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And some of us just don’t have it. For Earth Day, Salon.com republished a thoughtful Open Salon piece by Ann Nichols about her struggle to live responsibly on a budget.
Nichols is very proactive when it comes to living green – she reads Michael Pollan (et al), she recycles, she makes an effort to buy local, she composts, and more.
However, she does have to make some concessions based on her family’s income, because frankly:
The only eco-friendly things that I do that actually save money are making my own cleaning products, using cloth rags and napkins instead of buying paper, and using energy-efficient light bulbs.
There’s no extra cash lying around for a Prius payment (I think most of us can sympathize with that.) At Nichols’ grocery store, organic beef and chicken cost about double what the “chemical-fed, tortured, ill-used animal protein” does. If it was just her, she writes, she would revert back to vegetarianism, but her ravenous teenage son and husband protest.
So, even though she does her best to run a green household, her concessions make her feel guilty. She wonders how those who have even less than she must feel — perhaps bullied by the activists who are apparently well-off enough to spend $7 on organic dishwasher soap?
I saw “Food, Inc.” fairly recently, and it made me question how eco-friendly I am in the nutrition department. Like Nichols, becoming a vegetarian actually made the most fiscal sense. That, or cutting my meat consumption down to once or twice a week – because I would want to buy the crazy-expensive grass-fed stuff. Honestly, in this economy, it’s not going so well …
I’m interested to know if our readers find themselves in a similar bind as Nichols: having the best of intentions, but not the best funds. Does it make you mad that it sometimes feels impossible to be totally green without being totally rich?
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I absolutely love the photo. LOL!
Sometimes it is difficult. Let’s face it–if you’re strapped for cash, it’s easier to by the cheap “non-green” items than the expensive eco-friendly ones.
The green options are almost always the cheapest if you know what you’re doing and look at the big picture. Making your own cleaners is so much cheaper for example but there’s sometimes a small outlay at the start on things like spray bottles, reusable cloths, and even basics like a mop and bucket if you’re converting from Swiffer or the like. CFL lightbulbs are the classic example; cost a bit more than incandescent bulbs but last way longer. Buying dry beans and cooking them in a crockpot is far cheaper and greener than buying cans. Buying veggies locally at a farmers market is almost always cheaper than buying the imported stuff at the grocery store and it’s far better for the environment and your body.
There’s no need to buy a Prius to save on gas. Drive more efficiently by watching your speed, combining errands or car pooling, avoiding left turns where possible, and using a million other little tricks. If you can walk or cycle then go for it. I didn’t have a car at all for the longest time because I could just strap the boy in his stroller and walk to the grocery store or the library or wherever else we wanted to go. If you’re planning to buy a new car anyway you can always go for a Prius or other hybrid. They’re really not any more expensive once you factor in things like tax credits and you’ll save a fortune on gas. I drive one and last time I filled up I got 47.9mpg which means I spent under $9 on gas for a little field trip last week, a trip that could have easily cost $20 in a less efficient car. Sure it’s only $11 but it adds up and in this particular case the gas savings were enough to cover lunch.
Most of the expensive products are just green washing anyway. Replacing your toxic cleaners with a host of so-called green cleaners is just stupid. Buying organic grass fed meat in the supermarket just shows you’re gullible. Eat mostly vegetarian (cheaper, greener, and so much healthier) and when you do want meat buy locally. I have friends who buy direct from farmers and they save a bundle over even the conventional meat at a grocery store and they know that the animal has been cared for and slaughtered as humanely as possible.
Keep in mind that those battery packs have to be replaced around 100,000 miles on the hybrids. That costs between 2 to 4 grand. If you should happen to damage one in an accident,some insurance will not pay for the entire cost.
2-4 for a BATTERY!? I’m paying less for a college education.
Apparently the Prius is not nearly as “green” as it is portrayed. It requires some fairly unique parts that have to be shipped across the world, and the amount of energy that goes into its production pretty much negates any improvements in mileage it could possibly have after being sold.
I tried to find a link to this info, but I can’t find it, so take it with a grain of salt.
They may be worthwhile electric and hybrid cars in the future. But the prius is a status car – not actually great for the environment at all, when you look at its total impact.
