Am I a Hypocrite?

Am I a Hypocrite?

It's been entirely too long since my last post (I sound like a Catholic going to confession!), but I've been busy planning green events and spreading the gospel of green!

Since my last post had to do with polystyrene, I figured it was apropos for me to resume my blogging habit with another story about its evils.

Thursday night I had the pleasure of appearing on Washington Business Tonight on the local cable station News Channel 8 to talk about green events. I "outed" the host Rebecca Cooper for drinking out of a polystyrene cup. Hopefully, they'll switch to mugs or Sigg bottles or good old glassware at the station.

On my way home, I decided to stop at a favorite Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood. Normally, since I was by myself, I would just get carryout, but I remembered that their takeout containers are made of polystyrene; therefore, I decided to eat in. It was nice to sit down and relax and enjoy dinner and catch up on newsletters from Green America. What I didn't anticipate was getting so full that I couldn't eat my entire meal. What to do? Waste the food? I'd hate to do that AND I needed some food for lunch the next day. I compromised by requesting "the smallest takeout container you have" from the waitress.

I FELT AWFUL for accepting that darn polystyrene container, but vowed to NEVER accept them again AND to keep containers in my car for such a purpose. Heck, I have about 20 cloth bags in my car, so adding in a few Tupperware-type containers won't hurt. I also sent an email to the restaurant expressing my disappointment that they use polystyrene and I provided a link to a green alternative.

Houses of Worship Can Green It Up, Too

Yesterday, I attended a monthly meeting called The Baltimore Green Forum which is a monthly environmental and discussion forum held usually on the last Sunday of each month at Maryland Presbyterian Church, an eco conscious house of worship. A few of the many EASY things they do is collect the paper church bulletins after the service for recycling and have mugs available for their coffee service. They have also made sure to use native plants for their landscaping. This church understands that we need to do all we can to preserve God's creation and the smallest of efforts add up.

On a related note, while I was visiting my parents the weekend before, I went to my old church. Since I was a child, it has been my church's tradition to have a coffee hour immediately after the service. It once featured coffee, tea and lots of desserts, so I was happy so see that they have added some cheese and wheat crackers to the menu. However, it bummed me out that the hot beverages were still served in polystyrene cups. It was no surprise to me that the church uses them since the Dart Container factory, maker of foam cups, is a mere 2 miles away from the church.

I realize the church might not be able to afford the ecotainer, so I suggested to my dad that at the very least, they choose paper instead. He said, "Some people complained that the paper cups didn't insulate the coffee and was too hot to hold." Then use ceramic coffee cups, place them in the dishwasher at the end of the coffee hour and they'll be clean in time for next week! He said, "That sounds like a lot of effort." Being green sometimes takes a little bit of effort, but it's going to be a heck of lot more effort to find a home for all the polystyrene cups that won't biodegrade, pile up in our landfills and leave a not-too-desirable Earth for the generations that come after us.

We are a society of convenience. It is too inconvenient to hold a coffee cup that is a little warm. It is too inconvenient to throw some mugs (less than 50?) into a dishwasher and delay your arrival at home by 20 minutes. What will the generations that come after us think of us? I'd prefer to be known as the generation that turned things around, not the one that made things worse.