About this Site
Green Light Reflections: Origins
As a bona fide “nature nerd,” as my friends so lovingly put it, I’ve always been fascinated by the natural world, and I’ve also always been a huge supporter of anything we can do to protect it, including integrating “green” habits into our everyday lives. However, I’m fully aware that, on a personal level, I’m not doing absolutely everything I can to live a green lifestyle, and I think there are millions of people out there just like me.
Sure, we’d all hate to see the planet waste away into a lifeless desert, but we’re not going to walk six miles to buy groceries, just so we don’t use a car. If it’s convenient, we’ll always choose the environmentally friendly option over the alternative and, to us, that’s enough to alleviate the guilt associated with the fact that we know we’re not living as green as we could be. We’ll leave the real green life to the hippies, tree huggers, and new age eco-hipsters, because composting and vegetarianism just aren’t for us. Plus, if we “forget” to recycle here and there, what difference does one plastic bottle really make, right?
Let’s be honest with ourselves – a lot of us probably fall into this category. We’re the Average Joe’s who aren’t going out of our way to damage the planet, but we’re not going out of our way to protect it either, simply because we’re not willing to change the habits that we’ve grown so comfortably accustomed to. As far as we’re concerned, it’s just too much effort for seemingly insignificant returns. Unfortunately, even our relatively “normal” lifestyles perpetuate a relationship with our environment that is unsustainable and we, too, our sapping our planet’s resources and endangering our environment.
In an attempt to reverse my hypocrisy as a self-proclaimed environmentalist and a willing contributor to the broader problem, I’ve decided I’m going to proactively take steps towards a greener lifestyle. I won’t have a wind-powered TV or a rainwater shower anytime soon, but I’ll make changes within reason, changes that anyone can and should do, because there’s simply no excuse not to. I’ll be going greener the way an Average Joe could be expected to and I’ll be documenting the process here on Green Light Reflections. In doing so, I hope to bring at least a little attention to the things that the average person, like me, can do to live a little more sustainably, and maybe convince some others to make changes as well.
In addition, I’ll be posting anything relevant to the green movement – thoughts, tips, ramblings, reflections, stories, ideas, developments, etc. – anything that I think is worth sharing. For your entertainment, for your enlightenment, for the times when you’ve just got nothing else to do, these are Green Light Reflections…
