I’ve just been on the bus for one week, and as I get to know the other riders, I am realizing how different we all are, despite our common interest in the environment and the Udall Foundation. Some of us are early birds. Others are night owls. Some people are fans of goat cheese; others detest it. You get the idea.
Along those same lines, we all have some quirky things we do for the environment that we thought we’d share with you all.
You're about to read about us. But we’re curious to hear what quirky things the readers of this blog do for the environment. Do you print 4-pages to a page, double-sided? Do you shower only once a week? Do you avoid flying, even if it means a 10-day boat/rail/car/donkey journey across a continent? Can you top us in quirkiness? Leave us a comment and let us know.
In no particular order, I present to you the people I’m sharing a bus with for the next two months:
- Bret Strogen claims to have an efficient dishwashing process that is unlike that of his friends and family (he has yet to show it to us). He also, in the true spirit of sacrifice, drinks draft local beer (to cut down on food miles and support local economies, of course).
- Savanna sometimes “lets it mellow” in public bathrooms (don’t know what that means? Hint: it saves water). Additionally, she won’t get coffee or tea unless she has her own reusable mug with her.
- Eli is also a “let it mellow” fan.
- And speaking of those unmentionable areas and deeds, Jen Baldwin “rinses like the French” to save water.
- Kayanna follows in the same vein: she showers ever other day.
- Bob claims to not wash his hair or use shaving gel (does this mean he hasn’t washed in 20+ years?) He likes to eat lukewarm, organic oatmeal as well, instead of eating breakfast out.
- More on the water theme: Matt never uses hot water to wash his hands and dishes (brrr!)
- Julie is another cold-water fan. She only uses cold water to wash clothes and almost never uses the dryer.
- Jenny Vazquez will re-use leftover hot water. For example, she will wash her dishes with leftover water in which she boiled pasta.
- Crystal sketches buildings worth saving for a long time.
- Jessica hates to drive so much, she does not have a car. She prefers to bike, even if something is over 20+ miles away!!!
- Martina is an animal fan; she will feed ducks.
- Bret Muter will pick recyclables out of the trash, if he sees them. Also, after seeing a Teenage Ninja Turtles special on plastic rings he has since been cutting them up (every single hole, he emphasises) before throwing them away.
- I (Sapna) was also influenced by a special on TV as a young child. I saw a commercial about birds and fish dying after getting caught in plastic rings, and since then, I have been scarred into picking and cutting up all the plastic rings I see lying around on the ground. Additionally, I carry around a cloth handkerchief (like the ladies and gents in the olden days) to minimise on tissue waste (which reminds me, I need to wash this handkerchief…and a note to the gentlemen out there: this is one handkerchief you probably don’t want to pick up).
So that’s us in a nutshell. Can you top us in quirkiness?
By: Sapna Thottathil
5 comments:
Who doesn't like goat cheese? How can you not like goat cheese?
Kudos for those who take recyclables out of the trash! I'm known for "dumpster diving" to properly dispose of recyclables too. When I go on hikes, I also pick up other people's trash. I don't shave with shaving cream, but then again I don't really need to since I'm still waiting for puberty to hit...
In my generation the operative bywords were "if it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down!"
Great post, Sapna! I love that Martina feeds ducks! :)
To be totally honest, I've never really thought I lead a "green" enough life (mostly because I compare myself to you crazy Udallers), but there are things I do do (ha - dodo).
They are: quick and cold showers (in AZ, it's not much of a sacrifice, but I take them even in the winter); "rinsing" for a minute or two between showers; only cold water in the washing machine; recycling everything (and carrying things around with me if I can't find an appropriate bin); my own water bottle (which goes everywhere with me); letting it mellow at home (at the office, apparently it's not accepted :)); driving less than 5,000 miles/year; and limiting my meat consumption (though not cutting it out completely - mmmm, steak).
None of that is especially quirky...and I didn't mention the time I mistakenly mixed bleach and ammonia and poured it down my shower drain. Oops.
P.S. I heard Andrew Lee (Scholar, '06) reuses dental floss! Ask him about it. :)
We just ate at The Herbfarm in WA -they seem to be very akin to White Dog (nearly all ingredients are grown on premises or within walking/biking distance). They even have a fulltime person collecting local wild mushrooms.
But, most interesting, they share their pigs for scraps recycling. All dinner guests are invited to feed the pigs from their plates at any time during dinner!
You guys are awesome! Thanks for the hilarity and the good tips (some of which, unfortunately, I will have to decline to follow).
I don't think my environmental habits are very quirky but here are a few:
1) I don't drink bottled water. Shipping water from Fiji to Chicago has got to be the stupidest idea ever. And it doesn't even taste like tropical flowers.
2) I bring canvas bags to the grocery store. They don't rip and they don't hurt my hands like the plastic does when the bags get really full.
3) I walk and take the bus basically everywhere (yay for being in a city with great public transportation).
4) When I was little and helped my mom garden, I would pick out the earthworms and kiss them. I guess it doesn't quite count as sustainability but it was fun and grossed people out, which I loved! :)
That's all for now. Safe travels, I'll see you all in a week in Chi-town!
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