NERD ALERT!!! This girl – whether she meets the goal religiously, or only as a fair-weather fan – tries to pick up at least one piece of trash every day. At my ‘Contractor by Day, Environmental Enthusiast by Life’ (nine-to-five) job, I take a long walk every day (substituted on the rare occasion of rain, snow, or below 30 degree weather). To be honest, “walk” really isn’t an accurate word; it’s more of a hefty, lung-intense hike up a bunch of mountainous hills, followed by a shin-splinting jog back down. Basically, my reasons for doing this are two-fold: 1.) exercise is awesome, and 2.) sitting at a desk for eight+ hours every day, five days a week is. Just. Plain. WRONG!! [If I ever had employees, by the way, (and a budget to pay them) I would not allow for them to sit and stare at a computer for longer than six hours. Mark my words.].
So the result is, I get to get to clear my mind (and refrain from getting snippy with the lovely coworkers), and engage my muscles that were forced into sedentary lethargy. But there’s an unintended consequence of this, too. You see, when I go out into the world, particularly the parts of the world that are heavily or over-populated by the humans, I find myself muttering incomprehensible (thank goodness!) utterances of disgust at some of the sights. Exhibit A: When I see trash littered all over our green spaces and streets. It’s appalling! I mean, come on! I know some of this happens by accident, but much of it is due to laziness and a gross lack of respect for our home, Mother Earth. So, yah, maybe me picking up ~one piece of trash every day as I return from my daily walk won’t compleeeetely curb Climate Change. ;-) But it’s something gosh darnit! And it’s something that makes me think: what if every able bodied individual on this EARTH did the same? What power we have in our masses!
2 Comments
Heidi Newstrom
5/14/2015 01:16:02 pm
I LOVE that you pick up trash~ This is a fun fact to learn about you. Whilest living in Chicago, we had seen tons of garbage, and while Matt was out working for the PedalPub, he'd bring along a bag and pick up garbage while he was waiting for his customers. He too hated just sitting around on the job! If you haven't shared this as one of your FB posts, I suggest you do it--I try to follow you, but may have missed it~ I know it will give others the desire to do this in their own neighborhoods~
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V2theNessa
5/15/2015 01:30:55 am
That. Is. Amazing! I love hearing there are other people exist who can't stand the site of all the TRASH!! p.s. I've been meaning to tell you how much I adore your FB posts. You're so creative and thrifty! Girl -- we are girl scouts! Thank you for leaving a comment, by the way. You're my first!! I will never forget this. xo ~Vanessa
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AuthorVanessa Ann, a writer and environmentalist. She possesses a Master of Applied Science in Environmental Policy & Management from the University of Denver. Her writing, at times, can be... a little sarcastic with just a dash of snarky. Archives
June 2019
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Vanessa is also a long-time contributing author (and former President) for the Sustainability Alliance of the University of Denver. Check out her published newsletters here: Some Say the Debate is Over. Yet the Heat Won’t Seem to Go Away, November 2016 Corn. It’s In Everything & It’s No Bueno for the Environment, February 2016 The Pursuit of Sustainability, August 2015 |