Doing my part to go green

Carbon footprints. It used to be if someone asked me about mine I would look down to see if I had tracked something in on the bottom of my shoes when I came into the house. Now days I have my law partner Steve looking around our offices to see if we can be more environmentally friendly. 

And along with him everyone in County government is also trying to protect the planet. That, of course, makes me have to see whether I am being social responsible too. And to my surprise, I discovered that I have been ahead of the curve on this carbon footprint stuff for years.

It started when I first had children. Not a day would go by that I wasn’t turning out lights and televisions in empty rooms. No carbon wasting there! And the thermostat, oh yes, the thermostat. My relatives would almost never take their coats off when visiting my home in the winter. Again, more carbon prevented from being allowed to raise havoc, even if it caused some grumbling about how hard it was to eat with gloves on.

Did I mention my car? I drive a 1996 Chevy. Now at first blush that might not seem eco-friendly. But do you know how much energy and raw material it takes to make a new car? Big carbon production there. So my old car turns out to be politically correct!  And did I mention I have not washed it in at least 10 years? You won’t see me wasting precious water resources.

Like many of you, I hate to mow my lawn. If I had my way no one would mow lawns. Unfortunately, most cities have some funny ideas about grass getting too long, so I fulfill my civic duty and cut all the green stuff in my yard at intervals. But I try to wait as long as possible. You see, lawnmowers are among the worst polluters. And they burn gas. More carbon avoided!

When all is said and done, this introspection has made me aware of just how “green” I have been. Who would have guessed?