Oh boy, I knew Wednesdays blog would be a controversial one... Lots of comments! It seems, as expected, there are a few people who misunderstood me but I loved this comment, below. Very insightful, and really got me thinking!
Stephanie, Junior Strategist said...
I definitely respect the fact you're not afraid to share your opinions, and that you actually have opinions.
I wish I could agree with your blog, but I'm a firm believer that the issues you are talking about are all connected. Massive poverty exists because we, in the developed world, are using 80% of the world's resources, but we're only 20% of the world's population. The issue of water, one of the world's biggest problems, is a cause for so many diseases in the developing world. Diarrhea is the biggest killer among children. That can't be ignored.. and yet it's within our freedom to waste all of the water we want to??
So many people are sick BECAUSE of pollution. If we eliminated massive pollution, less people would be on those hospital beds unable to pay their medical bills. I do have to say that I am thankful I live in Canada where that is not an issue.
The root cause of many wars is the fight over the resources. The root cause for trafficking is often poverty. And the root cause of poverty is the lack of access to resources (the ones we're sucking up).
I just don't see this as an environmental battle vs. a people battle because it's all interconnected.
So yes, I do think we need to evaluate the way that we live/buy, and we need to be conscious of the fact that the way we treat the earth DIRECTLY impacts people. The earth is not filled with infinite resources. We all have to share what we've been given.
It's an important movement. I think the "fad" of being green has perhaps deterred us from remembering WHY it's so important. I do think we need to be intentional of the way we treat the earth and of the way we form relationships.
It's ALL important, and it all relates to each other.
And that's how I view the issue in a not so eloquent way at 7:50am in the morning lol.
_________________________________________________________
I agree with Stephanie and perhaps, in my zeal, I wasn't totally clear about emphasizing thatI believe in finding a middle-ground, as suggested by the post title. I didn't intend to imply that this is an "either/or" issue, so let me try to simplify: Please take care of the earth as best you can within the resources you have, but don't make that your only contribution because its "easy". I think many people have taken to being Green because its trendy and makes you look/feel like a "better person" without really having to invest much. So, hold yourself accountable and don't stop there-- keep finding ways to nurture the heart and soul that go beyond doing daily little things. It's important to educate the masses, but there's a saying that goes "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Before we can educate & encourage, we need to care about the PERSON we are educating.
Does that make sense?
Anyway
...the funny thing is that the whole reason I started thinking about the Green agenda was because I just got a compost bucket which I'm very excited to use in my garden! I did a little "blackle"-ing and found a list of what you can put into your compost bucket or pile (like Post-Its!)....
Paper napkins,
Freezer-burned vegetables,
Pet hair,
Potash rock,
Post-it notes,
Freezer-burned fruit,
Wood chips,
Bee droppings,
Lint from behind refrigerator,
Hay,
Popcorn (unpopped, 'Old Maids,' too),
Freezer-burned fish,
Old spices,
Pine needles,
Leaves,
Matches (paper or wood),
Seaweed and Kelp,
Hops,
Leather dust,
Old, dried up and faded herbs,
Bird cage cleanings,
Paper towels,
Brewery wastes,
Grass clippings,
Hoof and horn meal,
Molasses residue,
Potato peelings,
Unpaid bills,
Gin trash (wastesfrom cotton plants), W
eeds,
Stale bread,
Coffee Grounds,
Wood ashes,
Sawdust,
Tea bags and grounds,
Shredded newspapers,
Egg shells,
Cow Manure,
Alfalfa,
Winter rye,
Grapefruit rinds,
Pea vines,
Houseplant trimmings,
Old pasta,
Grape wastes,
Garden soil,
Powdered/ground phosphate rock,
Corncobs (takes a long time to decompose),
Jell-o (gelatin),
Blood meal,
Winery wastes,
Spanish moss,
Limestone,
Fish meal,
Aquarium plants,
Beet wastes,
Sunday comics,
Harbor mud,
Felt waste,
Wheat straw,
Peat moss,
Kleenex tissues,
Milk (in small amounts),
Soy milk,
Tree bark,
Starfish (dead ones!),
Melted ice cream,
Flower petals,
Pumpkin seeds,
Q-tips (cotton swabs: cardboard, not plastic sticks),
Expired flower arrangements,
Elmer's glue,
Bone meal,
Citrus wastes,
Stale potato chips,
Rhubarb stems,
Old leather gardening gloves,
Tobacco wastes,
Bird guano,
Hog manure,
Dried jellyfish,
Wheat bran,
Guinea pig cage cleanings,
Nut shells,
Cattail reeds,
Clover,
Granite dust,
Moldy cheese,
Greensand
Straw,
Shredded cardboard,
Dolomite lime,
Cover crops,
Tea bags (black and herbal),
Apple cores,
Electric razor trimmings,
Kitchen wastes,
Outdated yogurt,
Crab shells,
Lobster shells,
Pie crust,
Leather wallets,
Onion skins,
Bagasse (sugar cane residue),
Watermelon rind,
Date pits,
Olive pits,
Peanut shells,
Burned oatmeal (sorry, Mom),
Lint from clothes dryer,
Bread crusts,
Cooked rice,
River mud,
Tofu (it's only soybeans, man!),
Wine gone bad (what a waste!),
Banana peels,
Fingernail and toenail clippings,
Chocolate cookies,
Wooden toothpicks,
Moss from last year's hanging baskets,
Stale breakfast cereal,
Pickles,
'Dust bunnies' from under the bed,
Pencil shavings,
Wool socks,
Artichoke leaves,
Leather watch bands,
Fruit salad,
Tossed salad (now THERE's tossing it!),
Brown paper bags,
Soggy Cheerios,
Theater tickets,
Lees from making wine,
Burned toast,
Feathers,
Animal fur,
Vacuum cleaner bag contents,
Coconut hull fiber,
Old or outdated seeds,
Macaroni and cheese,
Liquid from canned vegetables,
Liquid from canned fruit,
Old beer,
Wedding bouquets,
Greeting card envelopes,
Dead bees and flies,
Horse hair,
Peanut butter sandwiches,
Ivory soap scraps,
Spoiled canned fruits and vegetables,
Produce trimmings from grocery store,
Cardboard cereal boxes (shredded),
Grocery receipts
Crazy huh!? So, if you want to find out more about starting a compost pile for soil and gardening, click here.
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