Introducing: Tree-Hugging Capitalist

First of all, let me start by stating my place in the world.  I’m not a patchouli wearing, dreadlock donning hippie.  I’m not even a Democrat.  I believe in taking responsibility for our own actions and having consequences for them. I don’t believe in the government telling me or you what to do with ourselves, our money, our relationships, etc.  (That, I realize, also makes me not-a-Republican.)   I eat meat, I live in a 1970s built house, I have an eight year old son and a couple of dogs and a big screen TV.  I even (gasp) shop at Walmart.  I guess I'm a pretty average American. 

The “greening” I have done in my life and house has more to do with economics and my husband (who could be mistaken for the most red-blooded Republican man alive at first glance) who picked up gardening.  He has an organic garden, because why pay for all that crap?  And we compost our plant foods, because why pay for all that crap?  We use CFLs and try to conserve energy because, well, you get the point. 

Okay, okay, I admit, I don’t hate Earth.  We do recycle, which actually costs us money. I care about the environment.  I live in Colorado because there’s more outdoor activities and more outdoor enthusiasts here than almost anywhere in the U.S.  We’re outdoor fanatics here.  For Christ’s sake, we’re the number one state for scuba diving!!!  (If you don’t understand the irony of this, please refer to your geography books.)  Point is, I love the outdoors and want there to be plenty of it to run to when the government/zombies/aliens take over all of the cities.  (Did I mention I’m a wise-ass, too?)

I’ve labeled my political persuasion: Tree Hugging Capitalist.  I get numbers, I get money (the theory, not the actual mula), I get if businesses have to close, people lose jobs.   I get that the dollar makes the world go ‘round here in these parts.   And I’m a pretty big believer in it.  (We’ll see if it lasts.)  I also believe in keeping the wild wild.  I think that tourons (tourist-morons) approaching wildlife deserve to get maimed, mauled or rabies.  I think that animals need to have their space, too, and there’s no doubt that us humans have chased them into smaller and smaller spaces and infringed on their freedoms to no end.  And I believe that the earth provides so much more than we give her credit for, or can even notice before tearing it down.  I also believe that if it comes to a battle of man vs. earth/nature, there is no DOUBT that nature will win.  We are only destroying ourselves - and some of our fellow species, unfortunately.  She’s been through it all, this earth.  She can handle a little parasite like us coming along.  We can’t.

So that’s me, just normal 34-year-old suburban Coloradan Katy with a slight leaning towards environmental friendliness tampered with some conservative monetary beliefs. 

And then I watched the movie, "Tapped."  I tend to put on my skeptical goggles when watching documentaries, but is there ANYTHING good to be said about plastic?  It's cheap and flexible.  Is it worth it?  I thought recycling was enough.  But that's only one R in the Reduce, Re-use, Recycle combination.  And apparently re-using isn't an option for the one-serving designs.  Dangerous actually.  So I'm left with reduce...