I look out my kitchen window at our cherry tree all decked out in snow. It will be a beautiful white Christmas this year, something that doesn’t happen often in Vancouver.
Yet now more than ever I’m wanting this holiday season to be a green one. While I truly love this time of year, the warm feeling that comes from the smell of pine trees and hot apple cider clashes bitterly with the sense of consumerism and waste that we indulge in. So the email greeting I received last year with a link to the Story of Stuff really stuck with me. (It is very worth watching if you haven’t yet seen it.)
Now with the added awareness of the danger of “stuff”, I struggle with the demands from my children and the media messages telling us to save the economy and shop! Perhaps we really just need a new economy, but how to get there? (Have you seen Affluenza?)
I don’t have the answers but still I’m proud of the changes I’ve made over the past year. In my family we buy fewer, more consumable presents. I’m striving to buy more organic and to cook more natural and wholesome foods. After watching The Disappearing Male on CBC’s doc zone recently I’m paying even more attention to the chemicals I buy. I’ve taken to using a mix of cycling and transit regularly especially on the days that I just go to and from the university. I’ve got the Teaching and Learning for Global Perspectives diploma program off the ground and I’ve accepted a volunteer role as a Sustainability Ambassador at Simon Fraser University. Clearly not enough as yet, but I’m making progress.
I tell you all this not to say “wow, look at me!” but rather to put the question out there to all of us, so what are we each doing to sustain life on our planet? What more will we, can we do this year?
I still have a long way to go, but I decided my next step would be to write this blog and challenge each of my readers and friends to do what you can to make this holiday season and the upcoming year be a step towards a more sustainable future for us all.
May you and your family truly enjoy the season!
WoW
Great initiatives and achievements! I wish you all the best! You are a model to follow. I am always trying to be more green too…
Let’s keep in touch through blogging, twittering and all the new media that we will be presented in the year to come.
Merry Christmas. May it be a very Happy one! 😉
Betty, you have been an inspiration as you have single-handedly pushed me to places I would not have ever gone!
I am the notorious “Green Queen” in our house and am always looking to do more usually leaving my family shaking their heads when a new “vegetarian” meal shows up as part of our commitment to one meatless meal a week! 🙂 Glad to see I’m not alone! :p
I look forward to continuing to following your blogs, tweets and joining you on “meetsee” through the new year.
Merry Christmas to you and your family and the very best in ’09.
Cindy
Thanks Betty. Perspective is good. Especially when it’s the right perspective. Warmest wishes to you and your family!
I showed this video, “The Story of Stuff” to my grade 9 IT class this year. Some got the message while others didn’t. I hope those who didn’t will one day, maybe after they have kids.
It’s funny how we’re being encouraged to spend to save the economy. I’m not an economist but isn’t this how we got here. We spent more than we could afford so we’re in major debt.
Thank you for the important message and links.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Wow. Totally impressed but…I am still the biology/anthropology guy. We will never stop trying for the
“wow, look at me!”
momement, gimmick. This is who we are. There is a reason. But by shifting what makes people look at us, what we value, what gets attention, and what gets rewards, maybe we can start to make an impact.
But what about the changes we could make. What changes are the right ones? Would you be willing to make those changes? Would you become a vegan if you knew it would make the difference? Would you wear skinny high heels in a year where fat high heels were all the rage?
I say know what is truly timeless, and cultivate that. Then flaunt it if you must. But know the difference between that which is in this year, and that which has always been “in fashion.”
Creative minds, the vigorous pursuit of best practice in a changing world. Keen wit. Loyalty (never out of style regardless of what tv says); and the ability to stay the course. The ability to deliver on time, and deliver a bit more than what your clients paid for.
These are things that will never go out of style. This is what should make up the new “golden arrow”.
But is it “sexy” enough. Will it sell? I hope so.
Hi Betty,
Every Christmas my dislike of the rampant consumerism increases. Watching the video ‘The Story of Stuff’ has helped me to reaffirm my commitment to reducing my consumerism, shopping smarter, and using resources more wisely. It’s time I started sharing these ideas with my kids too. That’s the hard part; it is easier to deprive ourselves of ‘stuff’ than our own children. Thanks for bringing attention to this video and all the best for the holidays.
I’ve been remiss in responding to your comments here. Thanks everyone for your patience. I’ve appreciated each of you who took the time to comment, as well as all my friends and family who aren’t typically bloggers and so felt more comfortable emailing responses to me directly. But to Shawna, my brave and thoughtful niece who jumped right in, a special thanks. I was slow to let your comment post wondering how it might come across. You see I spend so much time working on teaching about fostering open, fair and full minded perspective that I did a double take when I was first asked to approve your comment to be public. I know you so well that I can hear the tongue in cheek in your response but wasn’t sure what it would look like in this context. I have to say that hearing of your reaction to a certain uncle of yours over what I agree were very inappropriate, unhelpful emails made me admire your strength and character. Keep speaking up! We need strong women like you if we are going to change the world.
I’d like to reiterate that I by no means think that I’m doing nearly enough. Last night my family and I had a small dinner party to celebrate my son’s 21st birthday. At one point the conversation turned to the state of the world and as we talked about our own small part in making changes I realized how very, very far I still have to go. Just last week I bought a giant bottle of Tide laundry detergent instead of the ecofriendly brand simply because the spout was going to make it easier to pour. I don’t buy organic when the price difference is still too much of a gap. These are simple changes that I still need to get my head around. And, I confess… I asked for and received a brand new ipod touch as a Christmas gift. More stuff! I love it but …. We have so much and the inequity is so very, very great.
Cindy, I like the idea of at least one meatless meal per week. Good idea to start with small goals for myself and that seems like an easy one to adopt.
James, it is so good to have your voice added here. I love your comment. I guess I fear so much the idea that I might come across as trying to say “wow, look at me” but perhaps you’re right in that if we want to influence and change the world we need to be the one (or at least one of the ones) who people do turn to. I hadn’t thought of it that way at all. I guess our job, particularly as teachers, is to get used to pursuing that attention and finding ways to simply make it “sexy enough” to sell. Thanks for adding perspective.
I hope you have all had a wonderful, restful holiday. I look forward to our continued interactions in 2009.