When Going Green Turns You Red

There was a pretty self-congratulatory column in one of our local papers the other day, about how fabulously progressive Santa Barbara was in the realm of 'saving the planet'. I do agree that in a lot of ways, California is on the cutting edge of environmental consciousness - we have solar panels, electric vehicles, drough-tolerant gardens and green waste collection. But, California is still fighting the American 'bigger is better' battle. While it's true you would have a hard job to pick out your Prius amongst the dozens of other Prii (?) in a multi-storey carpark here, I wouldn't go so far as to call us the greenest of the green. People drive everywhere, and cars still have appalling mpgs. Nobody uses a washing line to dry their clothes - despite sunshine on tap. Food comes in vast over-packaged quantities. There is still a lot to be done.

What is definitely good, is the greening of our children. Local schools are working very hard to instill in our kids the need to re-use, re-purpose, and grow-your-own. The trash cans at Anna's school say 'recycling' or 'landfill' - that definitely makes you think twice. Anna's class were apparently having a discussion about how to 'save the planet' during group time the other morning. The big topic was water conservation - turning the tap off when you clean your teeth, etc. Apparently Anna had quite a novel suggestion - she was delighted to inform the group that her household was already very water conscious - because to save water, she and Lucy bath together, and Momma and Dadda shower together.

Ahem.