to make up for it. I am a former hardcore television junkie. My best friend in high school and I used to talk on the phone, TV Guide in hand, to plan out our viewing for the week (yeah, we were really cool). I can sing the theme songs to an embarrassing number of sitcom’s from the 80’s and 90’s (and even 50’s, 60’s and 70’s thanks to Nick at Nite). I have cut down my viewing time dramatically in order to become the reasonably productive member of society you’ve come to know and love. Now, we mostly watch PBS, follow a few TV series on DVD, and get movies by mail. I love to read, I love being outside. I am willing to make an effort to keep the TV off a little more, and I don’t use it as background noise anymore. But to me, there is nothing like lounging and watching a sitcom rerun, or an episode of The Simpsons, when I’m feeling kind of blue and need to take my mind off of things for a little while.
- My Computer. Well, if I had given up my computer, you wouldn’t be reading this post, right? I’m a writer, and while I can type almost as fast as I want to get words out, writing longhand is too slow for me, and it gums up the works. I don’t think in a linear way, so being able to write a little bit here and a little bit there and then go back to change something, etc. is priceless. Plus, I barely understand how people edited their work back in the days of typewriters. I also really value the internet as my contact to the outside world and a medium to connect to amazing people I wouldn’t have the chance of knowing otherwise. Like you.
What won’t you give up? I won’t tag anyone specific, but let me know if you post about it, and I’ll put a link up in the next day’s “What’s Going On” roundup.
Ooo, this is a good meme, and something I think about often. I’ll do a post on it, but it may be tomorrow before I get to it.
One thing I will not compromise on: I tried Seventh Generation toilet paper one time and immediate went back to my standard Quilted Northern. SG felt like sandpaper comparatively.
You have to make sure you get the 2-ply SG TP. It’s a little better. The 1 ply single rolls aren’t fun. And you do get used to it. But I can see how that would be something you wouldn’t want to compromise on. I think the nice thing about this meme is that it shows how we all have to pick our creature comforts. I think it’s kind of like a diet — if you’re too strict, you’re more likely to fail. If we do the best we can, allowing for who we are and what our lifestyle standards are, and concentrate on celebrating achievements instead of “failures” we are more likely to have success.
I think you sound quite reasonable about what you are retaining. After all, you aren’t a medieval monk. And we may have to give up quite a lot of things soon enough if Sharon’s dystopian future vision is accurate. May as well enjoy a few things while we can. Guess I am no hard core greenie yet because I have no intention of riding my bike to work when the temp dips to minus 20( or minus anything really!).
ditto on all of those for me, too. Well, I could give up chocolate - and thank goodness California grows avocados!!!
I haven’t been to the doctor to have an eye exam in two years. Mostly because of money. Right now I’m running on my last pair of contacts. I am not the best contact user. I wear them longer than I am supposed to but I make up for it by alternating them with glasses. I can’t stand glasses either. I’ve got three pairs cause if I lose one pair…I can’t find it and I’ve got to stubble to the bathroom and find the brightly colored case to find another pair so I can find my original glasses. Yes I am that blind. Even my contact case has to be brightly colored so I don’t lose it. Eye surgery scares me as well. What if I am that one small percentage that is rendered blind cause of a doctor’s mistake??? Scary thought.
I also can’t give up my computer. It’s my only contact with the outside world and with my friends. They don’t use the phone as much as they used to and even though I have long distance coverage….they never call me. But they will IM the heck outta me. LOL! Also I would miss out on all the educational opportunities of the internet. I’m a constant National Geographic website visitor. I have cable but it doesn’t have NG channel. So I’m forced to look at it online. Plus there are so many other learning experiences that the web holds. Maybe one day I’ll just give up the TV for viewing programs on the web but I’d have to get a faster internet connection and Super Computer before that happens.
Completely agree on the contacts (I still wear glasses once in a while, but, especially for driving the difference is abysmal), the computer and the chocolate.
Let’s see what else…
Tissue Paper - I have allergies and the fabric hankies just won’t do;
Notebooks - My first drafts always come out so much better when I actually write them in paper instead of doing them directly in the computer, but
Completely agree on the contacts (I still wear glasses once in a while, but, especially for driving the difference is abysmal), the computer and the chocolate.
