Green Witch Rule

Eventually, I shall number these and collect them all in one place. For now, enjoy them as they trickle out of my brain.

Green Witch Rule: If it pops out pre-moistened from a plastic container, you can do without it.

I hear you. I do. I appreciate that you feel like germs are everywhere, waiting to kill you and your family. But guess what? It's not that bad. I live a peaceful existence without super-warfare on germs, bugs and bacteria. I do not get sick all the time. No more than you, really. I KNOW they're convenient, I know you like the smell, I know you fear e.coli will come up and attack you in your sleep. I know your kids get dirty when you all are out, and you like to rub them down with these chemical-filled sheets of landfill-fodder. I know you can't be bothered to grab a real cloth when you are crazy-busy and hectic, and the single-use pop-up sheets are just so darned easy to use... I know, I know. Shhh. Simmer down, it's OK.

But you know what? You have fallen prey to advertisers and companies that WANT you to live in fear, because if you live in fear, they can continue being rich. They are happy to offer you the ease of disposability. More than happy.

Next time you find yourself reaching for ANY of these products, can you please stop for a few seconds and ask yourself if you really need them? Isn't there a way you can cut back on them? You can wean yourself off, you don't have to go cold-turkey. Really. I won't judge.

Yeah, OK, maybe a little. But not out loud.

Well, maybe we won't have fish anymore anyway.

Maybe I should stay off Google Search. THIS is truly evil and horrifying. My co-worker purchased some sushi from a grocery store, and in the plastic container with the sushi was a little packet of ginger. No, not a mound of ginger, but a tiny little packet of ginger, sealed in a little plastic pouch. Amusingly, the ginger in the packet wasn't even very good-tasting. I found this bit of plastic completely unnecessary, so I searched for it to share here. What I found was much much worse!

"Using our latest concept individually wrapped sushi is beautiful and distinguishable. Our new system features patented sealing for easy opening and prevention of fish discolouration, A first in the sushi world!" Yes, this is the sales pitch for a sushi-wrapping system. Let's look at it, shall we?

EACH PIECE is so fresh!

You don't have to TOUCH the sushi!!!  I mean, after all, that would be just GROSS!

Look! Miles and miles of plastic---er, I mean sushi! And what doesn't sell is SO easy to throw away!

Where to begin. Look, if you can't TOUCH your sushi, you really have no business eating it. Period. I'm kind of blown away by the thought of the unsold sushi. Is someone unwrapping it by hand so it can be disposed of "properly"? I hardly think so. Nope, now they get to go back to the ocean from whence they came, floating forever in little packs. Well, at least until they get eaten by a fish who dies from the plastic. And I'm stuck in center-align and can't get out, so I'll wrap this up quickly. Heh heh, get it? Wrap up?

Yeah, I know. It's not that funny to me either.

Be a Good Green Friend

The Good Green Witch gets DOWN sometimes.

When I go for awhile without blogging, you can bet I'm trying to figure out my place in this world. Is it too late? Have we gone too far? What difference am I making?

Then someone slaps me and I'm OK again. :)

I got to thinking about how it goes when we look around at our friends and acquaintances. Sure, we get driven crazy by their not-so-green ways. But how to effect a change without ending up with no friends? I'll throw some tips out there, and feel free to comment with how YOU cope!

- Your friend constantly has a single-use bottle. Easy solution: instead of lecturing them for the millionth time, buy them a great re-use bottle that is perfectly suited to their personality and they'll just love! If that doesn't do it, get them a filter for their home faucet. They're very easy to put on. You can make it a fun birthday gift if you really try. Hahahahha.

- Your friend is a smoker. Yes, you can tell them until you are blue in the face how bad it is. They aren't going to stop. What can you do? Give them the gift of a Zippo-type lighter or some other refillable kind. Then they aren't throwing away (and constantly losing!) cheap plastic lighters. Besides, giving them this gift will mean a lot more to them than nagging about quitting. They MIGHT just be more willing to listen to you next time...

-Your friend uses plastic bags. This is an easy one. Of course, if you give them some reusable bags, they'll just forget them in the car or leave them at home, right? Well, get your purse-carrying-type friend the cool little ones that fold up inside themselves and travel nicely in any purse.

A gift is a great way to get people on your side; you don't even have to say anything. Make your actions speak for you!