(Enviro)mental breakdown

This weekend I finally replaced the bent wheel on my bicycle! I've not been bike-less since my accident--I was riding my mountain bike this past week, but it really didn't offer the same satisfaction as sprinting down the road on my Fuji. On Saturday, I bungee-corded my bent wheel to my back and mountain-biked my way over to Westerville Bike Shop. I am very pleased to say that the owner, Kurt, hooked me up with a used, complete wheel for $20! I was expecting to spend around $60 on a rim alone. The new wheel included a black rim from a company called Alex Rims, and a black tire with blue stripes from Continental. Together, the wheel is not only better than what I was riding before, it looks great too. I will also announce that I am now a regular helmet wearer. Before too long I expect I might not feel so dorky, but I must admit that I am very self conscious about it. This weekend I was able to run a few errands on it: to pick up Panera for breakfast earlier, and a grocery/Chipotle run this evening.

C and I are walking Alden a TON and we've become quite creative with how we are picking up the unmentionables that he [drops off] in our neighbors' yards. We've been using bits of trash that would otherwise only be used once then be discarded. For example, yesterday I picked up a McDonald's cinnamon bun box from the side of the road and scooped Aldy's poop. Tonight I used the plastic that originally encased a couple rolls of toilet paper... The more we bike and walk and re-use things or the less we drive or shower, I wonder: why is this important?

It is becoming harder for me to explain why I am interested or motivated to be environmentally "friendly." Biking is fun. Period. Fuel is expensive period. Water costs money. Done. Air-conditioning costs money. Zip. I suppose it has everything to do with my new perspective as a home-owning, tax-paying, citizen. I've become thrifty (a term recently used to describe C and I as we shared a soda on a lunch date, which we commonly do when we're out to eat). Lucky for us, frugality is coincidentally a cornerstone of environmentalism. But why do I HATE Styrofoam cups? Why do I loathe hyper-hygienic/over-sterile things that are so antipathetic to the outdoor, non-human world? Maybe it has nothing to do with the increasingly mainstream trend marketed and eagerly consumed as "Environmentalism." Recently I've had thoughts about wanting to keep driving, alongside everyone else, to help deplete the world's resources of fuel. I want to just run this machine into the ground and then say, "See? I told you so." The world will recover and do much better when people are gone. I think my actions have more to do with a personal desire to be close to that outdoor, non-human world. I want to be immersed in it. I want to sleep outside and eat food that I pick from plants. I want the soil to stain my hands and clothes. I want the rain to wash me and feed those plants. At the same time I am bitter towards the gadgets that pollute and the people that use them without concern. Don't get me wrong: agriculture and controlled burning of wood for heat and cooking are all very human, and humans (and their actions) are inherently "natural." Why should be people be concerned about the rate at which the Earth is destroyed? Justice? Economically-depressed people around the globe, including those in our country, will be the first to fall as the climate changes, as weather becomes increasingly catastrophic, natural resources are depleted, agriculture fails, and prices increase. That sucks, eh? This area of concern is part of a larger sphere known as "Environmental Justice" which isn't usually given a seat in most conversations about being "Green" or "Sustainable."

You are probably thinking to yourself, "David needs to wrap this up." So let me arrive at a conclusion: the reason why it seems I am "environmentally friendly" is because I am frugal, I like being dirty like a forest animal, and I feel compassion towards economically-depressed people (as opposed to the wealthy, power-wielding minority). My head is empty for now. So, as they say, "Stay up." - D