:: The Blurst of Times ::

:: 4.22.2005 ::

Thirty-five Years and Still Going Strong or: How to Save the Planet in a Single Day

When I was a little kid, I really wanted to be in the Army. Or be a cop. Or a state trooper, like my step-cousin. So very typical, yet so ironic. Doubly ironic because of their achievability. I could quit my job tomorrow, sign up for whatever training was necessary, and by the end of the year be any one of those three characters. But now I don’t want to be any of those. When I was a little kid, I was so damn pragmatic. Now, if anyone asked me what I want to be when I grow up, I’d tell them: the guy who saves the world.

Nice. Obviously that’s not wisdom I’m gaining as I age.

But in all reality, I know better. I’m not going to save the world. How could I - I’ve though about it for five years now and all I’ve gotten is more confused. Not only am I convinced that everything isn’t black and white, I’m now sure that nothing is either and most of it is all about the same shade of grey. So we’re fucked, right? Yeah, probably.

But that doesn’t change the fact that tomorrow is the often celebrated and always revered Earth Day. And with Earth Day comes that little nagging voice in my head - “Yeah, but what have you accomplished.” Oh, I’ve preached and I’ve bitched and I’ve soapboxed until I’m blue in the face, but in all actuality, what have I accomplished. Truth is: probably not much. That’s where reflection gets you - bummed and feeling slightly foolish. So there you go.

And here I go. Tomorrow’s a new day, could be a pretty significant day, but a new day none-the-less. Tomorrow I will face myself in the mirror and be able to tell myself that from now on I have changed for the better. It will be small and sublte; it probably won’t change the outcome of anyone’s life, nor will it save the world or our society. In fact, except for those of you who I am telling right now, no one will probably be any the wiser.

Except me. I’ll know what I’ve done. And that’s going to be good enough.

Everyday at work I buy my lunch from a local eating establishment. Where I go and what I get vary from day to day based on any number of factors. Most days I grab something to go and eat it back at my desk. And a good 75%+ of those days, my food comes in a styrofome or plastic container of some sort. And on all those days, I throw that container away, as there is no good way to recycle it. Not to mention the two-three nights a week I get takeout for dinner. Suffice to say, I’m not much one for making an easy meal for just myself - if only one serving is going to be made, let someone else do it.

So my soul bears the scars of all these styrofome containers being used once and wasted. And that’s what I’m giving up. I have purchased a tupperware container, roughly the size of your typical 8”x8” takeout carton. From now on, I will take this with me when I get takeout food, and I will ask them to put the food in there for me, thus not wasting a container. At night, I will take it home and wash it - the next day it will be available for use.

This is a minute change. It cost less than five dollars and will likely last as long as I choose to keep eating out. It fits in my bag for easy carrying, it washes clean because it isn’t being cooked in, it never gets used up or thrown out. No, this tupperware container won’t save the world, adn probably neither will I. But it’s something. It’s a step. And if we all take a step, well, that’s a movement.

Wanna dance?

“I don’t feel urgency in explaining, my conscience opaquely clear...”
:: Freddy F. at 12:27 AM [+] ::
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