my one week "carbon cleanse" started today. yeah, it's a gimmicky environmental movement thing, but it's not going to be as easy as i thought -- especially on friday, when i am supposed to replace my 30-minute hot shower with a "sponge bath". ick! (**dear friends who have served in the peace corps, forgive my only-in-america sins).
i signed up for no impact week without really knowing what it was. i thought it was just a commitment to not buy anything for week (except food, and even that is supposed to be non-packaged). seemed like a great money-saving idea for a pathetic grad student swimming in credit card debt. i found out about it because i was searching grist.org for an article about a woman who gave up corn products for a week (the article is actually here). umbra, the stalwart eco-advice columnist, was promoting no impact week, and heck, i had to click on it.
so here i am.
day one was all about stockpiling your garbage (i decided there was no need to stockpile my recycling: a water bottle and some sheets of paper). at the end of the day i only had two items in my garbage bag: a used lint-removal sheet and an empty bag from those delicious snap pea crisps. success? well, i had already cheated, and in a really embarrassing way. i did not stockpile my feminine hygiene-related trash. i'm not going to apologize for this. end of story.
i also failed in the consumption department. after biking to the farmer's market to buy ethical eggs, i stumbled upon a booth full of art by this artist (spenser little) i have been trying to track down for months. i "bought" a relatively expensive piece as a gift for k.'s birthday. i say "bought" because i made him pay for it, with full promise that i would pay him back next week (not so much because of N.I. week as because i didn't bring my wallet).
if you want to participate, you can sign up here.
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