Will being an eco-warrior make a difference?

 I refuse straws at restaurants. I pick up trash on the road.

I strengthen my quads to save the trees and not use toilet seat covers.

I only buy recycled household paper products, and those that know me know that if come to my kitchen looking for a paper towel, you will be searching for quite a while. 

Most of my food is local and organic, and I try to ride my bike around town whenever possible despite my lazy side that would WAY rather take my car.

 So imagine my dismay when my Dad shared an article on my facebook wall from the New York Times titled "Going Green but Getting Nowhere." For the article click here.

Gernot Wagner postulates that try as we might, no matter how green one is,  "Our future will be largely determined by our ability to admit the need to end planetary socialism." Basically saying that without economic policy change such as cap and trade, individual action isn't doing a thing.

I beg to differ. If this is the case then why does Seventh Generation tell us that "If every US household replaced just one 12-pack of 300-sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissue with our 100% recycled product we could save 1,900,000 trees and 690 million gallons of water."

Why do we bring our bags to the grocery store? Why compost? Because I believe that every little thing helps. Am I single handedly reversing global warming? No. Am I making a difference? I have to believe the answer is yes, because if not, then the future would feel futile. Hope would be out the window replaced by negativity and dismay.  

How are we supposed to "make change happen" Gernot? Should I be calling Obama night and day to tell him I want to end planetary socialism? Because trust me, I have called him multiple times, in addition to my representatives and senators, but I really think they kind of don't give a damn. Maybe if I had a million or two to donate to somebody's campaign, or maybe if I was famous, I could influence a person or two.

But for now, I will keep doing my daily green things, keep having hope, and keep calling, although I have yet to receive a call back.

Ah the return

I have returned to the United States. What a strange feeling it is to return to ones home soil. I go through the motions of everyday life, and it is almost as if Ecuador never happened.

 Yet, I feel different in my core. It is almost as if I am two people, and one of them is still in Ecuador, caught up in the mystery of self growth and reflection. The other person is living in LA, going through the routine of life. Waking up, making tea, going to work, yoga after work, walking the dogs, every day is like the one before.

Yet I really am that changed person, and trying to adjust to life in the States is a trip. Everything is so readily available here, yet with everything at our fingertips it is so easy to not think about what each item's true value is.

My school that I am at this year happens to be in a ridiculously wealthy neighborhood. It is such a strange phenomena to go from extreme poverty to extreme wealth. My mind feels like a boomerang.

I am just trying to go through the motions, because I know at some point this will seem real. I had deep thoughts shopping at my co-op. Goodness I missed it. The joy I take from shopping at a place where the products are local and organic. But when I shopped there this week in addition to having a heart attack at the price tag, something was missing.

I think life is too comfortable here.

Ode to Ecuador

Ecuador
Land where I had never been before

I rode it's buses
Heard it's babies making fusses'

Dug my hands deep in it's earth
Even dipped my toes in it's surf

My eyes have been opened
To another way of life
Full of much strife

Through friendships forged over hauling rocks
I discovered some of life's building blocks

I envy the sense of pride that is apparent
For locals, I think it might be inherent

From soaring volcanoes to black sand beaches
To fruit stands overflowing with peaches

But all was not oh so rosy
Because the bugs liked to get oh so cozy
In my bed, on my skin
I killed so many, I think it might be a sin.

Why oh why do your people litter?
It made for me feeling a wee bit bitter

My heart was alight
When new friends picked up trash on the beach not out of spite
But because it brought them delight

To clean up the country that they love
Gave me a sense of hope in humanity
Almost as if sent from above

Goodbye to land where our roses originate
My hope for you is that potable water will be available to all
Not just those who can afford it or by fate

Please stop harvesting wood from the Amazon,
For the parrots soon will have nothing to stand upon.

Ciao for now
And may the sun be never too heavy on your brow.