Everything's gone Green - have you?

For some reason, I am actually a bit outraged by the current trendiness of "going green". Being environmentally friendly was always somewhat of a priority for me, but it never seemed to be a topic at the forefront. Yet, every single magazine had a green issue recently - Or maybe it's because April was Earth awareness month (Earth day is on April 22nd).

I really hope that this is a trend that is not going to go away. But since "eco-chic" is all the rage, I thought I'd take advantage and do a little ranting.

There is soooo much going on in the world right now, I don't even know where to begin.

Let me start with this:
On the news just now, some anchorman was talking about Sheryl Crowe. He was throwing stones at her because she is asking people to reduce their use of toilet paper, but asks who she is to talk about toilet paper when she tows her entourage around with her on a tour bus from city to city to do her shows.

and

I just read an article about Prince Charles, a long-time environmentalist. The unforgiving British press were apparently going on non-stop about why he was going to fly somewhere to take a ski trip. So much so, that to make a point, the Prince actually cancelled his trip. And once he did, the mocking news bulletin was that he cancelled his trip to save the world.

I myself live in North America. I am surrounded by the luxuries of electricity, clean water, and an over-abundance of cheap plastic goods. I am blessed and fortunate to be where I am, with what I have. No, I am not about to give all that up, but let me ask you:

Just because you can't do EVERYTHING, does that mean you won't do ANYTHING?

Maybe the things that I do are minor and insignificant, but if all of us did it and all of us were conscious about the decisions we make in our every day lives and how they impact not just our immediate space but the global space, how minor and insignificant would it be? I always think about the Chinese saying that goes something like, "how many snowflakes does it take to break a branch on a cherry blossom tree? Just one. (The last one that landed before the branch broke off.)

My snowflake consists of:
1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - IN THAT ORDER!!!
2. Reusing plastic bags at the grocery store and everywhere else. When it comes to plastic bags - just say no.
3. Turning off lights and the water when not in use.
4. Public Transportation/carpooling/walking - yes, I own a car. It gets 100km per 7 litres of gas and has a mere 35 litre tank. Thanks to circumstances beyond my control, it only gets driven once a week for 20 minutes.

I welcome all comments - positive, negative, accusatory, praise, counter-arguments and support. Let's start talking about this great green (and blue) earth of ours.