I am an aspiring environmentalist who tries to live a lifestyle that one would consider “green”. But how green is this lifestyle really? I would like to take some time to reflect on my lifestyle and see if there are some areas with room for improvement. The motivation for writing this article came after I drafted a description for a new crowd-funding campaign on GoFundMe that I am launching to support free sustainability coaching. It was called “Support May’s Green Dream”. But after I re-read the description, I asked myself, can I really call my dream “green”? “Green” is a term used to reference anything remotely eco-friendly. For example, a “green” laundry detergent that is scent free. There has been a lot of green-washing in recent years, which means labeling products as green or eco-friendly without there being solid, factual reasons for calling it so. When we are aiming to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, we need to be careful of green-washing. What does it mean, to be living an eco-friendly lifestyle? In my view, it is making a conscious effort to reduce one’s impact on the planet. It can include reducing plastic waste, shopping organic, shopping local, reducing driving time, reducing flights, saving water use, and so much more. It is very difficult to live a truly eco-friendly lifestyle while living in a capitalist, western-centric society. It means making many personal sacrifices, including with relationships, time, and energy. Many privileged people expect to have all the luxuries, like hot water, varied meals, vacations, and single-family homes. Choosing to live eco-friendly is often going against the grain of what one’s peers are doing. Many people living on a low income are forced to live more eco-friendly. For example, not being able to go on vacations or needing to grow their own food. I am currently a person with low income but with privileges as a European-descendant woman. My fiancé Miguel and I are living with my elderly Uncle. It works quite well for us. We do a lot of cooking, some cleaning, as well as grocery shopping, in exchange for a beautiful place to live and use of a vehicle. By putting off renting or buying our own place and car, we are saving many extra materials and greenhouse gases. However, is it sustainable in the long-term? Probably not. We will want our own place and car eventually. We want to have a family some day, with one or two kids. We want to have a piece of land, a small home with some solar panels, gardens and chickens. We will need a small used vehicle. That is our dream. Is it “green”? Miguel and I are getting married this spring! We will be having a small, simple wedding in Nova Scotia. I will be wearing a second-hand dress and our guests will all be traveling within Nova Scotia. Then, we will be going on a honeymoon and having a second wedding celebration in Colombia. It will be a chance for Miguel to visit his family and connect with his roots. I will also get to practice my Spanish! Can you see my dilemma? Am I able to call our dream “green”, without it being green-washing? The reality is that while we are living a fairly eco-friendly lifestyle at this moment, we have dreams that involve some travel, some building, and some transportation. My philosophy with eco-friendly living is that we are all works-in-progress. We have a baseline from which we aim to add more eco-friendly activities. We all have non-negotiable activities that are important to us, like occasional vacations or living in a single-family home. What activities can we do along WITH those non-negotiable activities to green our lifestyle? After some more reflection, I think staying at my Uncle’s place for as long as possible is one way we can make a positive contribution to the environment. We are good companions for each other, and we share a home and vehicle. We could buy more food at the Farmer’s market, and choose produce that have less plastic wrapping. We could buy staples like rice or flour in bulk from Speerville or at a Bulkbarn (provided it’s not an extra trip). We could use bicycles in the spring, summer and fall for short trips to town. We can continue to do multi-purpose trips into town, instead of single purpose trips. We can continue to buy organic products, especially when they are %50 off. I can continue to reduce my meat consumption. I will avoid calling my dreams “green” because I have to admit that there are some aspects of the lifestyle I want that aren’t so green, like taking a trip every few years to Colombia with my fiancé. What I can say is that I aspire to living more eco-friendly. I want to challenge myself to use less packaging, eat less meat, and drive less. Having a low income can be a blessing when it comes to living more eco-friendly, but it is also a great burden for many people. I hope that in the coming weeks and months I can help people find ways to make green-living more affordable, and even generate some extra savings.
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AuthorMay is a sustainability coach, consultant, and gardener working in Nova Scotia. Archives
July 2023
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