by drew

it’s winter on the east coast and we’ve seen our share of snow (more than usual for some of us).  what better time to make the connection between the clean up involved with an environment we have no control over and maintenance needed to catch up on our lives and convictions at a time where so many of us are struggling financially.

this struggle plays out often in the supermarket isles. the best in us hopes to seek out local, organic, or otherwise sustainable choices, but when alongside more conventional, environmentally unsympathetic and less expensive options the decision is hard.  we all have our bills to pay and in poor economic times we need to pinch pennies wherever possible.  can we do this without throwing our sustainable principles under the bus?

i think it’s most important to keep the big picture in mind.  our choices go beyond the supermarket shelves.  that inexpensive can of whatever probably comes from somewhere far away; it was shipped many miles or possibly overseas and processed in such a way that the majority of its nutritional value has been lost.  It’s also likely to be swimming with chemical preservatives and born of a pesticide-laden environment.  on the other hand the choice to buy local and sustainable supports our economy by supporting small regional businesses.  as we pump more money into our local economy we help to improve our own financial situations.  even though these products may cost more we have a better opportunity to know what’s involved with how a item is made, who made it, and what impact it may have on our environment.

back to the snow analogy; one snow storm is easy enough to dig out of.  when we’re hit with storm after storm the cleanup begins to wear on us, it become difficult and more expensive.  more of our time is consumed by the inconvenience and we begin to lose track of our priorities.  the same philosophy that governs keeping your cool while shoveling applies to keeping our environmental concerns in check when struggling to make ends meet: one shovelful at a time.  let’s not be overwhelmed or too harsh on ourselves if we have to make a more financially responsible choice so long as we remember all that’s involved with that option.  before we know it, it will be spring.

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tags: eco friendly, environment, green, organic, sustainable

this entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 10:04 am and is filed under general. you can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed both comments and pings are currently closed