Time to Change Habits?

Actually, that's not a question, that's a no-brainer.

But let's talk about WHY.

Inspired by this article on the Mother Nature Network, a site I've been crawling over the past few weeks - great articles... http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/9-habits-that-may-do-more-harm-than-good ... I don't actually have a problem with any of these things, myself, personally. Not one of these things is a habit of mine. (Hmmmm.... )  But I sure as hell know a lot of people that do have them. Let's do them one at a time, shall we? My take on them is just a little different... check out what they say, come on back.

1. Compulsively using hand sanitizer.
Seems to me I have spoken on that one already. Oh yeah - triclosan is bad. People who do this make me despondent. You've got the whole germ thing on top of the stupid plastic thing. Double whammy. Don't go away mad. Just go away. I don't do this and I am rarely ever sick. But, thanks to you and your ways, we ALL have to face bigger badder worser deadlier bacteria in the future. MRSA? Thanks for that.

2. Experimenting with skincare products.
I shudder to think of the people (women) who buy something and then don't like it and then just throw it away and try something else. Or just have a cupboard/cabinet full of plastic bottles. And chemicals. Just... don't. Find something good and natural and use it. 

3. Wearing flip-flops.
The only problem I have with this one is people buying cheap flip-flops that break after a month and then get tossed and a new cheap pair comes along. Buy a fricking good pair that costs a little more and has support, for crying out loud. My pair has lasted for I think 7 years now. Flip-flops don't have to be at the height of style. You don't need a new gaddam pair every season. Quit treating them like they are disposable. Treat them like a real pair of shoes. 

4. Brushing your teeth after every meal.

I know, you'd think I'd be all about this one with my teeth. Nope - I'm a twice-a-dayer. I'm gonna go out on a limb to say I bet these compulsive brushers are the kind that replace their plastic toothbrush ever month or so. Look, if you feel the need to change out your brush more frequently than really needed, please at least get a good eco-friendly brand? Please?

5. Doing only cardio when you work out.

First World Problem. I got nuthin'.

6. Skipping meals to "save up" for later.

People are dumb. I got nuthin'.

7. Drinking only bottled water.

Do I even need to go there. No, that wasn't a question. Of course, their reason kind of boggles my mind. Flouride? For real? That's what you got? How about the CRAP that's in bottled water, how about the PLASTIC... oh never mind. Ad nauseum. That this is even still an issue - and it is, huge one - blows too many circuits in my brain. 

8. Cleaning with disinfecting products.

Another ad nauseum. I saw a commercial for Dow Scrubbing Bubbles by SC Johnson, A Family Company, with the commercial protagonist gleefully coating all surfaces with that shit. I have no chemical cleaners in our home. My home doesn't stink and we are not constantly sick. It's a little dustier (and cat-hairier right before the vacuum) than some homes, but we are not germier. Oh - dish detergent. I have that. For now. Can't lie. 

9. Loading up on nutritional supplements.

Eat better. Period. You're just peeing this stuff out. Along with your Prozac and your Lexapro and your other medications that wouldn't be half as necessary if you just ate right. And let's not forget to mention the bajillions of plastic bottles, once again, you are putting out there with your habit. Because that's actually a big thing to consider. That shit ain't gettin' recycled, much as you want to tell yourself it is.

Habits. Break them. Don't look at me, I don't have kids. I actually should be gleefully trashing the planet without a care. Whoa, but look, I'M NOT.

Crock Pots are Messy

Not sure if slow cookers are making a resurgence or not... I see a lot of recipes around for them. I don't really use mine much because I just end up using my enameled cast iron on a very low flame, which seems to do the trick. I'm generally home, so I don't need the whole cooking-while-away thing. But I love slow cookers, I do. They are awesome. I never really thought about the mess, because, well, that's part of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. The crock pot can be a little unwieldy, but whatever. You soak it, you scrub it, life goes on.

Nope.

Save yourself from messy cleanup by using these disposable liners, which fit models up to 6.5 quarts. Liners can go from refrigerator to slow cooker. Each liner measures 11" X 20". Package of 8 liners.

