GREEN FOOTPRINT VS. GREEN THUMB: A Fighting Chance
Lindsay Hoffmann
Content Writer @ Earth Root Foundation, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
(Published on: 12 July, 2020 @09 PM)
Some time ago, I came across the documentary 'North Korea: Children of the Secret State' (2000). Like so many other people who watched it, I felt angry. I was helpless out here. I was already volunteering part time with outreach and food services to the poor in the town in which I live (in the USA). I knew many of these people were ignored of needs and security for so long that it would take, and does take, a lot of work to reverse their trust. And, this film revealed to me poverty that was EVEN worse.
I did what anybody would do: I started researching. Since the search engines tracked my trends, they suggested more articles and documentaries in related topics. And, soon enough, the topic at hand was the mistreatment of the planet Earth.
How did I let myself be sheltered from the truth for so long, I thought? I've always been vocal and active in civil liberties for so long. I've taught my son that our luxuries are a wonderful blessing, but showing respect to the world and being grateful for our lives is much more important. I even often take him to various natural monuments and parks to show him how beautiful this world is even in hidden and far corners. But, I wasn't seperating trash nor teaching my son to do so. I wasn't teaching him about wasting water as we brushed our teeth. I was my very own Kamikaze, and I was bringing my son and all the generations that would ever come from him down with me.
What was important to me was, first, making my home more efficient to help the planet little by little. I went around literally pulling the plug on unused devices and lowering the brightness on our TVs. I checked that the lightbulbs I was using were LED and that faucets were not on unnecessarily. I looked up a whole bunch of vegan recipes, bought a couple cases of tofu, told my son it was chicken, (watched him devour it happily,) tried my best to only make what we were sure to finish, and began using recycled paper toilet paper brands.
My son and I even started making compost as a fun learning experience during our quality time. Well, do you know what that little boy made me do? He made me like bugs. I would at first humor him that I cared too. And, one day I really did care about the bugs. We learned about pollinators and milkweed and we planted some milkweed. Then, we planted an indoor garden. It's good quality time and it's really a lot of fun.
I ended up joining a local farm volunteer group during any extra free time and was introduced to the art of organic farming, biodiversity, and simple green infrastructures.
Our land is at odds, but representatives such as the Earth Root Foundation are making clear avenues for us to take. The more people know, the more people are acting. I remain confident in the tiny steps that I take because millions of people are taking these steps too. People are really uniting for causes and influencing legislators. I don't doubt that as we continue to spread awareness and positive action, world issues will all eventually be depleted.
Winners of Drawing Competition 2020