It's Time to Move On

I'm so sad about the Gulf Coast right now.

Throughout much of my childhood my family made yearly trips to beaches along the Alabama and Florida coasts, and it tears at my heart to hear that globs of oil are now washing up on those same beaches. At the time, I took those seaside excursions for granted, but now I am realizing how much they meant to me. I can't imagine the heartache experienced by my friends who grew up along those shores.

I've mostly been avoiding news coverage about the oil spill, preferring to remain in a state of denial about the scope of this thing. All those dying animals, the lost jobs, the marred water....not to mention the human lives lost in the initial explosion....it's just too much to take in.

Today I did succumb to looking at the pictures of oil-covered pelicans (warning: not for the tender-hearted). I was grousing to Paul about BP and their evil-ness, and he remarked that he is surprised at all the blame levelled strictly at BP. Why are we boycotting BP stations when this spill could have happened to any of the companies? I mean, yes, BP is handling this terribly as far as I can tell, but need we look at them alone?

Paul's point was that a disaster of this magnitude might cause us to reflect again on our oil dependence and seek ways to free ourselves from it. Instead of boycotting BP stations (and the hard-working, independent owners who run them), why are we not encouraging each other to drive less? Yes, we can send a message to BP, but what about sending a message to the oil industry -- hey, to the whole country -- that it is time to move ahead. It's time to move to a different type of energy.

Now I don't mean to demonize the oil industry here. I have family members who have worked hard for oil companies for decades, and I appreciate the contributions that oil has made to our society and economy. Like it or not, big oil has made the U.S. a prosperous nation. But it's time to move on.

For our part, Paul and I have started discussing whether we want to convert our diesel cars into "greasel" (able to run on peanut/soybean/canola oil). We're also talking about buying an alternatively-powered car like a Nissan Leaf for our next vehicle (whenever we can save up for one -- um, 10 years?). No, it's not a perfect solution - for one thing, to be oil-independent we would need to make sure the electricty powering the car was generated by wind power or some other clean happiness. But this is a step we can take to start moving in a better direction for the future.

One of my strongest feelings about this disaster is powerlessness. Honestly, that's what most of my anger boils down to. Sure, it seems like BP has been twiddling their thumbs and pointing fingers and in general being useless. I think they should be working day and night to find a solution to this while also cleaning the water and rescuing the critters trapped in this mess. (I'm pretty sure the guys who saved Apollo 13 would have solved this by now.) But for all I know, BP could be doing all of those things and just have an ineffective PR department to tell us about them. I don't know.

So for my part, I can pray for the beautiful Gulf Coast, support the groups taking action to help, and look for ways to reduce my own dependence on oil. I don't want this to happen again. I sure hope that one day soon I can head to Gulf Shores and take Paul and Ian on one of those dolphin-sighting cruises that I loved so much as a child. But the odds aren't looking good.

Conservation Observations

So here in Nashville we're supposed to be using as little water as possible. Originally the mayor asked us to cut usage 50%, but our reserves are now low enough that we need major conservation efforts.

Sam Davidson wrote a great post on some good ways to cut back our water use, and I encourage you to read it.

Here are a few other ideas:


HYGIENE

• Paper diapers for the kiddos. If you are a cloth diapering family, switch to paper for now so you don't have to wash the diapers.
• Shower alternatives. Skip some showers, or take a baby-wipe bath. I've been using Olay's pre-moistened cleansing cloths on my face.
• Dry shampoo. I haven't washed my hair in several days, and it is getting gross. I am thinking about buying some dry shampoo to keep me feeling human. My friend Annie recommends Tresemme's dry shampoo.
• Don't flush. Flush your toilet as little as possible. That's a lot of water going down the drain!

COOKING/DISHES

• Reduce dishes. Find meals that require few dishes. Pizzas are great. I'm experimenting with roasting everything on a foil-lined cookie sheet and then eating straight off the pan. This has resulted in the discovery that I love roasted broccoli.
• Switch to plastic. Use plastic cups and plates that you can recycle instead of wash. I have to battle against my conservation tendencies for this one. I keep trying to wash the plastic knives!
• No pasta. Avoid meals that require lots of water. Pasta, rice, etc. may not be the best choices right now (got that one from Lesley!).
• No H20. In our house, we're saving water for Ian and the pets. Paul and I are drinking juice and soft drinks. Those extra calories are worth saving the water!
• Find what works for you. I had to put masking tape across our dish cabinet because I kept forgetting to use paper bowls for my morning cereal.

Side note for those of you washing baby bottles: I emailed Sonia Harvat with Metro Water to find out the most efficient way to wash baby bottles. I had been hand-washing the bottles one at a time, but this is what Sonia said:

      "If you have more than just one or two dishes, it is best to wash a FULL load in the dishwasher on the shortest setting. The best method would be to use disposable dishes and baby bottle systems that use a sterile liner such as the Playtex bottles."

Apparently newer dishwashers actually use less water than hand-washing several dishes. But remember, the best solution overall is to use the disposable bottle liners.

OTHER

• Use a rain barrel. I don't know how long these water restrictions will last, and I was hoping to start a garden this spring. My only hope for being able to water it will be the water I collect in a rain barrel. I've heard that rain barrel water can also be used for flushing toilets -- just pour it into the bowl.

Okay, I KNOW y'all have some good water conservation tips, so please feel free to leave them in the comments!

Sharing the Road

On a recent sunny day I was out running errands. I watched people walking their dogs and whizzing about on their scooters, and I had a moment of gratitude for my awesome neighborhood. Suddenly, I saw a cyclist whip his bike around the left side of a car at a stop sign, determined to dash ahead of the car in traffic.

I love living in an area where people ride bikes. Here in East Nashville bicycles are more than a weekend activity; residents commute on their bikes and take them on errands.

What I don't love, however, is bike riders who don't respect traffic laws.

Drivers are often chided to "share the road" with their biking counterparts, and of course we do need to be aware of people on bikes and take precautions to keep the road safe for everyone.

However, I ask the bikers out there to "share the road" with drivers as well, and help us keep YOU safe.

I've always been taught that bicycles count as vehicles, and thus are subject to most traffic laws. Personally, I have no problem with amateur bikers being on sidewalks as long as they yield to pedestrians -- probably because I am one of those wobbly beginner cyclists myself, and I'm terrified of wobbling into traffic. But my general understanding is that bikes belong on the right side of the road along with cars.

Countless times I have been driving down the road with cyclists next to me in the bike lane or ahead of me in the regular lane, only to observe the them breeze through a stop sign or traffic light. I think my favorite phenomenon is when cyclists stay in regular traffic until they hit a stoplight, at which point they race onto the sidewalk to take advantage of the crosswalk. It's like some sort of "cyclist uncertainty principle"-- I never know if someone on a bike is going to remain in traffic, dart through a light, move to the sidewalk, or join up with their three other buddies bicycles and block two lanes of traffic (saw that one a few weeks ago).

Anyway, all that to say, I LOVE that people ride bikes. People who commute by bike are even cooler than vegetarians or people who wear Tom's Shoes. But please, when you are riding your bike, obey traffic laws, and help me not kill you. Thanks.

Plastic Vortex of DOOOOOOOOM

Seriously, this is freaky. Is anybody doing anything about this?

Plastic Vortex Menaces Pacific Sealife

A trash heap that grow to the size of Texas?! Oh, my. In a few years will Californians be able to walk to Hawaii on a pile of junk?

I hope someone else does a study on this. I think Greenpeace is viewed as an extremist group sometimes, and I would like to see this get some more mainstream attention and research.