Being green = being cheap?

I heard this argument over and over and since this is my blog, I can write exactly what my thoughts are.

Just because we live in a time of "express" everything and push-button gadgetry does it mean that we have to forget what life should really be. And respecting Mother Earth is one of them. Let me tell you a story.

When I was younger, I've lived in a household, where, although we have maids, we were taught early on how to wash dishes but conserve water (so we have to use planggana on the dishes that needed to be rinsed instead of keeping the tap on); to do the laundry by using batya and palo-palo and hang them on the clothes hanger because although we lived in the city, we had no washer and dryer until the 1990s; we kept a rain water barrel that we used for the plants and the small front yard; we used flourescent light and although it's not the prettiest, it did save us tons of money. We buy from the local talipapa (wet market) because we know that it's fresh and not a "double-kill" and at one point, my beloved lolo managed a small coup of hens where we get our own eggs!

So, what's my point? The suggestions that many green gurus have been saying are what we have learned already in my home-country and I'm sure there are still lots who do this now. (except maybe for the chicken farming as I'm sure those who live in the city won't appreciate this!) It's true. I have lived on those times where having a watchful eye on your consumption is the norm and it was not a bad idea! In fact, it's the same discipline we use when I relocated here in the Americas because I can't live on wasteage and living on the excess.

When people looked down on those who walk to work, here in Canada - that's actually a practice that everyone who lives close to their work would do. Heck, even Hudson Bay Canada (HBC) endorses it - because it's green. No fumes from the automobiles, just your two tweedly feet and strong legs! Plus, the fresh air of course!

Well, how about those who keep their pop bottles? Yes, it saves you money-you paid for those bottle deposits anyway - but hey, the plastics are being kept from the landfill! So yes, you have some change that you probably can use for the next organic and free-trade coffee you will buy next time - but that essentially means that you are able to lessen the greenhouse gas emission by keeping the plastics at bay.

The bayong. Omg, how can one not live on this? Whereas before, people would love to throw away their shopping bags, now, retail and grocery companies propagate re-using your own bags. In our household, I sound like a broken record for making sure that the plastic grocery bags are used as receptacle for the garbage. We have 2 Ikea bayong + a couple of those bags that we got from the Home Show and we use it everytime we go grocery shopping. Back home, we did not switch from a red to blue to yellow to green bayong. We have a banana-leaf material bayong that my mom used for when she goes wet market shopping and it must have been our favorite bayong because it's lightweight - especially when we help carry it! It was not seen as a deplorable thing to do - it's the right thing to do!

So life in the 'green' lane... is it a total paradigm shift? It is if you think that the best way to live your life is to not care for what the generation can get out of our Earth. It will probably hurt a bit because you will end up finally using your stopper for the faucet so you can rinse your dirty plates - but really, if that meant we can still have clean, fresh water, won't you do it?

Being green means living sensibly and being conscious. We have taken things for granted that's why it's harder for us to refocus. I guess it was not too much of a tall order for a few of us who people mistakenly label as being too goody-too-shoes/practical/cheap when all we want is to think and live in abundance without robbing the next generation. Afterall, the world is meant for sharing - and sharing well.