Let’s see what else…
Tissue Paper - I have allergies and the fabric hankies just won’t do;
Notebooks - My first drafts always come out so much better when I actually write them in paper instead of doing them directly in the computer, but
ooh no I wouldn’t give up avocados or my computer either. Nor would I give up Spanish wine or French Cheese. But the number one thing I wouldn’t give up is my girlfriend, who lives in Edinburgh and who has to catch a plane every other weekend to see me - so it’s all very envir unfriendly. But I’m not giving her up!!!
You bring up something I hadn’t considered: the foods I enjoy from far away. I’ll post about it on my blog.
Great list, Allie. Thanks for participating!
[...] responses Allie was awesome enough to answer my little meme regarding What Won’t You Give Up? She brought up something I hadn’t thought of: what [...]
I LOVE this list! I feel like I really know you!
My beau reports the same issue with wearing glasses, though unfortunately for him, his allergies irritate his contacts so he wears the glasses anyway.
I love my avocados… my computer… and I’m far more tv junkie than I wish I were… bah… I could improve on a ton, but I’m working on it.
Just not regarding those same things!
Hey, Reluctant Blogger,
Cheers for the wonderful girlfriend, wherever she may live! Feeling great and loving someone cannot be measured as green or not green, as nothing changes the world like feeling intensely with someone else!
Cheers to happiness and relationships!
um. BIRTH CONTROL. i don’t care how much packaging there is, how non-biodegradable it is, how industrial the pharmaceutical company is. that is one area in which i absolutely will not cut corners. the waste created from birth control products pales in comparison to the amount of waste an unplanned child would produce in his or her lifetime. i’ve been mulling over a post about this for a while, along the lines of what’s already at fake plastic fish. i understand that some methods are not very eco-friendly, but personally, i’m not willing to gamble on a new one. the risk is too high.
Great meme! My list would look much the same, except I could give up avocados because I don’t eat them very often. I have considered getting Lasik surgery to eliminate contacts from my life, but it’s so expensive and I’m scared of all medical procedures so that’s not going to happen anytime soon. But I do help by wearing my disposable contacts wwaaaaayyyy longer than I’m supposed to.
Ya know, after thinking about this a little, I haven’t come up with anything I absolutely cannot do without. There’s plenty of things I’d rather not get rid of, mind you. But when it comes down to it, if I had to get rid of some of the things in my life, I could.
When I was a poor grad student and my transmission blew, I was without a car for two years. I once lived in a situation where there was no TV or radio reception and limited internet access. Going without those conveniences during those times showed me that I really didn’t NEED those things. After the initial adjustment, I reveled in simplification.
I learned that when circumstances warrant change it’s easy to do. Deciding to do it on your own is more difficult.
What I won’t give up:
Deodorant. Real, traditional, non-earth friendly deodorant. Old Spice High Endurance Sport. I can’t take a chance on anything else. Also, other personal care items - namely hair spray.
My car. I live in the suburbs - ’nuff said. The summer will be a good time for me to reduce my driving - walking, biking and taking my motorcycle - but hey, you can’t carry a 2 gallon pack of milk on it.
Bleach. (And other toxic cleaners.) To paraphrase the Simpsons: “I need my beer cold, my TV loud and my whites white.” I read a lot of cleaning tips involving baking soda, salt and vinegar. They always come with the recommendation of employing “…a little elbow grease.” Having been a housewife for the past 20 years, I know I don’t have time and patience for “a little elbow grease.” I’ve been trying to work with Allie’s recommendation of the Dr. Bronner’s with mixed results, but I’m working on it. At least I can say I’m buying less cleaners and trying to be conscious of using less volume of them with their application.
A certain level of consumerism. I’ve really stopped buying a lot of unnecessary crap. I shop at Thrift Stores more than anywhere else. But I have to admit, when I read Allie’s post about only shopping at Target 3-4 times a year, my jaw dropped!
Of course, I live in Minneapolis/St. Paul - basically *The Land of Target*, so it’s only natural for me to head there for one-stop shopping.
Ziplock bags. But I reuse them - I swear!