PUMPED! BABY EARTH

- Shari Sonta, Contributing Writer

I am an environmental nightmare.  My carbon footprint is Big Foot.  I am part of the problem, and in today’s “greenwashing” climate, I am a marketer’s dream.

I didn’t use to be this way.  I have Master’s Degree in Environmental Policy.  If I found a piece of paper not properly discarded in recycling I would mourn for another wasted tree.  I was a vegetarian for the sake of living lighter on the earth.  I composted, walked or rode my bike whenever possible, and kept my thermostat to a chilling 65 degrees in the dead of winter.  Now I have a baby and everything has changed in the name of convenience and hunger. 

My diet is mostly meats, dairy and frozen veggies because I’m breastfeeding and constantly starving.  I also seek convenience at the expense of over-packaging, and I crave anything that once clucked, gobbled, swam or mooed.  We just purchased a 36-gallon totter to handle our weekly contribution to the landfill.  While I have refrained from owning a gas-guzzling vehicle, I still fill the car up at least weekly and our house was heated to Florida-like temperature all winter long. 

To help offset that we are personally destroying the earth, we do things like purchase organic food and “green” products, support local businesses, donate to local environmental organizations and sign up for wind energy credits.  It is so easy to buy green, and although it temporarily helps with the guilt, I know that it doesn’t help nearly as much as just consuming less.  My husband and I, both feeling guilty, have made a promise that starting this month we will live a bit lighter. 

We are starting with our diets.  We are joining a CSA so we will be almost forced to eat more veggies and have less packaging waste.  We will be cooking more ethnic and vegetarian meals which typically contain lower-on-the-food-chain type ingredients.  We will revitalize our compost pile.  Our grass will grow au naturale, and we won’t care that our weeds will be responsible for lowering property values on the block.  I will take the time to find a used swing set instead of buying a new one. 

It is wrong that we call the Earth “Mother Earth.”  Mothers are nurturing and they take care of us.  I think the Earth should be called “Baby Earth” because we need to be the Mothers to our planet.  Our planet doesn’t take care of us; rather, we need to nurture and take care of it. 

On a lighter note …

We took Audrey to her first swim class and she is a natural swimmer.  While the other babies around us screamed, Audrey almost mastered the breaststroke.  I guess it’s not too early to be thinking about the Olympics!  Anyway, I’m a proud mamma.

Happy Earth Day!