Days Eight and Nine

Hey Everyone!

I haven't written recently because I have been exhausted from basketball. Unfortunately, yesterday we lost in the semi-finals against Friends. It least I will have some more time to work on my project.

Did anyone catch Oprah yesterday? She had a special on freegans in New York City, a group of dedicated individuals who choose not to add to the consumerism that our modern society is unhealthfully obsessed with but they find alternative ways to meet their human needs (ie. how they eat and what they wear). I have been very familiar with the freegan group in New York City since I am on their email chain and plan to go "dumpster diving" with them sometime next week. They are a group of dedicated and ingenious individuals who are a model for how we should look at our share of the earth's resources. I applaud Oprah for bringing these striking individuals on her show and for asking her audience to consider the wasteful amount we consume. Our society is addicted to shopping, and as one of my History teachers once pointed out the modern form of a church is a shopping mall. We as Americans consume way more than our fair share of the earth's dwindling resources and need to re-examine what we need versus what we just want.

So you might be thinking how does this all connect to the environment and global warming? For one thing our retailers are throwing away tons of uneaten food, instead of donating it to a food bank (since many are afraid of lawsuits for donating some slightly bruised fruit) or composting it. It is wasteful to throw away this massive quantity of food that could be eaten. The food on most grocery store's shelves is not local and thus by throwing away this food it is a doubly negative environmental impact. Also Freegans tend not to purchase unnecessary amounts of new clothes, the idea that clothes have seasons is something created by the fashion industry just to fuel more consumption. Most articles of clothing that retailers are selling have a largely negative impact on our environment. Even organic clothing isn't green since the cotton or material is often sent across the world to be sewn into a garment. The greenest purchase is one not made.

Please check out the freegan's website for more information: www.freegan.info

I will leave you with the words of G.K. Chesterton:
"There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less"

Xoxo,
Green Teen