Your Green Tip: Garbage
Posted By Dee Stofko on May 4, 2010
I urge you all to become involved in the movement to save our planet. I am becoming increasingly aware that in countless ways, we are not being good stewards. As related in The Story of Stuff, we are literally using up our natural resources. We are engaging in numerous practices that are not sustainable. We are demanding more and more stuff and then throwing it away when something better comes along.
I believe the youth of today are acutely aware of how their inheritance is being wasted and their very home is being trashed. My three teenagers believe that their generation is basically (in their own words) screwed. It is going to be more difficult for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle because of the farming practices of giant corporations and the explosion of fast food. Their world is becoming more and more polluted and there is nowhere for them to escape. It is going to be harder for them to make a decent living because jobs are being outsourced and machines are taking over the jobs of many humans.
On a positive note, organizations pledged to action are becoming more prevalent. The internet is being used to spread the word on how we can help stop the downward trend. Organic food and vegetarian alternatives are easier and cheaper to find than ever before. People in the limelight, like Oprah, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Michelle Obama are speaking out. People are pledging to do their part by recycling, composting, using organic fertilizer and green building. Another hopeful sign, when I was jogging today, I saw a woman with a t-shirt that said, “Save the Earth”. Momentum is growing; word is spreading.
I am hoping that all UUCOC members will continue to discover ways to “walk the walk” instead of just “talk the talk”. An addition to the “Story of Stuff” is equally important and I hope all of you will watch it. We have been duped by soft drink companies and bottled water producers into believing that our drinking water is unsafe. They are claiming that bottled water is the answer when, in reality, much of it comes from the very same reservoirs as water from the tap. Plastic water bottles are adding mounds of garbage to the landfills here and elsewhere. According to the video, our plastic garbage is even being shipped to India! See StoryofStuff.com/BottledWater
As a congregation, we can do better. Let’s work together to come up with some answers. One solution Nancy Johnstone and I suggest is using biodegradable paper plates for Parish luncheons that can be purchased at Whole Foods. Let’s also make sure to use the recycling bins available. No one should be throwing out plastic or aluminum in waste baskets.
To get us pumped—let’s attend the Social Justice movie on May 4th: “Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home.” Perhaps it will give us some new ideas on what we can do to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
AND I understand that one lucky attendee will receive a $25. coupon from Spiral Diner just for coming to the screening of GARBAGE!