We’ve been living in a condo for two years now. Although I’ve lived in many apartments in the past, it’s now that I am a settled homeowner that I am feeling the difference between me and single-family home dwellers, aka just about the rest of America.
Then there’s the whole “green” movement. I really hate the word “green” applied to environmentalism, conservation, etc., anymore, but I can’t think of a better one that people will get. So I have to get used to “green.” I’m no expert by any stretch, and any of my comments here will likely be read by anti-greens as being holier than thou, while true greens will chastise me for my wastefulness.
The truth is I would love to be more environmentally responsible, and I’m doing my best to reduce my impact on the earth. Then again, there are some constraints to modern living that make it difficult at times. I look at is as this: there’s a whole spectrum of living green. From someone who lives in a hut in the wilderness and hunts and grows their own food and is completely self-sufficient to someone who flies the world at the drop of a hat, tossing their empty water bottles out the window, never deigning to walk or take public transportation (given the choice, they’d hire their own private jet). You get the point. Almost all of us fall somewhere in between.
Where that in-between falls is where the argument lies. I bring my own bags to the grocery store and re-fill reusable water bottles. I also drive to work and run the water too much.
I’m doing my best and getting better. As for the apartment side of things. If I can reduce my consumption, that means less stuff to carry up four floors and less trash to carry down. And then there’s the apartment side not related to the environment… not having a yard, shared laundry facilities, neighbors that go bump in the night. It’s a whole different way to live, and I’ve found it’s hard sometimes to find the answers I need. Like how do you get rid of ants when management isn’t taking care of the problem at the source. How do you compost if you only have a balcony? Why is this such a big year for fungus gnats? Okay, that last problem is probably one people who living houses have too.
This blog is also about cactus and succulent growing, why bonsai is so difficult for me, birds, nutrition, diet, and anything else I feel like writing about.
