NYR Update

First, let me just say that EGM got poison ivy and was scratching all night. I'm tired! And if it happens again tonight, one of us is going to the couch. Aren't I nice, sensitive, and empathetic?

Now that that's out of the way, I think I should report on my new years' resolutions. I have performed mediumly on both of them. I've sent birthday cards for almost all of the family birthdays so far, but several of them have gone out late. But, I have the next ones all ready to send. As for being more eco-conscience, there has been progress and setbacks. I kind of gave up on the paper recycling after the pile got so big that EGM finally threw it away -- I just kept putting off dropping it at the recycling place. We also decided not to do the CSA after all because we're not sure we'll actually use that much produce. On the other hand, the garden is going well. The seeds I started indoors are starting to look like plants and the things I planted outside are starting to take. Also, we started a compost pile near the garden. I have been bringing our kitchen scraps to work to compost, which gives me warm fuzzies. I'll post some photos soon.

Irony

I celebrated Earth Day today by ending my carpool. How lame.

I've been carpooling with the same person for about two years. It has gone pretty well overall. I have appreciated my reduced gas and car maintenance costs as well as the shared responsibility for our 35 mi one-way commute. However, my carpool buddy has to work a fairly strict schedule because of his childcare situation. The nanny for his two small children must be relieved by 5:15. That means we have to leave work by 4:00 (to give enough padding for frequent traffic jams). We're supposed to leave home at 7:00 am, which should put us at work by 7:45. But sometimes there's traffic, and dude's almost always late in the morning and on the rare days that he isn't, I am. So most days I barely get 8 hours in.

This schedule has been terrific in some ways. I sit in a lot less traffic than I used to because our schedule forces me to get up and out before the peak of rush hour and to leave work before the worst of the afternoon congestion. Also, the shorter day has made me much more efficient since I know that I can't stay late to compensate for goofing off. I'm more focused and spend much less time on the internet while at work. Those changes have been great for my quality of life.

But right now, a spare 8 hours is just not enough. I want to defend in the fall, but I still have a lot of work to do. I calculated some milestones based on a loose timeline that would get my dissertation finished by September/October. I think I'm at a point where I'll be okay if x, y, and z are done by mid-summer, but that means a big push now to get the last of my data collected and analyzed. And that means I can't carpool.

My carpool buddy seemed disappointed when I told him today, but such is life. The arrangement is more important to him than me since his family has only one car and his wife needs it sometimes. But the carpool isn't totally dead. His wife always needs the car on Fridays, so I said I'd continue to carpool two days a week so he doesn't have to drive on Fridays and I get a day in return. Plus, I only canceled through July. Who knows -- at that point, I might be burned out and welcome a return to bankers' hours.

Natural deodorant sucks

One of my new year's resolutions was to conduct my daily life in a little more environmentally friendly way. One of the changes I've made is to replace personal care products with natural versions; as I run out of my preferred brand of something, I buy a greener option. For example, I bought Tom's of Maine (ToM) bar soap, Trader Joe's hand soap, and ToM deodorant. The soaps are fine, but the deodorant sucks. I will be returning to Degree when the ToM runs out or the weather gets hot, whichever comes first.

Anyway, I now need some advice, Dear Readers. I'm about out of face lotion and scrub. I've been using Aveno Positively Radiant lotion and St Ive's Apricot Scrub and I love them both. But this website (h/t Nina) tells me that they aren't such green choices. I have oily, break-out prone skin that needs to have the top 5-10 layers scrubbed off twice a day if I want any hope of keeping the acne controlled. Any recommendations?

How green am I?

Thanks for the great suggestions for greening up my life. Reading them made me think maybe I'm not as bad I as thought, since we already do most of the things you suggested. I thought I'd take stock of the situation by listing the things we already do that I consider environmentally friendly. Perhaps you'll notice oversights.

• I eat very little meat (~4-6 times per month). EGM eats more, but most of the food we eat at home (i.e. dinner) is meatless. Some of our staples are organic (cereal, granola bars, yogurt).
  
• We use cloth napkins instead of paper.
• We use very few paper towels.
• I carpool to work (which, admittedly, is too far away). EGM doesn't have a car, so he either gets a lift with me or takes public transit.
• With a few exceptions, we don't drive much other than going to work.
• We use reusable bags at the grocery store. Unless we forget, but then we use the plastic ones for trash bags and lunches.
• I almost always make my coffee at home and take it to work in a reusable travel cup. EGM drinks his at home in a ceramic cup.
  
