Non ethical living

[kerala]

Yesterday I met up with an old friend. Although a lovely person she is blissfully unaware (or just doesnt care) about green issues. She flies long haul every other month or so, every member of the family have a gas guzzling sports car (they are a very rich international family). She saw me changing my reuseable and thought I was crazy. She was convinced that it wasnt worth it and anyway you have to use tumble driers to dry the nappies - she had never come across the concept of a washing line.

I just despair sometimes. I scurry around with my composting, reuseables, mooncup, using public transport all the time, holidays in France rather than Mauritius, giving talks at the hospital about reusables. Yet a sizeable number of people do absolutely nothing. Why do I bother?!

In a way I am abit jealous. I sometimes wish I could be like that but I seem to be burdened by an overactive conscience. Does anyone else feel like this?

You have summed up exactly how I feel - a couple of my friends are like that - green issues don't even occur to them, they quite happily waste things, throw everything straight into the dustbin rather than recycling, drive everywhere, etc, etc and I sometimes feel I'm trying so hard to be environmentally friendly but what difference will it make if there are so many people who don't care.

Sometimes I feel jealous, but then I realise I do actually enjoy cycling to work, composting, growing own veg, etc.

Some people just think I'm mad for doing it and I can't ever imagine changing their minds and getting them to do their bit which is a bit depressing.

I feel the same. I have a friend who drives gas guzzling 4x4, has a house which is air conditioned 24 hours, her kids have clean & ironed PJs every night, everything is left on standby....

and I compost, reuse, recycle, cycle when possible etc and I did wonder whether it was all worth it too.

i woudl love to fly long haul. just cantafford it.
i would love to be able to buy locally grwon produce. cant afford it. either money wise, or time wise.
dont have a gas guzzling sports car. cant afford it. and am lucky that have healthy legs and own bikes. although we do have two cars.
used real nappies for a whil with dc. definitly had lots of strange looks from people but that's because they are not used to seeing people use real nappies iyswim.
keep at it kerala, and people will slowly slowly get better

Perhaps there are more and more of us "caring" and eventually we will be the majority. Alot of revolutions start small.

Have you seen "An Inconvenient Truth"? What I was amazed by was that by a few very simple changes the USA alone could reduce carbon emmissions to those of the 1970s which were alot less.

i try i would do composting bt have no idea lol

i dont do reuseables i couldnt afford to buy them in blk but im thinking of swapping over now

im goning to buy some soap nuts

ive got all energy effiecnt light bulbs and all my appliances are a rated

i breast fed too

i use local markets and butchers

im trying i really am

all my mates think im a hippy mad woman

Composting is sooo easy - if you have a garden. Obviously a little tricky if you are in a flat!

You're not alone but, you ought to take comfort from the fact that younger people are definitely more environmentally aware ime. It is a bit depressing tho'

come on then enlighten me

im all ears

Well...

You can either purchase a composting bin or make one yourself out of wood/pallets.

And then you add all your vegetable matter - raw. Cooked attracts vermin. Egg shells are compostable but take ages. So we put in all the vegetable and fruit peelings, cores etc plus stuff from the garden. You can add grass clippings too but too many make the whole thing go slimy. And just keep adding adn then every couple of months take a garden fork and turn it all over and leave it and after a while lovely compost will be created. If you really get into it you can have two - one active and one not...

ooooh feel the angst

i do my best to be environmentally friendly but even if we all did a little it would equal nil compared to the waste and garbage of major corporations, and entire nations.
it doesnt seem necessary not to take long flights though, the plane will fly there and back without the 10% of people on it.

The trouble is, the more I do, the more I realise I need to do!

Had a sudden revelation last week about the amount of clingfilm I use.

It's never ending - but definitely worth it.

I get irrational over small things.

People who don't car share. E.g. 20 children going to the same party 5 miles away in 20 different cars.

People who never crush plastic bottles or flatten cartons before binning them (let alone separate them for recycling)

I was also pondering the other day about whether not going on long haul flights, buying local produce, not driving unless necessary, etc will make me become kind of insular, e.g. missing out on other cultures, different cuisines, etc - I'm not sure I want to end up like my gran who never left the UK and only ever ate meat and two veg.

Does that make sense?

Actually though I think that we have gone the other way with veg. Before my conscience started pricking we used to eat a lot of things like babycorn imported from Thailand. But now we are eating things like beetroot (love roast beetroot but it would never have occurred to me to pick it up in Asda), chard, fennel - none of which it would we ever ate before. And I am becoming more educated about what is in season when.

You could go to Europe on the ferry/train.

i have to say i am one of those un-ethical people and i have no idea why others are so bothered about the environment.i use disposables,dont recycle anything,and dont even have a washing line.

i understand people using organic meat,free range eggs etc because of the cruelty involved in intensive farming,but i just dont get all this 'save energy,recycle..etc' stuff.

its not that i dont care,its just that i'm pig ignorant about those things

I'm with you divastrop. I recycle but thats about it, I certainly dont crush things before putting them in recycling bag.

I dont car share, my car probably isnt that environmentally friendly (although not 4x4), I didnt bf, use disposable nappies. Composting - no dont think so.

I just dont get it, I dont have the time and have loads more stuff to worry about than the planet. Sorry if I'm classed as ignorant but there you have it (plus am in argumentative mood today )

The main reason I make the effort is that my actions are going to effect my children and grandchildren. Because our present rate of consumption can't be sustained indefinitely.

So at the very least it's my job to prepare my children to look after themselves by giving them skills that will serve them well in the future: how to do things without maximum reliance on finite energy sources, grow food, have respect for the consequences of their actions on others, etc.

Also to support this nation's food producers as much as possible. Because when you put these kinds of people and skills out of business, your country is a slave to whoever has that food, at whatever price they're willing to sell it to you.

Hmm I don't find it discouraging when meeting people like your friend kerala

It's like when I meet people who tell me that Jane Austen is slow and boring, or that they would rather watch Big Brother than see a Shakespeare play.

I just think "hopeless philistine" and pity them. And smile benignly and carry on reading Persuasion/ sorting the paper out from the potato peelings.

Sorry, but there it is.

Yes I suppose. Although liking Big Brother over Janey doesnt do any physical harm whilst if everyone stormed round in 4x4s and flew to Nigeria every other week it would.

Expat I always seem to agree with everything you say!

Well, at least not on Southern Californians .

The only way that the world can seriously become mor environmentally-friendly is if elected governments lead the way. For example......

1. It's car production that is the biggest culprit - limit us to 1 new car/household every 5 years.

2. Have a UK national standard for recylcling (like Germany). No matter where you go in the UK, recycling plastic/cardboard/tins etc would be the same

3. Offer immense funding/tax breaks for companies that produce their product in an environmentally fashion e.g. Moltex nappies, Ecover, BioD.

4. Ban the trade of pesticide-treated cotton/child labour (Bye-Bye Primark!!)

5. Ban free plastic bags at shops.

6. All supermarket packaging must be compostable (and thus collected with recycling)

7. Ban the sale of tungsten lightbulbs

8. Ban the production of electrical goods that can be left on stnadby.

See? Aint that difficult!

Ecology is taught here in Belgium along with geography and science.We talk to our kids about waste,excess packaging etc....I don t have a car,drier,air com,I hate ironing and do the strict minimum.I m not an eco warrior but am trying to bring up a large family in a respnsible way.Am with you Highlander!!