Thursday, December 18

american landfill

just read in the paper...Americans purchase 23 BILLION bottles of still water annually, of which only an estimated 10% are recycled and consume 300 million cups of take away coffee DAILY. Those numbers are just staggering, especially when you live in a county with a population of around 21 million... and thats just coffee and water...yikes...Moral of the story...buy a water bottle and take a mug.

I think this piece in the paper struck a cord as i am constantly blown away by the consumption that goes on here. its pretty mind blowing. from the size of the cars, which often verges on the ridiculous; cars that would never be allowed on the roads at home as the wheels base exceeds the road width! (doh), the sheer quantities and varieties of foods and other stuff and the amount of stuff that leaves the stores... people are going crazy about christmas here like i have never seen. It not surprising that the charge for frugal and simple living has come from the land of the plenty. Abundance rules here.Im trying very hard not to get swept up with it all and feel guilty about the very minimal amount of small gifts we have brought over with us for the family. will try and do a post on the store tomorrow- its full of organic abundance and stuff stuff stuff, but very cool and exciting and hopefully a trip to the Marin farmers markets tomorrow will eventuate.

3 comments:

Kale for Sale said...

You are exactly next door to me! I'm in San Anselmo and the Thursday market is my favorite but I rarely get to go because I work in the city. I'm always at the Sunday market though if you have plans to go. You could email me at my blog.

Are you talking about the Good Earth in Fairfax? It's my favorite grocery store for when I have to go to one but we mainly exist on the markets.

Good for you to not get swept away. My feet have been off the ground a couple of times but I keep comin back down. This year actually seems less crazy than others but whos to say.

In any event enjoy your visit. It's very fun to read your perspective.

Karin said...

Whenever I go home I go through a type of culture shock. It usually takes me days to recover from a trip to the grocery store. LOL

Good to see what you've been up to!

Kelly said...

kale for sale- thanks for the offer--will keep ya posted! will be looking for clementines! yes im talking about good earth, my brother in law owns it so we get very spoilt with the groceries! its heaven in there. and the exchange rate is helping considerably in not getting Xmas fever.

karin- yes- they are a mine field! its a sociological adventure for me in there! i love it. endlessly fascinating.

Hello, how are you?

Hello. It's been a while. 5 years. Where did that time go? Reflecting back, I can't remember why I stopped blogging. Perhaps l...