Archive for November 17, 2008
Modicum of Greenness
This weekend beheld the box office opening of the latest James Bond oeuvre, “Quantum of Solace,” a film that millions of Americans are turning to in an effort to escape the reality of an economically repressed November. I was among the hoards participating in this mass delusion, and waited in line for nigh an hour to get good seats, anticipating an entertaining hour of mindless action, violence and sex. Little did I know, in addition to this triad of Bondyness, I was also in store for a light dose of environmental commentary.
That’s right, James Bond is the latest of many hollywood hits to bring eco-consciousness to the big screen. And unlike “Wall-E,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “An Inconvenient Truth,” which unabashedly shovel the greenness into your face, “Quantum of Solace” subtly spoons it to us like a mom who doesn’t want her kid to realize that he’s actually eating brocolli. (more…)
Welcome Back, Me
Hi! It’s me, Gwen. Remember me? I write this blog. Or I did, as recently as eight short months ago. Since I last wrote, I have been driving a 1995 Volvo sedan around the mighty USA, spewing carbon and other nasties into the air at about 28 miles per gallon. I’ve been eating roadside beef and American cheese, hanging out in towns with no recycling services, and living in an Alaskan home that gets its water trucked in on a monthly basis. The closest I’ve come to composting is throwing an apple core out the window of my moving car. And that’s really just littering.
Tsk tsk.
But now I’m back in New York, ready to repent for my eco sins by riding the subway, getting a new job in the environmental sector, and moving into an apartment with a back yard (soon to be my garden). I’m going to push the New York recycling system to its extreme, conserve electricity using the time-tested method of turning out the lights, and shop with near exclusivity at my favorite grocery store in the world – the Union Square Greenmarket.
And we’re selling the car. That’s right, the car’s gotta go. New York is no place for a Volvo, and Boyfriend and I could certainly use the cash (remember $5 gas? we were on our way to Alaska during that golden age).
So here we go. Back to blog land, and back to a never-green-enough lifestyle.
