Ideal for EatingEating ethically while eating great!

My husband just got back into town yesterday. He missed most of the 40 Days of Earth Day project. He missed loading all the food packaging into recycling bags. He missed counting the most prevalent items.

I was making a grocery list today, and he asked if (Senseo) coffee pods were on the list. I answered that I did indeed need to put them on the list because I do want to keep one bag around. However, I pointed out that I was switching myself over to drip coffee in hopes of reducing the food packaging associated with my coffee intake. After a few minutes, he commented that it feels as if the sole focus of the house is on saving the Earth. He said, "There are things in life that are more important than saving the Earth."

Now, I don't disagree that some things are indeed more important than reducing, reusing, recycling, preventing oil spills, stopping oil eruptions, promoting clean energy, protecting animals, etc. I'm not going to sit here and speculate about WHAT is more important than those things. But I'll concede that something is more important.

But, good god, no wonder the environment is in the fubar state it's in. My husband's usual response to my efforts at being more environmentally friendly is "it's just too much to remember." OK. Well, we won't have any choice about bringing a reusable water bottle with us when us there is no more clean water to be had.

My husband is an intelligent, thoughtful, caring guy. He appreciates natural beauty and doesn't want the Earth to be trashed. "Wall-e" is one of his favorite Pixar movies. He gets angry if he sees someone deliberately littering. He takes his popcorn and drink containers out of the theatre and puts them in the trash.

But I guess that's all he's willing to do. He doesn't litter because that has an obvious and immediate adverse effect on the environment (it looks bad). He doesn't leave his concession stand items on the floor because someone else would have to clean up after him (it's rude). He does recycle (it's easy: the recycling bin is right next to the trash bin). But he does not go out of his way to do anything Earth-friendly. He throws away in the trash the paper from his desk and the recyclables from the bathroom (it's too much of an effort to carry them down to the recycling bin). He buys lots of single-use bottled drinks (he enjoys them and shouldn't have to give them up). He leaves the water on while he brushes his teeth (though he says he appreciates my turning the water off for him since he always forgets to do it).

Granted, he did give up eating land animals a few months ago. He has no obvious and immediate need or reminder to do so. He is, thankfully, following his conscience with that one.

Yes, I still drive a car (though we are a one-car family). I use electricity. I buy processed foods. I still use shampoo and conditioner (I keep trying baking soda and apple cider vinegar, but I guess I'm too vain to let my hair go greasy and frizzy). I wear make-up. I buy new clothes. 

I'm not perfect!

I just wish I weren't the "best" one at being Earth-friendly in my home. I'm not that good. I need someone doing it with me, challenging me to do better.

Since my husband was out of town, I have not yet had the chance to tell him about the commitments I made here, such as using drip coffee and baking all my own baked sweet things for now. He's at the grocery store right now, and I am expecting that he'll return with my favorite Back to Nature cookies -- even though I just baked some amazing peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies yesterday!!! I don't need boxed cookies!

But he thinks he can't show me he loves me unless he's buying me treats of food.

Good heavens, *I* can think of plenty of things that would remind me he loves me, things that be of more value to me than a box of cookies. But he gets offended when I point out something like that. I'm not sure what I'll say if he brings me cookies this afternoon.