Struggling to go Green

This Saturday between 8pm -9pm CST, the City of Chicago will participate in Earth Hour. During that period of time, many of the buildings in our city will either turn off or dim their lights to help bring awareness to climate change. After hearing about this today, or course on NPR, it made me contemplate my own methods of being green, and how, at times, it can be difficult to be a SAHM while also being more conscience about the environment.

There are many things that I already do to do my part to slow down the effects of global warming and hopefully do something good for the environment;, including the 3 r's, reuse, renew and recycle, purchasing locally grown organic foods as well as place compact florescent bulbs in as many of our light fixtures as possible. Those things I find easy and should be no brainers when it comes to doing something for the environment. What I struggle with are some of the other things that I could do to bring down my carbon footprint. For example:

1. Usage of electricity. We live in a day and age that almost everything runs on electricity and as a SAHM, I have realized that there is always some sort of electrical appliance, light, etc on in the house. My parents believed that if you were not in a particular room, the lights should be off in that room. This was because of the cost of electricity, but I see the point when it comes to emissions too. But if you are home, how do you make sure you are not using at least one piece of electrical equipment? Remember, it's still bitterly cold outside so leaving the house is sometimes not an option.

2. Traveling by car or by plane. Let's face it. I would much rather fly to my in-laws in Texas rather than be in the car with husband and child for over 20 hours driving down to visit. Also, I have family that live in Greece. I don't have much of a choice when it comes to visiting them, my only option is to fly. What I guess I have the most difficulty with is driving. If it isn't to the store, it's to a play date, or to grandma's house. I do my share of walking or taking public transportation to the post office, for coffee, meeting a friend, but I know I do more driving than need be.

3. Waste. As I mentioned, I do my share of recycling, but I've never known anyone who generates as much garbage as my family. Maybe I just feel that I take the garbage out way more than anyone else in my condo building. The majority of my trips to the garbage are worth of recyclables, or dirty diapers, but there is just so much more that, again I think I can do. What's the rule about having a garbage compost in a common area of a condo building? (ooh I can only imagine the nasty-grams I would get from my neighbor)

I guess my point is that if maybe we all work together and do our parts in some way shape or form, that we could possibly cancel out our impact on the environment, and while an hour of dimming our lights is a good idea and a start, just stop and think about exactly what you do each day and the impact it has on the environment.