I’m all for being eco-friendly,but it can be misleading. I’ve read that it takes as much energy to recycle paper as it does to harvest wood. I own property that has been clear cut for pulp wood and replanted many times,trees are a crop. That organic label on food means very little and nutritionally nothing. That being said,I’m glad we are keeping an eye on industrial pollution and cars are running cleaner. I haven’t seen Food Inc yet,but you can see it on PBS.Org. I would like to see them eliminate cruelty in the meat industry. I’m going to go watch the flick now.
Why is vegetarianism always the noble option that people always feel they should turn to? No, I’m not making fun of vegetarians or saying not eating meat is bad–but I don’t understand why people who wouldn’t even consider not eating meat are supposedly ignoring a viable option. I love veggies, but I also love me some cow. It’s not something I’m going to stop doing.
I’m having country style ribs for dinner, I.15lb. I do them on the grill for 20mins,then wrap em in foil with sauce,then put em in the oven for about 2hrs on 225 degrees. I just drooled on my lap top.
Eating meat is not a good choice ecologically speaking. Even if the animals are raised organically, grass fed and what not, it still uses a lot more resources like water and grain. It takes thousands of gallons of water to produce a steak dinner. The grain used to raise one cow could feed many more people than the cow ever could. Going vegetarian is the single greatest step you can take towards reducing your footprint. That’s why it’s emphasized so much in green living discussions.
Clouds recycle water. Famine is caused by the failure of regional governments to distribute food in times of drought. Lots agricultural refuse and bio-mass byproducts are put to good use in livestock production.
That’s a great thing to consider for a poor country. But until the world works in such a way that the grain saved could actually go to feed people who aren’t getting any, I find it a somewhat moot point.
I love me some tasty cows too.
And for me, that’s supporting local industry – another thing these people are often on about.
I think what I can take from this stuff is that using alternate proteins (beans and nuts, not processed soycrap) sometimes can be good, and that meat should not be the biggest thing on the plate. And it doesn’t need to be every meal or every day. I do think that our culture has confused the purpose of meat a bit, and we could stand to cut back somewhat – both for our health and environment.
But I also strongly believe that some meat here and there is both incredibly healthy, and just fine for the planet.
Cutting down on meat consumption absolutely makes sense; meat should not be the main course of every single meal every day, and I think it has kind of evolved to that in the US. I try to eat less meat, and I want to get better at making vegetarian meals. Cutting out meat, however, is just something I don’t want to do.
I’m totally with you. The moderate approach usually works just fine.
We’ve gone like the original article suggested. Giving up meat is just not a viable option. Animals taste too good! So, we eat much smaller portions. Did you know that a serving of animal protein is only 3-4 ounces, depending on the source? And that’s enough protein to aid in all of the muscle recovery necessary for a professional marathon runner! After we cut back, affording high quality, local meat is once again an option.
As for the general industry, I think attempting to reduce your consumption – what comes into your house in the first place, reusing everything you can, and recycling what is possible is worthwhile. Examining your choices to see where you can cut down, or buy different products is worthwhile. Investigating the source and impact of your food, and making some decisions accordingly is worthwhile.
But a lot of the ‘organic’ labels are completely meaningless. Like ‘carb-free’ when atkins was in its glory days, ‘organic’ is the new trend – poorly regulated, difficult to define (and of questionable worth), and not clearly superior. As a consumer, I investigate the products, and find some things to be better than their average counterpart. But the ‘green’ industry as a whole is mostly bullshit.
And I won’t listen to a word that comes out of the mouth of Al Gore or any one of his cronies until I see them taking trains anywhere trains go, and flying economy class everywhere else.
To hell with anyone who tells me to bike to work, as they fly in their private jet.
(I already bike to work. It’s the principle)
I love you. Will you marry me? :)
I agree with you completely.
I’d love to go green. but i’m a college student (well for the next month at least), and i just can’t justify spending twice as much for some things. and i’m lazy. maybe next year, if i get my own place, i’ll start from scratch with more green products (7th generation, etc). in the meantime, i’ve made a huge difference by switching to reusable menstrual products. i use cloth pantiliners every day instead of kotex, and a divacup for periods instead of adding to the millions of pads and tampons clogging up landfills. that’s enough for now.
as for food, i don’t eat red meat. i don’t really know why, i did when i was a kid, but i’m a really picky eater and it’s just one of those things that i don’t eat. i say it’s because cows and goats and sheep are cute. yeah. that works. but as a picky eater, to eliminate chicken and fish would SEVERELY limit my already limited life; i would not be able to eat out anywhere that didn’t have grilled cheese or fettucini alfredo. lame. and while i’d love to get my chicken and tuna from whole foods, sorry, not happening. $6/lb vs $2/lb, which do you think works better on my budget?
some day.
