A couple of days has become about 2 weeks. I'm pretty bad in estimating my own time. Oh well, no one's hurt so that's cool.
I'm not changing anything at the moment. While I'm trying to keep away the thought that no one actually cares, the item on today's blog to-do list is that I have something to say (or write), apparently. Well, rather than babbling on and on about what I have in mind about selecting the colour of the curtains, I think this is more refreshing.
People often ask me, "Am I doing this green enough?". Given the nature of my 'professional' life, I get that pretty much now and then. You can also probably guess that they're just joking around anyway. I don't think they're expecting a blue (or green) ribbon by just not using plastic bags to carry out a 1.5l bottle of Coke out from Giant. A pat of on the back perhaps?
To be honest, what do you feel when they refused you plastic bags when you're checking out a gazillion items from the store? Although I don't think there's any store refusing to give their customers plastic bags since the alternative is that they charge you for it.
But the point I'm getting at is, do you feel that you have done something good? Or do you feel something as if you have done a little bit of sacrifice for something that you can't actually feel?
I mean, congratulations to many of you that feel proud or fulfilling when you throw old newspaper into the correct recycling bin. It's not that I'm saying it's not good enough although I bet some of you geniuses can sense some condescending tone over there. Truthfully, I sincerely think it's good to see many civillians starting to have some conscience and do something about this 'green' stuffs - true story.
Honestly, I do occasionally think about the environment, i.e. refuse plastic bags, throw correct stuffs into the correct recycling bins, etc. But I feel good about them, and for me, if you still can't catch my previous drifts and turns, feeling good is not the right way to feel.
What's the right feeling then?
Nothing.
Yes, we should feel nothing when we do all these 'green' stuffs. Because it should not matter. 'Green' is just a word, or a term, invented by humans to represent sustainability. The major objective is to sustain, and to sustain is what we've been wanting to do all this while. It's not something new. That's what humanity has been developing us for centuries - to sustain ourselves as whatever we wish to be as long as we can.
You know who's green? The Smurfs. Yes, I know they're, in fact, blue but truly, they are 'green'. Self-sustainable community. They have been living just among themselves, creating and providing food in the community for decades without any need of having any sort of fish to be shipped from thousands of kilometres away. They integrate trees and earth forms into their architectural designs. They produce minimal CO2 from wood burning but they compensate with planting back trees. They are net zero carbon community and you have never heard them bitchin' about being green.
Being 'green' is not something hip or new. It's what we've done for centuries as human beings - to be sustainable. The Egpytians built the pyramids to last for thousand of years. Our grandparents scolded us if we waste food. The economy is built to last for not 100 years but, if possible, until that super giant meteor strikes again.
Being sustainable is not something new. We have savings because we want to have some money to splurge when you're holidaying in Venice when you're 50. Now, we have to save some plastic bags, metal waste, fuel, etc because if you don't, Venice probably will not be there anymore.
Maybe I'm exagerrating, but at least it's not as exciting.
I'm not changing anything at the moment. While I'm trying to keep away the thought that no one actually cares, the item on today's blog to-do list is that I have something to say (or write), apparently. Well, rather than babbling on and on about what I have in mind about selecting the colour of the curtains, I think this is more refreshing.
People often ask me, "Am I doing this green enough?". Given the nature of my 'professional' life, I get that pretty much now and then. You can also probably guess that they're just joking around anyway. I don't think they're expecting a blue (or green) ribbon by just not using plastic bags to carry out a 1.5l bottle of Coke out from Giant. A pat of on the back perhaps?
To be honest, what do you feel when they refused you plastic bags when you're checking out a gazillion items from the store? Although I don't think there's any store refusing to give their customers plastic bags since the alternative is that they charge you for it.
But the point I'm getting at is, do you feel that you have done something good? Or do you feel something as if you have done a little bit of sacrifice for something that you can't actually feel?
I mean, congratulations to many of you that feel proud or fulfilling when you throw old newspaper into the correct recycling bin. It's not that I'm saying it's not good enough although I bet some of you geniuses can sense some condescending tone over there. Truthfully, I sincerely think it's good to see many civillians starting to have some conscience and do something about this 'green' stuffs - true story.
Honestly, I do occasionally think about the environment, i.e. refuse plastic bags, throw correct stuffs into the correct recycling bins, etc. But I feel good about them, and for me, if you still can't catch my previous drifts and turns, feeling good is not the right way to feel.
What's the right feeling then?
Nothing.
Yes, we should feel nothing when we do all these 'green' stuffs. Because it should not matter. 'Green' is just a word, or a term, invented by humans to represent sustainability. The major objective is to sustain, and to sustain is what we've been wanting to do all this while. It's not something new. That's what humanity has been developing us for centuries - to sustain ourselves as whatever we wish to be as long as we can.
You know who's green? The Smurfs. Yes, I know they're, in fact, blue but truly, they are 'green'. Self-sustainable community. They have been living just among themselves, creating and providing food in the community for decades without any need of having any sort of fish to be shipped from thousands of kilometres away. They integrate trees and earth forms into their architectural designs. They produce minimal CO2 from wood burning but they compensate with planting back trees. They are net zero carbon community and you have never heard them bitchin' about being green.
Being 'green' is not something hip or new. It's what we've done for centuries as human beings - to be sustainable. The Egpytians built the pyramids to last for thousand of years. Our grandparents scolded us if we waste food. The economy is built to last for not 100 years but, if possible, until that super giant meteor strikes again.
Being sustainable is not something new. We have savings because we want to have some money to splurge when you're holidaying in Venice when you're 50. Now, we have to save some plastic bags, metal waste, fuel, etc because if you don't, Venice probably will not be there anymore.
Maybe I'm exagerrating, but at least it's not as exciting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment