What is Eco-Friendliness?

Like many other terms that sprout from movements, "eco-friendliness" is in danger of becoming distorted. Fortunately, it has not reached the dismal point of "feminism," which actually means the advocacy for women to have equal social, political, and economic equality to men. Now, there are people who just associate "feminism" with something negative, like women who have penis envy, are bitter, and want to kill all the men. Somewhere along the way, radicals and stereotypes ruined everything without even meaning to. Same goes for how people who practice Islam are now all assumed to be terrorists. I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to be defined by people who identify with my religion, but went all crazy (i.e. Westboro Baptist Church).

Anyway, this makes me wonder where the term "green" is going. (Haha, get it? Green is going, like "going green"?) While being "green," or "eco-friendly," is by definition a positive concept, I'm afraid it will be warped by the advertising world (greenwashing). But since the environmental movement does not only fall upon the producers of "green" products, I like to focus on the things that I can do on a daily basis to produce less waste. See what I wrote about eco-friendly products here.

Por ejemplo, some guidelines:

• Lights out. You can say, "Oh, but I'm just getting a snack." Unless you are some kind of mutant that doesn't get distracted by everything on the way to the kitchen, you're probably not going to be back in that room for another 10 minutes. Let's be honest here. I even get distracted when I want to get a snack and I'm Skyping someone. There are just too many things to encounter! The dogs are cute, so I have to stop to pet them, we don't have any fruit at the moment, so I have to find something else, someone is watching TV and it turns out to be my favorite movie, etc, etc. Ten minutes later, I'm like, "Crap! What'stherface is waiting for me on Skype!" That leads me to...
• Unplugging. Electronics can suck up a lot more energy than you realize. Yes, I love the internet, but I realize it's better to put my computer to sleep, put down my phone, and go for a long walk with my dogs, and (unfortunately) clean my room. 

Goodnight sweet laptop, I will read you a story.

• Take quick, cool showers. OK, so you've heard of not wasting water before, but cool showers? WHY?! Just to convince you that I understand your indignance, let me tell you that when I was a wee little girl, I loved to take hour-long, hot showers. This desire was probably due to the fact that I get cold very easily, and I really don't like being cold. When I heard about taking cold showers, I thought, "No way in a million years!" Ah, how fickle the brain is. Other than not spending energy heating your water to a steamy 90 degrees, cold water is better for your health. Don't believe me? The easiest example is how athletes take ice baths. I also have a friend who is an esthetician, and when I told her I washed my face with hot water, she nearly had a heart attack. If it's not good for the skin on your face, why would it be good for the skin on the rest of your body? So I've been trying to make it a habit to turn down the heat, and I do like cool water more than hot water. Who knew? I still can't handle cold, unless it's right after a workout.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle. This is the big one that no one wants to hear about anymore. I won't go into detail, but I am often struck by how brilliant this plan is. I feel like an idiot, thinking how brilliant it is, because it's so simple! But it's so brilliant! Parallel to "I came, I saw, I conquered." (Get it? Parallelism? Any grammar nerds out there?)
• Are you getting enough sleep? If you need one more reason to get dreamy, use the environmental one! Think about it: humans only produce waste when they're awake. Unless you sleep-walk. Then I have no solution for you.
• Adjust your thermostat. Keep your home on the warmer side in the summer, and on the colder side in the winter. Why I support this: I don't want to have to change 50 times in one day. Summer scenario: I sit outside in my shorts and a t-shirt and when I come inside, I feel like I have contracted hypothermia. Winter scenario: I come inside in my coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and five more thick layers, and suddenly I feel like I'm in a sauna. I realize there has to be some kind of adjustment, but I really rather not break out my long pants and sweatshirts in the summer, just because I'm inside. Rawr.

You're probably thinking, "As if I haven't heard all of this before." Well then act on it! Don't just sit there and read me ramble about these things. If you like the earth in all its splendor and richness (if you don't, go away), then take care of it! I don't like the phrase "do your part!" Ugh, it makes me feel like I'm in elementary school and I have to clean up someone else's mess. I much rather motivate myself by knowing why I want to be green.

I'm still learning how to Photoshop. Don't make fun of me.

For me, the biggest part of being eco-friendly is paying attention to what I'm doing. When I realize I am doing something wasteful or unnecessary, I know it's time to stop or change something. Like that mantra we had to repeat in elementary school. "Stop. :) Think. :) Make a good choice. :D" Do teachers realize how much of an impact they have on us? Do they know we will have this sing-songy motto stuck in our heads for the rest of our lives?


TL;DR: I hope you at least enjoyed my green face. It took me forever to make it.