What's Your Green APR?

My first post college job was directing a the day camp for Glowing Embers Girl Scout Councilin Kalamazoo, MI. It was a great gig, I got paid to walk around in the woods and sing songs to 800 girls and 30 staff. To this day I keep an AP (All Purpose) bandana in my purse; it's good for spills, wrapping up small things, tying my sweater to my luggage and so much more. 

At camp it served as a "Quieting Tool" for the canoe paddle. The girls would tie it on their paddle handle where they thought it would most likely strike the side of the canoe thereby making our lake paddling silent. Of course, what it really did was remind them to be quiet and then the usual talking remained at whisper level as we glided along.

The discussion as to whether global warming is real or not is long over. Now the question becomes, how do we stay engaged? What can we use as a APR (All Purpose Reminder) to keep us on track day after day and year after year until we bring global warming under control?

Diane MacEachern suggested swapping out $1000 of old, brown buying habits for $1000 of new, green buying habits. I use my morning meal of organic cereal, milk and coffee to get me going on my day. For Beth, plastic is her touchpoint. For Marguerite it's groceries, Heather and Renee focus on less trash, and the Eco Mom Alliance take inspiration from each other.  

All Purpose Reminders keep us on track at home and work. 

Diane is helping companies teach their employees how to cut back on their carbon and pollution footprint. Jennifer, Jenn, Micaela, Karen .... promote the bringing down of toxins in our homes and schools, making them a safer place to raise kids. Anna earned her LEED AP to mix with her legal skills and ensure that new building projects are following the LEED guidelines. Jessica works on green education in schools and communities. Maryanne means business with green marketing. Jenn and Karina prove that small choices add up. I'm working with Green Building Pages and LACCD to begin to green up campuses for the next generation of classes and help transform the business market one product at a time. 

I enjoy being part of this virtual collection of women who inspire me daily and hold me accountable to the tasks I take on. It's like telling your friends that you're going on a diet, you feel obligated to follow through. (Hey, it works for me.) 

"On my honor, I will try..." That's all the Girl Scouts ever asked me to do and that's all the world is asking us to do now - to try. Even if Global Warming turns out to be a complete fiasco, Global Pollution is very real. For me, I'm going to err on the side of trying and with the help of a good APR and my gal pals, I know we can get there. What's your APR?

Maryanne Conlin of the Not Quite Crunchy Parent hosts this month's Green Mom Carnival topic - Global Warming. Be sure to go over there for a whole list of ideas on how this group is taking on the challenge.

Comments

[Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish]

Great post, Mary. And a good reminder that we all start where we are. There's not "one size fits all" method for protecting the environment, but if we all focus on the pieces where we are inspired, together we can make one heck of a difference.

[JessTrev]

Great post. I've been thinking about this lately, what it is that makes the difference in me following through on one particular life change over another. I recently read an article that suggests that hypocrisy plays a role in dictating behavior - ie, if I tell you (a member of my green moms community) that I want to do something or other, I will be spurred to action in a particularly effective way in order to remain true to my perceptions of self. For instance, Diane from Big Green Purse suggested getting energy saving power strips, so I am finally going to get around to doing something I've been meaning to do for ages -- all because of commenting on a blog post. ;) Communities are powerful. Which is why it's so heartening that trying to conserve energy has become so widespread. We all (invisibly and silently) provide each other with an audience that will spur us to action.

[Mary]

Beth and Jess - 12 step programs are all based on behaviorial modification helped along by group dynamics. AA, Weight Watchers or a book club... doesn't really matter as long as we have someone that we see on a regular basis ask us "How's it going" every once in awhile.

[Lynn from Organicmania.com]

Mary, I think your post may have inspired me to write a post about my experience as a Girl Scout! I was a scout from Brownies through Juniors (early high school). Scouting taught me to love nature and to always try my best. I swear I still think of the pledge more often than you'd believe!

And signing my son up for Cub Scouts is on my to-do list!

I wish everyone thought the way you and our other Green Mom friends do..but if you read Jenn Savedge's post you'll find that two climate deniers left nasty comments on her post....how sad. It makes your tribute to her and the other Green Mom Carnival participants all the more meaningful.

Thanks for participating!

Lynn

[Jenn (The Green Parent)]

I completely agree Mary. I love the collective wisdom of the women in the green moms group and think its so useful to look at each of these issues from different "green" perspectives. I find it helps me understand the issues more clearly when I think and read about them from all of these viewpoints.

[Diane MacEachern]

Great points all. During tough times, it's worth remembering that if we lose our ethical compass, we lose so much more. I was never a Girl Scout but I like to think I think like one!

[Steph @ Greening Families]

I really like the idea of having something tangible, like your bandana, to serve as a touchstone.

Our reusable bags have become a bit like that. I almost always get a comment about them, especially now that I am using them for trips, not just those to the grocery. We use them for a host of reasons - to reduce our use of plastic, to keep plastic away from our children as much as possible, we hated storing all the plastic bags we had before, etc. - so the quick comments have turned into some nice discussions with strangers. I figure the more people hear, the more likely they are to consider change. Thanks for showing me another way to look at my bags!

[mother earth aka karen hanrahan]

virtual collection of woman ...i like that

i went all the way to caddette bandana and all and then got kicked out!!! my favorite was the coffee can stoves...eggs anyone ??

[Christine Gardner]

Ah those girl scout days....

My APR right now is a silver bracelet I wear everyday that says, "Be the change you want to see in the world." The quote is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi and it reminds me to personally and publicly emulate the opportunity to do whatever I can to contribute to the solutions for today's challenges.

I'm glad I have an official name for it now - it will make it all the more precious.

[Green Bean]

My blog is my all purpose reminder. It holds me accountable, reminds me of what I should be doing, is my compass.

[arduous]

Like GB, my blog is my APR. When I get tempted to do something less than eco-friendly, I think about my blog and how I would have to confess my eco-sins. :)

[Alline]

My life in an Ecovillage and the running a self-proclaimed "green business" both serve as APRs. I am under constant scrutiny, which for the most part, I welcome, as long as folks don't expect perfection! Each of us has our own path, and while we are ultimately accountable only to ourselves it often helps to have others watching! Thanks for your thoughtful post!

[Anna(Green Talk)]

I find that the collective green mom group has pushed me to be a better citizen of the earth. In addition to green building products, I am with Jennifer, Jenn, etc in the nontoxic realm because indoor air quality is key in my mind.

What I love about this group is it is safe to grow without anyone questioning you. No one pushes their beliefs on you.

Mary, you push me in so many ways from understand exactly what does it mean for a building product to be considered green to realizing the lack of consistant standards. I am so glad that we met and I have a green building sister.

I will always have your back.