Next week is National Zero Waste Week - and I am currently trying to clear out many years' worth of clutter in preparation for travelling light to the US in October. I don't think I'll be participating. Not that I'm not trying to be good. I recycle what I can, I'm giving things to charity shops, friends and will be freecycling like crazy in due course. But what do you do with empty DVD cases? The DVDs are in a handy case to travel and all the paper and cardboard was duly recycled. But that still left me with a sackful of non-recycleable plastic. Please don't tell me I could have done something creative or there's someone who'll take the stuff because it's too late and it went in all probability to landfill. So apologies to The Rubbish Diet. I'll try. But Zero right now is just a bridge too far.
And while we're at it 10:10 is encouraging everyone to make a vow to cut their carbon emissions by 10% by 2010. And what am I doing? I'm moving to the States. My carbon footprint is about to explode, and after I've been so well-behaved. I have low energy bulbs, a Wattson, I froze the family last year rather than use the heating, we drive as little as possible, I grow my own and eat local, I hardly ever fly, I don't have a tumbledryer and so on.
So I'm not going to take the vow. What would be the point? But I'll do my best to see what I can do about reducing our footprint once we get there. And if I find it's very difficult to avoid using the car all the time, flying lots and generally abusing the planet's resources, then I shall at least feel enormously guilty about it.
3 comments:
At least it's San Francisco you're going to. It could be worse... you could be going to Dallas or Vegas. Try reducing your footprint there!
When do you actually leave?
Good point! And SF seems much preferable to lots of other possible destinations - though I think we may be in the suburbs rather than one of those funky "Tales of the City" style houses. We think we're off at half-term - end of October.
Post a Comment