These last few days I've been overhearing a lot of bellyaching and getting political campaign material in the mail, pointing fingers at the current administration and blaming them for our dependence on foreign oil.
Sure, it is nice to think that it is someone else's problem, and that someone else is going to fix it, but if we are going to end our dependence on foreign oil we are going to have to CHANGE OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL LIFESTYLES.
Here are some easy ways to start:
1. Walk, bike, carpool, or use public transportation whenever possible.
2. Keep your thermostat warmer in the summer (buy a fan) and cooler in the winter (put on a sweater).
3. Make an effort to buy locally produced goods (less shipping, less gas used).
4. Re-use and recycle, especially plastics.
5. Grow some of your own food in your own back yard.
6. Turn off appliances when not in use.
None of that is new and different. You heard it all in elementary school. Let's give it a try! Saves money, saves resources. . . all it takes is time and effort.
2 comments:
I was just thinking about this yesterday as I drove home. I have to drive about 45 minutes to work, and I was frustrated with how much money I'm spending on gas. I realized (I had a lot of time to think, after all), that it is because I elected to live in one area and work in the other. There's nothing tying me down to my job other than that I like it...if it was a big enough issue for me, I could just move to another job. It is so true that the biggest step on reducing dependence on foreign oil starts with our own individual habits and reducing our own dependence on oil before starting in on our country's dependence.
We made our last home purchase not because I liked the ugly old house, but because it was walking distance to the elementary school and biking distance to the middle school, high school, and my husband's work.
After four years of work, the house looks a lot better too.
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