Let us put aside, for a moment, the horrific image of sea turtles and other sea creatures mistaking these bags floating in their environment as jellyfish, their natural food, and then them choking on it and dying a slow horrible death. Let's just put that aside. Let's ignore that, so that you can have a nice easy clean-up. How about instead we just think of all the plastic-y goodness and chemical soup you are adding to your food that you are feeding to your precious children. Because how are you NOT leaching chemicals into your food which is in direct contact with slowly heated plastic? Do you even know that NO ONE but the plastic manufacturers even knows what is actually IN the plastic? Remember BPA? Remember before BPA? I do. Do you honestly think that if there is no BPA in your plastic, that there is nothing else harmful in there? You are stirring that ALL INTO your food and right into your kids it goes. And we wonder why kids have cancer and other health issues.

I found this image particularly *amusing* when I noticed the page from whence it came. I was amused for quite a few reasons. Let's share, shall we? The page was a blog that was all about a full year of slow-cooking recipes, no repeats. I'm sure she's a lovely woman. She got media appearances and wrote a cookbook out of the whole experience, bless her lil' heart! Here's what tickles me to no end: If she used liners, that is 365 more bags in the trash (not recyclable) and 365 times all the people that took her word for using them also in the oceans. Isn't that hysterical? Also, the cute pictures of what I'm guessing are her kids on the Crock Pot. So she can see their shiny happy faces every time she stirs, right before she spoon-feeds petrochemicals into their sweet gullets. Amusing? Ironic? Meh. Was she using Styrofoam plates and bowls and plastic forks and spoons, too?

We're going to "lazy" and "convenience" ourselves right out of existence. I'd say mark my words, but we won't be here anymore so...

Carry on.

Define Your Terms

Material Content (outer shell): 70% acrylic, 30% polyester
Material Content (lining):  100% polyester
Country of Origin: China

Look at this person... caring about the animals, not wanting them to suffer... We have to wear fur because it's fun, but fur is bad, so we'll make faux-fur and be just as cute and trendy, but AWARE. This cute vest says, "Look at me. I want the look, but I'm of a higher consciousness, so I would never wear the skin of a poor tortured animal. I'm above that. I'm enlightened."

Good.

Now let's re-visit the other information up there. All material in this enlightened piece of clothing is made from chemicals. Water-intensive processes. Stuff and crap that will never biodegrade, because you have to be bio to biodegrade. Nothing there is bio. So, while no animals were killed directly in the making of this item, let's think about the eco-suffering that may commence as the result of the pollution caused by making this product. Let's think about the cancer from introducing unnecessary chemicals into the world, because you are too enlightened to wear the hide of an animal. And how about where it is made? China. There are awesome factories in China, and then there are others that might not be quite so ideal. From which is this? The clean, fun to work in, great factory? Or the horrible condition, slave wages, foul dirty disgusting polluting one? Don't know? Shouldn't you? I mean, if you care so much about the animals that real fur would come from, shouldn't you care about the people that are making this product? No? Not your problem? I see. Caring about animals doesn't extend to humans. Humans have free will, after all.

Here's my argument: purchasing leather or even fur at a thrift store is the most eco-friendly thing you could buy. Anti-fur people would never do that, even though that product has already been made and used and is not a new resource-consuming  thing that has to be manufactured. No new processes or chemicals are getting introduced into the world so that you can be warm. "But it's fur!!!" Yes it is. And it is already there. Your not buying it in favor of some chemical product vs. natural will not change that. You aren't killing animals. You may be saving some, actually. You are actually promoting awareness. Afraid someone just like you will come up and throw red paint blood on you before you have a chance to explain yourself? Hmm... maybe we should think about that.

Do I wear fur? No. Do I want to wear fur? No. Do I condone wearing fur? No - although go ahead and tell me that farm-raised chinchillas have a bad life. I do wear leather. It's better than pleather and that crap, though I realize it is also a very water- and chemical-intensive process. I limit it. Most clothes I buy these days are in second-hand stores and all cotton. It's not organic cotton, yet, because that's not really going to be found second-hand, yet, but it's a fuck of a lot better than buying something new. 

Just sayin'... be AWARE. THINK about your actions. THINK about the consequences. REALIZE what is behind and underneath. Define your terms. You say you are being eco-friendly and Earth-conscious and enlightened. Define that, tell me how. Prove it. Show is you put thought into it. We'll wait.