Baby Environmentalism

Did your high school have Channel One News? Our's did and it was big deal, we could watch TV in class, it was so cool.  I remember watching one newscast on the plastic rings that come on six packs of soda and how ducks and other wildlife were getting caught in the plastic rings.  The reporter, it was John Norris I think before he became a MTV Veejay, told us to "always cut the rings before tossing them.

Here I am, umpteen years later and I'm still cutting the rings on my six packs.  One day hubby saw me doing that and asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was protecting the ducks and that I cared about the environment.  He laughed. 

Why did he laugh?  I never watched him do anything that was halfway conscience when it came to the environment. I was really proud of my meticulous ring cutting.  Think of all those ducks whose lives I was saving.

That's when I became really "aware" of the crap I was mindlessly just tossing away.  I was embarrassed.

I'm not saying that I'm hugging any trees (come on, I'm from Texas, we have to adhere to some stereotypes) but I am making an effort. Here are some easy things I've started doing:

1. Separating my newspapers/catalogues/flyers
2. Taking a canvas bag to the grocery store
3. Not individually bagging my fruit and veggies if possible
4. Returning plastic grocery store bags when I forget the canvas one

I also printed out this handy sheet from the City of Phoenix web site, Recycle List.  Do you do anything simple you'd like to share?