Being married to an Army soldier, I see a lot of green. No, I’m not talking about money (obviously). It’s the endless laundry piles of green camouflaged uniforms with their pungent smells and specific washing and drying instructions. During the past few years, however, there has been a rise in popularity in yet another type of green. Once again, I’m not talking about cash. As far back as I can remember that’s always been popular.
What I’m talking about is a conscious effort to care for our environment. The “green” movement finally has swept me up. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say the guilt of doing nothing finally has caught up with me.
I’ve started making some small changes to try to do my part for the environment, but I have a long way to go. I’m not exactly a crazy tree-hugger yet, but I don’t see why we shouldn’t be more cautious with our resources and more aware of the lasting effect our actions will have on our world.
Okay, so I’ve barely made any changes yet. I do use cloth diapers for Anastasia, but that’s motivated by a different type of green, and this time I am talking about money. I don’t litter, but I never did.
If I’m being transparent, which I usually am, I still drive my gas-guzzling Jeep to the store (for now), and I throw too many plastic water bottles into the garbage container instead of a recycling bin, but I think it’s about time I change that. Should Anastasia’s generation suffer for my laziness? How hard is it to drop off my empty water bottles and old newspapers at one of Hinesville’s recycling drop-off locations? Sure, it’s slightly inconvenient, but lately it’s no waste of time. In fact, it’s an investment in my future, your future and the future of our children.
I think it’s time we military families — and everyone else — start thinking about a different type of green. It’s time we stop hiding from our responsibility to take care of this world and start making some basic changes to preserve it for our children.