It IS easy being green

I haven’t always been green, and by some people’s standards I’m still not quite there. But I do try, and I am, thankfully, encouraged by both my kids to try a little harder. (It’s always easier when the kids are already on board and I’m not trying to change my habits as well as theirs.)

My first real attempt at going green came before the catch phrase “going green” had even been developed. I was still a young reporter in Fort Dodge working on what would become one in a series of four-part series’ on recycling. It was the early 1990s and Iowa had recently enacted legislation mandating that county landfills decrease their intake a certain amount each year, meeting an ultimate goal of 50 percent fewer materials being taken to the landfills by the year 2000. Recycling was a major part of that reduction, and much education had to take place.

In order to fully understand what I was writing my family started recycling. Of course, this was back in the days when all that could be recycled was newsprint and things on white paper – advertising slicks were not acceptable – corrugated cardboard, some plastics and clear glass.

As the years went on more and more people started talking about topics that were hitting close to home: global warming; greenhouse effect; carbon footprints.

Then something happened. I started paying closer attention to the electricity I was using, the temperature on the thermostat, the types of materials I was buying. As the guidelines for recyclables expanded, so did the contents of my recycling bin. Now we recycle more than we throw away.

Are we perfect yet? Not by a long shot. I still use the old-fashioned lightbulbs, I still turn the furnace up a little if I get too chilly and every now and then I find myself buying something that comes in a Styrofoam container. But the kids are turning out the lights, shutting down the computer and turning the water off while they’re brushing their teeth.

I’d say we’re off to a really good start.

– Molly