Friday, September 19, 2008

Moving to a Greener Life

"Going green." It's today's action item as the University of Delaware removes plastic trays from its cafeteria and Septa declares itself green. I've always tried to live in an ecologically aware way, from buying apple shampoo in the early 90s to never owning a car. Sometimes these decisions saved me money but often I chose to spend extra money on a less toxic product. If cost was truly prohibitive or an alternative didn't exist, I opted for old fashioned, home remedies.

Living an ecological life is easier now because demand and the industry have grown but not necessarily become cheaper. As an individual who sought to live a cutting-edge lifestyle (not bleeding edge, however), I've decided to make my life greener and to share the process with others. I've never been wealthy so I'll continue to focus on products and techniques that are affordable (without defining affordable as requiring a six-figure salary), practical, and easy. This is not an organic gardening blog but rather a blog about the small, simple, affordable steps anyone can take to reduce environmental impact. I hope you'll find the information useful and that you'll be inspired to integrate some of my ideas into your life too.

My aim is not to encourage consumption. I want to find practical actions that are simple and economical. It's my special goal to target ways to green an urban life, where we have high density population and close proximity. As a beginning marker, I'll share a little about myself. I live in Philadelphia, in the Wissahickon section with my longterm partner. Until a couple years ago, I was an apartment dweller in various Philly neighborhoods. Our house is an older house and we have very bad soil. There is a lot to do to our house and to our soil to conserve resources and energy and to build a more sustainable life. There's a lot to do just to grow a garden! As we try to green, I will share our attempts, including mistakes and successes and we'll try to make it applicable to as many people as possible. If I write about something that is specific to Philadelphia or uniquely found here, perhaps it will encourage others to offer the same endeavor in their own locations or to identify other alternatives. So come along for the journey!

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