Have bag, will shop

So, a few days ago I did my bi-weekly shopping expedition. In everyday life this is not overly exciting but I was thinking about how much simpler my shopping life has been made by using re-usable shopping bags. Even though re-usable bags have become more available in stores, it still has not become a routine for many people. I actually see more of these bags being used to carry people's stuff in other situations and not their groceries. Although I am happy to see large companies offering shopping bags in their stores, I have not been overly impressed with the quality of these bags. So, I thought I would share what I use and how much space these bags save in the back of my car.

So here is the back of my vehicle after a usual grocery shopping day. I drive a Saturn Vue which is considered a mini SUV so the storage in the back probably is not much different that the average mid-size car. The brown bags are my reusable shopping bags. I purchased these from reusablebags.com a couple of years ago. I absolutely love these bags! They are the same size as a standard brown paper bag and fold up the same. They have black straps for carrying your bags and are very sturdy. I have probably stuffed these bags with 10 pounds of groceries and have never had a problem with breakage. I actually have six of these bags but only needed four on this particular day. I have found on average that 4-6 bags will adequately carry all of my groceries. Now compare this to how many plastic bags it would take. These bags stack neatly in the back of your car, they look nice, and you are helping the environment.

Now some of you may be wondering just how much am I buying in the way of groceries. Well, we are feeding two adults and two boys so you can imagine how much food we pack away. Because of this, we like to buy in bulk on certain items. So the brown bags are the grocery items we buy at the regular store. The rest are things we buy at the warehouse store.

On the right behind the Sunkist boxes are more sodas, (mostly for my husband), but on the left are two large thermal bags. I love these bags because they will hold some of the bulkier frozen things that we buy at Sam's and they come in real handy in the summer time. As you can see, these bags are big and work very well at keeping things cold. When you are finished, they fold down to a compact size and secure with velcro. I found these bags at Sam's Club for about $8 each. They have been a wonderful addition to my re-usable bag arsenal.

By using re-usable bags, I am able to keep the back of my vehicle fairly organized on grocery shopping day and I am helping to keep those obnoxious plastic bags out of the environment. Many people may say, why bother with re-usable bags when you can recycle the plastic ones? Well, to be honest, I suck at remembering to take back those plastic bags. The re-usable bags don't roll all around in the back of my car letting everything spill out and they have come in handy for other uses as well. Yes, it takes some time to get used to remembering your bags, but in my opinion it is well worth the effort. I hope that by seeing how we utilize our bags it will inspire you to do the same.

Hot topics

I have often heard that one should not discuss religion or politics in mixed company or with those you wish to remain friends with. I think we should add the topics of global warming and environmentalism to that list. And here's why, some people are just stupid.

Now I will be the first to admit that I am a tree hugger and I will gladly admit that I don't know everything. Actually, there is a lot I don't know about global warming, carbon emissions, hybrid cars, and how all of this affects the economy. I may not be able to carry on the most intelligent conversation about what carbon dioxide is doing to our environment and our oceans or be able to spout out facts and figures at the drop of a hat but here's what I do know. I know that our energy grid is in dire need of an extreme makeover. Ty Pennington anyone? I know that other countries are way ahead of us when it comes to using green energy and building techniques. I know that there are changes happening on our planet that cannot be denied and we have to sit up and pay attention.

Now when I say some people are stupid I don't mean to be offensive but let's face it, it's true. Here is why I say this. I know some very intelligent people. The amount of brain power that some of these people have is impressive, however, you mention global warming or going green and you get this deer in the headlights look. It just makes me want to knock on their foreheads and go, "Hello! Anyone in there?".

Some people just don't care. Some people honestly don't know. Some know and are indifferent. To be honest, I'm not sure which is worse. We hear people whine about how it's too expensive to go green, they aren't interested, we can't fix the environment because it's too big of a problem. Well here's what I have to say about that, would you like some cheese with your whine? Come on people! We are Americans! We've gotten soft! It was tough people who founded this country, it was that forward thinking spirit that pioneered the wild west. In the past, when we faced a problem that seemed insurmountable, we pulled up our britches, dug in and figured out how to fix it! Why are we all sitting around now saying this is too hard and going to sit in a corner with a teddy bear?

Whether you believe global warming is real or not really isn't the issue. The issue is, it is becoming more apparent that we as a global society cannot continue to use and abuse as we have been. Fundamental changes have to be made is how we live, what we buy, and how we get the items we need. There are ripples of this being felt across the country. More people are interested in how to grow their own food organically, more people are turning to alternative sources of power, we are beginning to rethink how we build our homes and what we are putting into them. These are small steps but it is still not enough. Every person, and I mean EVERY person has to do something to help take care of the environment. Even if it's just switching to CFL's or LED lights. Every small step adds to the overall effect.

Education is key on so many levels. But when there is so much information out there and you try to educate someone and they still say, "Why should we reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Don't plants need carbon dioxide?" it just makes me shake my head and realize that some people are happier with their blinders on.

First things first

Hmmmm......what to discuss in a first blog for a new site. Well, to start, I want to discuss the responsibility we all have to help take care of our environment. I know, I generally jump feet first into things so here we go.

For many years we have heard environmentalists, often classified as hippies or tree huggers, claim that the way we were living was destroying our planet. If we did not mend our ways we would be looking at calamitous repercussions very likely in their lifetime or at least within the next generation. Their cries for reform were drowned out by the turning gears of industry and technology. The industrial machine was moving forward and most of us were content to go along for the ride, oblivious to what we were doing or just didn't care. We would pay attention when enough noise was made by the environmentalists but it still did not have a major impact on our everyday lives.

Now, the low rumble of discontent by environmentalists has become a steady roar that many people are still trying to ignore or just simply don't know how to respond to. Our awareness has been brought up a notch so that now we finally recognize that as a planet, we are in deep trouble. I say this knowing full well that many in this country still have not reached this level of enlightenment, but there is always hope.

So, now that global warming has been established as something that is actually happening, what do we do? As someone who has become environmentally aware, it still amazes me that there are tons of people out there who still do not know what global warming is, think there is nothing that can be done about it, or just simply don't care. Granted, not everyone will become an environmental convert or want to build their house out of dirt like I do, BUT everyone can become more knowledgeable and have a better understanding of what he/she can do.

Let's face it, most of the time, if something does not directly impact us we don't care. When it affects how we live or the pocketbook, then we become very interested in the problem. So we need to start with how environmental changes impact how we live and what we can do at home. Once people are educated about the little things they can do at home, then we can move on to bigger things in the community.

The thing is, it is all about steps. The problem may seem insurmountable, but when we take small steps we all make a difference. Global warming is a problem that is not going to go away by itself. It is also not something that can be fixed by governments or scientists alone. We have a responsibility and it is time we stepped up to the plate. We cannot sit back and wait on world governments to fix this. If we do, we'd might as well start looking for another planet to live on. I hate to break it to you but the planet does not need us but we sure need it.