My Blog Week: Dec 30 to Jan 5

Readers, it’s that time of year when we make resolutions. Last year, since I’m savvy enough to this game, I made only one, and a simple one: that I would use less detergent when I did laundry, and do less laundry overall. Easy.

A year ago, weird as it seems, our minds were still naive, the planetary crisis not yet careering towards its acute stage. (At least officials hadn’t admitted the time had come for us to be told so.) We hadn’t taken to heart the battle-like nature imposed on the problem by cheaters-in-office whose dogma punishes us all.

Even so—and I like to point it out—we everyday eco-warriors can still do a lot by doing less, or nothing at all. We still, Americans especially, clean too many things too often. Don’t put every once-worn garment in the hamper; every coffee cup or plate in the dishwasher (if you were the only one using it, and you were only eating Oreos, for example.) You’ll do your own health a favor by not inhaling cleaning product fumes, not running noisy equipment, not carrying laundry baskets up and down stairs, so often. Your yard doesn’t need chemical enhancements, it doesn’t need watering, nor nearly so much raking of leaves, and mowing of grass. If you love birds and butterflies, more than a tube of seed on a post, they’ll be benefited by natural shelter, small evergreens, shrubs and perennials that flower and fruit.

Think about all the habits that generate pointless arguments, that are treated as “must-dos”—always tun off the light when you leave a room; don’t stand with the refrigerator door open; keep the thermostat turned low in winter, high in summer; don’t waste gasoline, do drive miles to get a few cents off the price-per-gallon—our use of fossil fuels has bred into our culture. Imagine if all our power came from solar, wind, geothermal… Fewer reasons for people to yell at each other. We would have more electricity than we need. It would cost, after installation, a fraction of our accustomed energy bills.

So, good luck, in 2019! Miss no opportunity to fight the good fight. Your participation is needed!