As per Rhonda’s post above, you don’t have to choose the green-marketed options to make some changes that are better for the earth. There are a lot of things that go easily with more environmental AND cheaper – not owning a car, for example, or at least using a car sparingly. Bike the rest of the time and you get exercise as a third benefit. Turn the lights off. Spend more to get compact fluorescents in the first place, and reap the savings in less energy use, and not needing to replace them for longer. Pay attention to your water usage.
Plan your meals ahead of time, and buy food just for what you’ll use – healthy, and cheaper. Not wasting is always beneficial. Learn some good bean and lentil recipes – a good, healthy, cheap protein.
Yes, the trendy green industry tries to make it seem like you have to pay exorbitant amounts to be ‘green’. Tell them where to stick their fancy products – simple living is often a great way to satisfy the body, wallet, and planet.
would love to take your advice, but a) i can’t bike. it’s not a physical possibility, nor is it very safe where i live. and b) picky eater. can’t eat beans or lentils.
i do take the bus though whenever I can instead of driving (although where i’ll be living next year there is no bus service), and i’m always the one who turns off lights at night when my roommates would leave them going 24/7. And i just got the energy-efficient lightbulbs too.
biking is usually safer than people realize. The specifics were not the point though. Cutting back, not doing expensive things, and living more simply will often help and be cheap. You don’t have to pay for the trendy stuff. If you *choose* to not eat cheaper food, it’s a choice you’re making. If you choose to live somewhere you can’t get around without a car, you are willfully putting yourself in a bad position. You have to step up somewhere – choose what things matter to you, spend on them, and save on others to balance out.
I, for example, am a fairly picky eater too, and prefer some things maybe a step up from the bottom. But I also found a place to live where I can bike everywhere I need to go on a regular basis, and have a train to go further. This means I am dependent on trading gas money for rides when I want to get out of the city, but it’s what my lifestyle allows.
Everyone can balance it out for themselves if they are willing to sacrifice in some areas.
Kai, I think you’re absolutely right about choosing where to live. Granted, sometimes there are other factors that influence people to live in less environmentally-friendly places (e.g. family, job), but it’s still ulimately a choice. I’ve definitely noticed the difference between San Diego, where I grew up, and Boulder, where I live now. San Diego has a terrible public transportation system (if you don’t live smack in the downtown area) and is very spread out. It’s very difficult not to have a car. But since I’ve been in Boulder, I use my car maybe once a week, when I go grocery shopping. The other times I bike – because they have very nice bike paths – or take the bus – because they have an awesome bus system. I was SOOO shocked when I realized how much extra money I have every month from not buying gas all the time! So even though housing is more expensive here than, say, in Wichita (where my husband lives), I’d much rather live here where we don’t have to pay for gas and are being healthier (even the walk to and from the bus stop is great exercise!) and more environmentally-friendly.
[...] Running A Green Household Takes A Lot Of Green – Zelda Lily [...]
I’ve cut back on my meat consumption a lot — but by economic necessity anyway. ALL meat is expensive for me.
On the other hand, though, there’s another way to resolve the ethical issue about eating meat — eating EVERY part of the animal. Pigs produce pork and bacon, which is nummy, but…you can also get pigs-feet and head cheese and sausage out of ‘em. And if you have some of those less-traditional parts of the pig, that means that’s that much longer that the one pig you killed stretches, which means the less pigs you need to kill. So I don’t turn up my nose at any part of an animal (unless it actively will kill me, like the liver in blowfish or something); the longer it takes us to eat up one animal, the fewer animals need to be killed, which means the fewer need to be raised, which means eventually maybe we can put some of those grazing acres back to being cropland. (And in the meantime — hey, don’t knock pig’s trotters until you’ve tried ‘em.)
As for cleaning products — sure, I’d love to use greener cleaning products, but I have about 3 or 4 cleaners in my closet that old roommates have left behind, and I am too frugal to throw them out half-empty. So, yeah, I’m still using Comet, but…at least I’m using it little by little rather than dumping a whole crapton of it into a landfill in one fell swoop. On one hand, using them at all isn’t so “green”, but…throwing something out half-used isn’t that “green” either. So…I dunno.