• We use tupperware containers, not ziplock bags or foil.
• The appliances that we have plugged in are the refrigerator, microwave, coffeepot, toaster, t.v., VCR (I should get rid of this), DVD player, modem, wireless router, laptop, and 5 lamps. We also charge our phones and use the vacuum cleaner. In addition, there are 7 overhead lights in our apartment, 5 of which are frequently used. The point here is that I think we probably use less electricity than the average American household.
  
• Most of our light comes from CFLs, but there are a few lingering incandescent bulbs.
• We can't control our heat (from radiators) but we don't use air conditioning but for a window unit in our bedrooms about half a dozen times each summer. We do use lots of fans in summer.
• I try to avoid random chemicals unless I really want them. For instance, I don't dye my hair, paint my nails frequently, use air fresheners or candles (well, I light a candle on occasion) but I do use hair spray, perfumed lotions, and makeup.
• I only flush when I really need to. EGM hates that.
  

Ways in which I think we could improve:

• If I got one of those wheely carts, I could go grocery shopping without my car. I can easily walk to the grocery store, but currently I can't carry the goods home.
• Green cleaning products. But shouldn't I finish the stuff I have? Certainly it must be better to gradually pour the stuff down the drain by using it than to just discard it.
  
• Focus on local/in season food. We're not good about this at all, although we don't buy tons of highly processed or frozen food. We could certainly choose organic options more often, like milk (in a reusable glass bottle!), bread, peanut butter. Better yet, we could make some of our own foods, like bread and yogurt.
• Grow some of our own food. And use the farmers' market.
• EGM buys lunch, snacks, and coffee way, way more than I do. He could cut down on that.
• I could get a Diva Cup.
• Compost.
• Recycle!

I posted all this in part to encourage discussion and of course I'd love ideas. I think I should also review Ruchi's archives for more ideas, although I can't say I'm prepared to give up toilet paper just yet. Plus I know I can find a world of eco from her blog.

Resolutions

I love New Year's resolutions (NYR). I made a whole bunch of them last year and while I didn't religiously adhere to them all, having them did help me keep certain goals in mind. Like I said last year, I think the best resolutions are very specific. Not, "I'll be tidier" but "I will vacuum every Friday". A resolution isn't going to transform your personality. It's a way to help you focus your efforts on a few behaviors that contribute to a lifestyle change you strive for. Plus, it's much easier to evaluate your success when you have specific goals.

This year, I'm not going to make any work related resolutions. I anticipate lots of professional progress this year and I don't think any NYRs are going to impact my work life. I've got to get shit done no matter what. I expect that this year I will graduate, find a post-doc, and publish some papers. The pressure is on, so rules about how much time I can spend reading blogs should be irrelevant.

So, I will make two resolutions in my personal life.

1. I will send a birthday card to every member of my immediate-plus family. For those of you following along at home, that's 28 people. I've been contemplating this one for a long time. I always (try to) call each of my siblings on their birthdays, but I blow off their spouses and kids. I feel bad about that, especially the kids. So this year, I'm going to remember them all. First I need to check that I know them all.

2. I will implement one new green activity each month. I've been feeling rather bad that my life's work is devoted to climate change sort of stuff and yet I lead a not-so-green lifestyle. It's not abominable, but there are some serious oversights and inconsistencies. For example, we use cloth napkins instead of paper, but we don't recycle (curbside pickup here is ... suspicious, so we will have to take our stuff to a recycling center ourselves). I intend to write a blog post about our efforts each month. Oh, and you might think this is super lame, but I'm going to wait to start the first one until EGM gets back because I want it to be something we do together rather than something I'm invested in that he ignores, because then it won't last.

I'm not sure what 12 things I'd like to do, so I welcome suggestions. Recycling is definitely one. I'd like to get a kitchen vermicompost bin. I'm interested in growing vegetables on the deck when it gets warm and I want to make an effort to shop at the farmer's market. What else should I do?

Earth Hour was underwhelming

My city made a pretty big deal about Earth Hour, saying the whole place would be dark and it would make such a statement and as bonus we'd get to see the stars for once. I was driving home at the time and didn't notice a big difference. A few buildings were darker than usual but still had plenty of nonessential lights burning. Ironically, one of those electronic, back-lit billboards was advertising Earth Hour in bright lights -- during Earth Hour.