Green Meme #1

Well, I've been "green memed" by Em.

Here's the low down:
1. Link to Green Meme Bloggers
2. Link to whoever tagged you
3. Include meme number
4. Include these guidelines in your post
5. Answer questions (that bit's quite important)
6. Tag 3 other green bloggers.

1) Name two motivations for being green?
I'd like to leave the planet in a better state, for future generations.
Nature can show us so much and is our greatest learning, so why destroy it? It just doesn't make sense.

2) Name 2 eco-UNfriendly items you refuse to give up?
I doubt there's anything I'd refuse to give up if push came to shove. Chocolate would have to be high on the list, though, as would bananas and other tropical fruits that don't grow here.

3) Are you at peace with or do you feel guilty about number 2?
Guilty about chocolate?! :) Pretty much at peace with it, but if things became more dire, I wouldn't be.

4) What are you willing to change but feel unable to/stuck with/unsure how to go about it?
I'd willingly go vego again, but the rest of my household are hard to convince. I could also go without the car mostly, but my partner needs it in order to see his children and I must admit it is easier when getting supplies. Electricity makes things pretty convenient, too - we try to minimise our usage, but it would be hard to go without - especially if I wanted to keep blogging!

5) Do you know your carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average? (http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx)
I think ours is about half the national average (it's a little while since I've done the calcs).

6) What's eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?
Our biggest eco-frustration would have to be waste - not ours, but from some of our neighbours. We are putting our rubbish bin out only a couple of times a month now and it's not usually full even then (average waste going to landfill from our house is one-two small bags each week). BUT some of our neighbours then add extra stuff to our bin - things that could easily be composted or recycled. Very frustrating!!!
Eco-fantastic is that we can catch a bus within two minutes walking of our house. It's a great way to get to work and the car then gets to stay home. Also, and this would have to be the best part, we have a reasonable sized back yard for growing food and housing bees (and hopefully chooks one day when we get their house built). And I loooove our solar hot water system!

7) Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow your own?
Try to grow as much of our own as possible, but need to get better at continuous planting, so harvest is continuous. We also go to local farmer's markets and certainly try to buy organic food. But sometimes, when things are super busy, we do our whole shop at the supermarket, although usually that's only for cleansers and cat food and such like.

8) What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?
Not having enough time to do all I would like to, eg, making things from scratch, keeping the garden in better condition. Also, the whole wasteful feminine hygiene thing.

9) Do you have a green confession?
Once every few months, we get plastic bags when we shop, rather than using our cloth bags. Rationale: to put our rubbish in them!

10) Do you have the support of family and/or friends?
Mostly yes. My partner and the children are walking with me, as are some of my friends and broader family. But I think that some of the others consider me to be slightly nuts and making life harder for myself than it needs to be. And I'm OK with that.

To tag or not to tag?
I know lots of people don't like tags, so I'm reluctant to do so. So, if you read this post and you'd like to join in the fun, consider yourself tagged and visit green meme bloggers.

love and light
naturewitch