I think at the end of the day it’s more about awareness — knowing the impact of what you’re doing and making your own choices based on that. On paper, it’s “greener” for me to not use Comet, but because of my situation, I’m making my own choice, and I’m making that choice with full awareness of the impact and am doing what i can to lessen that impact.
Every part of any animal is used. When it enters a slaughter house nothing is thrown away. All flesh ends up as hotdogs and lunch meat,bones are roasted and ground into meal for feed additive,hooves become gelatin.
No, I know, but there are some people who won’t eat certain parts of certain animals because either it makes them feel creeped out (“ew, I’m not gonna eat BRAINS!”) or because of cache that those parts don’t have (“skirt steak’s for if you’re broke, I’m only eating t-bones!”). That’s more what I’m talking about — someone saying “I don’t eat anything but white meat” means that more chickens have to be butchered because chickens aren’t all white meat, and you had to kill an extra one because they wouldn’t eat the thigh parts or something.
No, it doesn’t. Because other people will use the other parts of that animal. Your point would stand if we all had chickens in our backyard we had to kill for dinner. In real life, I can go to the grocery store and buy only chicken breasts, and they’ll conveniently sell the other parts of the chicken to people picky about other things.
I think for meat it’s best if we follow old-fashioned rules, like the Sunday roast. Back then meat was treated as something special, like cake. Unfortunately, both these things have become staples by now which caused a lot of problems along the way, obesity just being one part of it.
Organic, in terms of vegetables is more of a buzz word than anything. Like it was stated earlier, it’s not regulated, and a lot of the long studied chemical fertilizers are safer than the so called organic ones (we’ve learned a lot since the days of DDT). Also, it’s not a form of farming that can sustain the current world’s population. There’s simply not enough crop that comes from it.
Now, that being said, I’m all for keeping cows happy, but you run into the same problem again. Although, it’s a lot easier to cut back on meat than it is grain, fruits and vegetables.
The words “Organic”, “95% Organic” and “100% Organic” are regulated by the FDA and EPA and have very specific meanings on the type of ground conditions, fertilizers, pesticides associated with plants. It includes regulations on antibiotics and living conditions for animals. It also includes regulations on the types of packaging and handling processes used to transport the food. My lovely bride is big into food law, so we are quite sure on this one.
The phrase “All-Natural” is a buzz word and completely meaningless. There are no rules on placing an “All-Natural” label on any food product.
Thank you, Jarrett! My head was about to explode after I read Erica’s uninformed post.
Here’s a post from the EPA website for any other ding dongs-
http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/torg.html
She’s not a ding dong. Nutritional there isn’t any difference and there was a large e-coli outbreak three years ago in california,the origin was organically fertilized spinach. I believe four people died.
but there are so many other claims that it becomes questionable.
And ‘organic’, even if regulated, doesn’t mean better.
In a lot of places, they have to use far more of the ‘organic’ stuff to get the same effect. In a lot of things, they simply can’t make up for it.
Often it is less environmentally impactive to eat something shipped from across the country than something local, when it wouldn’t naturally grow locally.
The point isn’t that these claims have no meaning or regulation, but that they aren’t the panacea they’re sold as.
$7 for organic dish soap? Yeah right. I’m a poor college student and I buy organic, recycled, local and fair trade products and still have money left over. I’m a vegan and I am healthy and able to eat responsibly and purchase organic products without breaking the bank.
Organic does mean better because you aren’t consuming chemicals that harm your body and the environment. I would like you to explain, Kai, how eating over-processed food from across the country is better than eating local? Good luck with that.
I don’t see anything wrong with Kai questioning the sustainability of forcing plants to grow where they won’t. It is far easier to grow certain plants in certain parts of the US, so very often they will not require the pesticide or herbicide use that they would somewhere they don’t grow as well.
She wasn’t saying that local is bad. And I really think that jump you made from “shipped from across the US” to “super evil processed!!!1!!” was just special.
Not to mention introducing non native species of animal OR plant can have huge ramifications for the environment take Oregon where I live years ago they introduced a certain grass to the sand dunes to try and keep them from blowing all over the road, well the grass is out of control to the point that our national dune park over 40 miles of pure sand dunes will be nonexistent in a matter of years, that is a major change in the environment. Food plants can also trigger horrible consequences.
