I have those “duh” moments on occasion, and the more than happen, the more I wish they would happen more often.

When I travel, I drive to the airport with my reusable water bottle. I park and sadly say goodbye to it because you can’t bring water past the security check point. Then I saw someone bring their empty reusable water bottle in the carry-on. There’s the duh part.

Now I bring my reusable bottle with me and either drink or pour out the water before going through security. Once on the other side I can fill it with water from a fountain or sink.

I hate it when i print out an email, and it keeps printing and printing and printing pages and pages. Those email strings that have been forwarded a few times can get really long. Or I print an email an the second page only has the signature block. I know you’re wondering what I am printing my emails anyway, but come on. You have to print some of them.

Printing from Outlook doesn’t allow you to print a page or range of pages. It’s all or nothing.

A quick way around all this paper waste is to use the little know option “View in Browser.” Open the email and go to “Other Actrions.” From there you see a drop down for “View in Browser.” This will open the email in a browser and you can select the page range to print in that print dialogue box. Not all emails will allow you the option to open them in a browser, but try. And Save Paper!

Did you know you could recycle your wine corks? Check out Recork America at http://www.recorkamerica.com/index.html

I’m consuming less and recycyling more.

The only one not happy is my blue can. How can there never be anything in it week after week when it used to be over-flowing?

I recycle everything I can; I have small recycle boxes around the house. Food scraps go into my green can.

Maybe I can use my blue can for a composter?

I’ve tried being green, and have done a pretty good job on it I think. But I need to lament. Two things reall irk me though.

One of my devices ran out of batteries last night. As I went to replace them I realized I had been using rechargable batteries. The green thing to do for sure, but they don’t last 1/4 as long as the regular ones. And I never have any ready to use because you can’t leave them charging and ready to go. So I pull them out, plug them in to charge and wait a few hours. Seems wrong and it’s a hassle.

And I broke down and had myself a good oldfashioned straight-edge shave. Boy did it feel good and still does 12 hours later! I’ve been using an electric razor for 6 months now instead of shaving in the shower with a disposable razor.  I never get a great shave and the razor irritates my skin. I didn’t shave in the shower though so does that make me half green?

Going green is really about changing your ways to reduce your carbon footprint. You need to try different things to see what works for you. We still recycle heavily, composite regularly and consume less. And if I have to give up my close shave and wait for batteries to recharge I can. But I don’t need to go to this extreme quite yet.

Fine. I’ll wait for the recharging, but I can’t go back to the electric shaver!

Great article on SF Gate. “Looking back on it now, the straw that broke America’s back was the advent of the no-deposit, no-return bottle.”Click Here to read the entire article.

I did it. I finally cut the cord. No more newspapers piling up on my driveway. I’ll have to get my news online now. It feels strange not to see the familiar red plastic-wrapped newspaper lying on my driveway, run over numerous times by my car. I won’t be seeing them in my recycle can when I roll it to the curb every week.

To be totally honest, I kept my Sunday paper. I can’t go completely cold turkey. Something about drinking my coffee and sorting through the paper is civilized and sane. It wouldn’t be the same with a cup of coffee in one hand and my computer on my lap.

It’s not to say that I will like this change, nor does it mean that I’ll stick with it. But I’m going to try it.

Well I tried. And I can’t complain too hard because my family has really gotten behind the green thing. But when it came ready for school, fashion and function won over green.

They said no way to the cool reusable lunch bags we got them from Lands End. “I have to take it all the way back to my classroom” and “It’s ugly” were the reactions we got when we pulled them out of the box and presented them with a smile.

We also tried to reuse the notebooks, pencils and binders, but what wasn’t broken was well used. Nevermind the new shoes and clothes needed to start the school year.

All in all we do a pretty good job, and we try where we can. But I cringe every Friday when the pile of papers comes home from school.

It’s the end of August and I am still living Green. Here’s a list of the good and the bad:

GOOD

1. I am composting and placing food material in my Green can

2. All my lights are Green

3. I bought a set of silverware for work so I won’t use the plastic utensils

4. We are using our air conditioning less, and opening the windows more

BAD

1. I haven’t gotten rid of my V8 Jeep yet

2. I still forget to bring my own bags

3. I need to figure out how to drive less or carpool

4. I have not used my rechargeable batteries yet.

What happened? Why didn’t we pay attention and change the last time this happened? These were questions I was asking myself as I went through an old box of my things and found a “save the planet” button from the 1970’s.

I worked at a gas station in 1979 and remember the “odd / even” program. Lines of cars and lots of angry people, especially those that waited in line for hours only to have me tell them they were on the wrong day. I very clearly remember every second of my encounter with a Hells Angle who wanted gas on an even day (motorcycle’s where designated as “odd.”) It was a big day when we changed the price of gas to over a dollar.

After the oil embargo of 1973, and the old “odd / even” gas program, we forgot all about conserving energy. I bet you didn’t know that Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House in 1979, but Reagan took them out. My first car was a Honda Civic that got 40 miles per gallon, and now I am looking at a Prius that’s all the rage because it get’s 50 mph – 30 years later!

We forgot and became gas-guzzling people again once we felt safe. Me included. I sold my Civic and have had one Chevy Blazor and two Tahoe’s.

It’s tough being green. But let’s not forget this time. Use less, re-use, recycle.