Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg is doing more to save the planet than I’ve done my whole entire life! From rousing speeches that have inspired kids around the world to stage their own climate change protests to weeks-long sea journeys just so she can limit her carbon footprint. That’s dedication and these aren’t causes your typical teen or even adult makes sacrifices for. Would I sail on a simple boat without a toilet or heating for two weeks or more? Most likely not. But perhaps I’m being too hard on myself. For one, I’m not a climate change denier and I can’t believe there are people out there who believe it’s a hoax. Secondly, I’m not a frequent flyer and I certainly don’t own a private jet although that has more to do with my finances than anything else but I digress. In recent years, I’ve cut back on my meat consumption, which I initially did for different reasons but as it turns out meat and dairy products fuel global warming. I don’t smoke and haven’t cut down or burnt any trees although I must admit that I’m quite wasteful when it comes to paper and toilet paper but I’m working on that. I also have to confess that one of my guilty pleasures is long hot showers after a long day at work, which is why I freak out every time there are water cuts. No swimming pool though so I can’t say I consume that much water. I remember growing up, we burnt all our rubbish at home. We had this big pit in the backyard that my Dad had dug up and we would dump all the trash there and once a week or so, we would just burn it up. These days, a garbage guy collects the trash and the Landlord pays him. All we have to do is leave the trash bags outside. If he happens to come around when I’m in a good mood and have some loose change to spare, I will indulge him. We don’t really sort our trash and aren’t big on proper recycling. Maybe someday we will. I try to reuse certain items though. Must be because I’m a hoarder so I keep all the Jam and Peanut Butter Jars plus some water and detergent bottles. I need to do something with them though because you can only hold onto so many! I used to sleep with the lights on. I’m better now and I make sure I don’t have more than one light bulb per room. When I’m watching TV, I turn the light off. I’d really love to switch to Solar but the way that my finances are set at the moment, that won’t be happening anytime soon. Unless someone donates some Solar Panels! If it helps though, I do hang my laundry out in the sun to dry like most people I know. Like I said, guess I’m not doing too badly after all!