“chem·i·cal –noun
1.a substance produced by or used in a chemical process.”
There are ‘chemicals’ in and on all foods. Get a better term if you want to complain.
I said nothing about processing, so I will ignore your random embellishment.
So, how is eating food from across the country better than eating local?
Well, if depends on how you define ‘better’. I was referencing resources required, so I’ll stick with that.
Let’s say I want to eat a steak. It would certainly have less environmental impact for me to eat a steak from a few miles away, than from thousands of miles away – under some conditions. Eating local is better only because it is assumed that it is better not to have the emissions and energy use of the transporting. But there is more to it.
I live in Alberta – great cattle country. There are cattle ranging all over the place. Beef is cheap, tasty, and not too bad on the environment.
I can also use all the canola oil I want. Wheat is pretty plentiful. I hear you can also grow turnips pretty well. But we have long, cold winters, chinooks that play hell with the weather, and often summer droughts. So let’s imagine that I want to eat something other than wheat, canola, turnip, and beef.
Let’s use oranges for example. To grow an orange in Alberta would be insane. The trees could not last the winter. So we would need to build greenhouses, and keep them heated to 27C, while it’s -27C outside. That’s going to be a huge environmental impact.
Did I mention Alberta is quite dry? Oranges take HUGE amounts of water. There’s a reason they grow in Florida. To grow them here, we’d be using massive amounts of water – and we don’t have a lot. We’d have to make serious irrigation changes, and in the winter, when water doesn’t flow much, we might need to ship in all the water to keep my grove of greenhoused orange trees going. That too would be a huge environmental impact.
Therefore, it is far better for the environment for me to buy an orange that has been shipped from Florida than to buy one that has been grown locally, at great expense to work against the local conditions.
Depending on where you live, it might be better for you to ship in Alberta beef than to grow some cows yourself. You might not have good ranchlands.
Now, it might be better to have *more* food locally – eat fish when you live by the water, eat beef more in Alberta, eat things when they’re in season and you can get them from the local area, etc.
But unless you’re willing to commit to eating only what naturally, minimally tendedly grows in your local area, it is often better to import some things than to try to grow them locally.
Amen to that.
If I were ONLY going to eat what is produced locally, my diet would be kind of boring. Lots of corn and soybeans. Nothing fun like pineapples or avocados.
Yesterday I had a mango for lunch. It was delicious. Did it grow here, in Indiana? Nope. But I bought and ate in anyway. Bad, bad me.
I’m so sick of this eco-bullying bullshit. You know what’s more green than buying ‘green’ products? Not buying new shit.
I’m not totally convinced on the greeness of hybrid cars either, as we haven’t seen a life cycle yet. Do these cars last 20 years? Are we going to have landfills full of 6 year old hybrid batteries, or, God forbid, 10 year old hybrid cars that don’t run or have been replaced with the lastest and greatest trendy thing?
I live in an eco friendly way that fits my lifestyle, and I don’t do it to please anyone else. I walk and take transit, my husband and I live in a 500 sq foot apartment that suits us just fine, I buy local when I can and I clean with vinegar and baking soda.
I am very low income, on SSDI. I have a medical condition that requires me to eat meat for required vitamins and nutrients and although I would love to but all my meat at the local fair auction, I can’t afford the “bulk” cost, even if it saves in the long term.
We raise our own chickens, but supplementing with feed is needed, and that costs money. Even having your own garden for veggies can rack up the costs. Local farmers markets are more expensive than the stores where I live (Sonoma County CA).
I have a hand me down car that’s a big gas guzzler and it was free, so it’s what I have to drive. We don’t have public transport where I live unless you have all day to wait for a bus and can walk several miles to a bus stop.
And don’t forget the expense of time of going to farmers markets, and walking to the store instead of driving or going out of your way 20 miles to shop at a local health food co-op instead of a regular grocery store. For some, time is a luxury too.
Not only is living green more expensive, but living healthy is more expensive. Food banks only give out processed food like bread and pasta sauce, no veggies, fruit or meat.
Great article with some interesting recommendations! I can’t say that I totally agree with all that you have suggested here, but there are a few relevant ideas you have emphasized that can be quite useful on natural health and associated topics. Please keep offering more suggestions on this topic and associated issues, as there are plenty of people who are attempting to get to know the positives and negatives.