Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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Green With a Little Tarnish

We are all connected by an intricate, delicate web that affects all of us.

At least that’s what I try to remind myself when the garbage can is five feet closer than the recycle bin. Most times that reminder works but I will admit that it doesn’t work 100 per cent of the time.

Quite frankly, I don’t believe that anyone is 100 per cent green 100 per cent of the time. I’ll be the first to admit that I fall rather short of angel status. Sometimes I’m lazy, sometimes I’m tired, and sometimes it’s just too much darn work and don’t I deserve a break too because I’ve worked hard this whole week through and I’m getting grumpy and I just want a little leeway to be less than perfect!

Whew. Excuse me. I digress. As I was saying, we all fall short of the mark of being perfectly eco-friendly. However, I believe people, in general, are well-intentioned and we remain conscious of the impact that we have on the environment around us.

I also believe that most people have ulterior motives to most of their actions. Are we acting purely in the benefit of the environment when we behave in environmentally conscious ways?

I, myself, don’t drive. Most places I go, I walk. This is most certainly to the benefit of the environment since most of our air pollution and climate change can be accredited to fossil fuel emissions. Another point to take into consideration is that I’m cheap. If I can get there by hoofin’ it as opposed to paying for fuel, insurance, and maintenance, I’ll hit the shoe leather to the pavement, thank you very much.

As we judge others by our standards, I have to conclude that most people don’t act in a certain way without private gain.

It also has to be pretty darn cold or far to put me on a bus. Or, I have to be feeling pretty lazy, which I believe I’ve already gone over. Yes, I have to leave earlier and yes, exercise is tiring, especially early in the morning but those nickels and dimes I’ve saved by being “green” can be spent elsewhere. Like on gummy bears.

Another personal benefit of walking is the confounded expressions that cross faces when I explain that, yes, I did actually walk all the way here today. “Wow,” they’ll usually say, “that’s good exercise.” Commonly after that comment they slink away thinking about how out of shape they’ve allowed themselves to become and they feel guilty and self-conscious for the rest of the day.

I confess, that just amuses the bubbles out of me. Really, the way I walk isn’t such good exercise. It’s something more akin to an unmotivated amble as I’m not that anxious to get to work most mornings. Also, I don’t think I’m burning that many calories. I’m just burning off pure frustration that otherwise would come with me to the office. Thanks to the morning strolls, I haven’t completely flipped my wig and ended up with a boot to my butt.

So you see, my acts of greening aren’t completely unmotivated by personal benefits. As we judge others by our standards, I have to conclude that most people don’t act in a certain way without private gain.

Then, I think if the rest of the world acts, behaves, and thinks in a manner similar to myself, we have bigger worries than impending climate disaster.

Keri lives on Boyle Street, where she has a tendency to over-analyze things. We worry about her.

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