eco-guilt

i read this great article this morning about how many people in the bay area are having trouble coping with increasing effects of eco-anxiety. i am definitely one of those people.

i thought the move would help with this. it did, in a lot of ways:

- decreased my commute from 2.5 hours per day to 15 minutes per day (and my gas comsumption from 1.5 tanks per week to 1/4 tank per week)
- significantly decreased water and power usage due to smaller, better insulated place to heat and no yard to water
- grocery and other key ammenities within walking distance

but it also hurt:

- no yard to grow food [but may be able to do it in pots]
- no space for composter [but my mom now has my composter so i can take stuff to her - only 20 miles away]
- can't walk to the library [but can bart]
- doctor, PO box, etc. are now a much farther drive

and then there's the water issue... apparently britta doesn't filter out whatever in my tap upsets my stomach so i'm buying for now, but i hope to get that worked out soon.

and there is always more i could do... take shorter showers, turn off circuit breakers and unplug appliances, take the stairs, run errands on my bike instead of in the car, turn down the heat... it can all get so overwhelming...

the good news is, when i get too stressed about how much progress i have yet to make, i can just check out a carbon footprint calculator or two. if you use the basic earth day calculator, my footprint went from 40 acres (9.1 planets) to 14 (3.2 planets) since my move. average footprint in the US is 24. if you use the more advanced EPA calculator, it went from 60,392 pounds per year to 19,185. average is 41,500. either way, i've come a long way.