Reflections of Earth Day

I didn't do anything special for Earth day. I bought light bulbs, but they were out of the CFL for 3-way lamps. So I had to make do with some regular light bulbs.

You know, Mom kind of raised us as somewhat aware of "being green."

She wasn't a hippie or anything, but she instilled habits in us that make us feel like we're not trying when it comes to conserving resources.

For instance, donating clothes. We ALWAYS donate clothes. I go through my closets every few months, and when I get a bag of clothes, I drop it off at Mom's house (Amvets stop by her house pretty regularly). Or saving those plastic bags to use for anything else. The way Mom always put it - if you can get one more use out of something, then that's good.

And I try to do that. I have lots of scratch paper, and I went out and bought blank white labels to stick on the tabs of the manilla folders I work with, so I can use them again.

I also quit smoking a while back. I wonder how much pollution a pack-a-day smoker causes?

Meh, I really feel like I need to do more as far as saving the planet. Some of the stuff I could easily do is thrown out the window on account that I rent. For instance, I think the wiring is faulty. Some of the fixtures in my apartment EAT CFLs. Which is great considering how expensive they are, and then you really should take them to a recycling facility because there's mercury in them. Then the entire boiler system could use an overhaul. I'm sweating my balls off over here, whereas my neighbors on the other side of the building are huddled together in their 50-degree apartment. The only solution - TURN UP THE HEAT! It's inefficient and really wasteful.

Oh, and the windows. I don't care if they're new, the draft is pretty fucking bad. Whoever installed them did a poor job. There shouldn't be a breeze when the windows are shut.

But there's only so much you can make the landlord care, and then try and fix what you can control.