Ah Earth Day, the day we use to engage non-greenies into the more environmentally-friendly world. What did I do for Earth Day?
I took the bus/BART down to Millbrae to meet my dad for lunch, an hour long trip that would be 1/2 hour by car. Of course, my dad drove from San Mateo to Millbrae to pick me up, then drove us down to San Mateo to eat (because apparently you can't eat in Millbrae?) then decided he would drive me home so I would not have to deal with the public transit. Trust me, there is no point in arguing. Meaning he then had to drive back home to San Mateo.
What I'm wondering is why he didn't just come to the City in the first place if he was going to drive here anyway, saving me at least an hour of my day. I mean, I really should do some work.
And also, why is it so difficult to change your family's values? I think I would have better success convincing any single person I met on the street to make an environmental change than I would with my parents. In fact I know this, because I have tried with my parents. And often failed. Yes, they recycle, and we have done so for as long as I can remember, probably because Michigan has had a bottle deposit for years. They also have fake grass in the backyard, mostly because my dad got tired of mowing the lawn. And my mom often brings her reusable bags that Karen and I got her to the grocery store. But that is about where the greenness stops.
I don't think I can even convince them to buy a front-loading washer for their brand new "villa", because they won't be paying the water or energy bills, so they have no monetary incentive. And I certainly can't convince them to drive less. They think public transit is a burden for me, when I often do it because I prefer it to driving.
Anyway, today I did take a cowboy shower. That is my pathetic little earth day celebration. And tonight we are going to a preview of Ken Burns' upcoming documentary, "National Parks: America's Best Idea." (Obviously we'll get there on the bus.)
And that is my earth day. How is yours?
5 comments:
I completely get what you are saying. My parents have always been recylers. Glass, tin and anything that could be returned for the deposit. But when it comes to what, I think, our generation (oy I really dislike terming it that way) of like minded thinkers consider routine and necessary, it is a huge deal and "too much work". I have family who have not recycled, even though the service is provided curbside, because it would entail phoning the garbage company notifying them that they would like to start recycling. #1 - its one 5 minute phone call (oy!) and #2 why does the garbage company need to even be notified? It should be automatic. But, its a small town. Ok, I could go on (and on). Happy Earth Day.
Ah, good times. Mom did discuss the front-loading washer with me but she is concerned because all the reviews for them are bad she says. She also did tell me that she is still meaning to put in the CFLs at home. We shall see....
Front loaders ARE notoriously bad, I will say. My parents had to have their first one rebuilt several times and finally had to buy a totally new, which, consequently, is a piece of shit, as well.
Hmm, we liked our frontloader in NM. Maybe we just got lucky?
And clearly laundromats have been using frontloaders for years. You would think the problems would be figured out by now.
People just tend to operate on inertia. My parents have instilled a lot of values in us that clearly lead to being environmentally friendly. But it was a struggle even getting them to recycle, or buy organic food, or what have you (in fact, they only go organic for the benefit of my niece, who I convinced to demand it). And I'm sure once she leaves the house they'll fall back into it. Recycling for them involves a small side-trip on their frequent excursions to Tucson, and even that was a struggle.
I think it's just not really part of their world, and they think that because we make sacrifices for the benefit of the earth, it's some big tough thing to do. How to convince them?
And full disclosure: we ran late and did not arrive to the documentary via bus (the bus didn't show up) so we ended up taking a taxi for the last half of the trip. But we did bus back, which it seemed that none of the other people attending the documentary on the National Parks did...
Post a Comment