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I feel very odd. For almost everyone in California, it’s been the worst air this week on record which I think most of you know – you look out the window and see the utter devastation and people losing their homes and lives. It’s a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness also wanting to reject that feeling because this can’t be it, and that things have to improve and change. Why live here otherwise, if this is it? Why not just flee to Canada (a fantasy I am entertaining on a regular basis)? Why do I feel like I am crazy? We should wear masks in crowded places! Racism is real! So is f**cking climate change! One great thing about having a blog that is I can write about whatever I want so today I am sharing some things I am going to do, have been doing, and will continue to do to try to improve my life, the earth, my own SANITY.
Here is a topic on my mind: cars. This is an article which just came out via The Guardian about how SUVs are the second biggest cause of emissions. This was mindblowing! The article was short and to the point and made an impact. We bought the largest car I’ve ever had, a station wagon, a few years earlier and I do like it. It’s so useful just to throw stuff inside! But we truly don’t use so much space. I mean, I suppose I would if we were to go to consecutive soccer practices and then Costco, etc etc. But most of the time we don’t. After reading this article my husband and I sat and talked and we both committed to not buying either a) a larger or equal sized vehicle to the one we have now, and b) a purely gas powered car ever again. And walking/biking as much as we can. A first world privilege to be able to say such things, I know.
Conversations: I’ve had a few difficult conversations. About how race and Covid and the media and all kinds of topics. Some people post platitudes and then resume their regular activities and don’t talk to you again. Some are surprisingly open and will tell you all the little things in their heart, the bad things they’ve thought and done that they are shamed and guilty over and I can say I’ve done most of those things too. That I’m STILL doing those things (like buying plastic, see below). But I want to be better, I want to change, I will change. I understand the allure of “why can’t we all just get along” – but I don’t want to be quiet because then I kind of hate myself. I don’t want to just nod politely when people express views I find abhorrent. Looking outside and seeing the red sky and hundreds of thousands dead just in the US of Covid…we are way past “let’s just get along.” I would like to TALK. I’ve always said that I would rather sit next to somebody who has my opposite political beliefs at dinner, if they are willing to talk about it, share their true point of view, rather than someone who says all the “right” things but then carries on doing whatever the hell they like.
Travel: I look back and think it’s crazy how much we used to fly. I loved this VF article with Kate Winslet with her thoughts on how wasteful all the press junkets were for various films, etc. If the talented and gorgeous Kate Winslet thinks being flown to various luxury hotels for her job isn’t necessary then certainly little ol’ me can explore some of the wonders we have nearby in California and not have to fly across the world for every vacation. We will travel again (hopefully…. one day). But I want to be more responsible about our trips going forward…it isn’t solely about our pleasure, adding another notch to the “where I’ve been” list. Each time we fly further, I want it to be meaningful. Remember fashion week season? All those people being flown around the world to attend one show take some photos in some clothes also flown around the world etc etc etc. I don’t think that’s coming back. I really hope not!
Plastic reduction: Plastics aren’t recyclable. This article from NPR was illuminating. I want to use less plastic. I want to buy less plastic. This is HARD. Plastic is so convenient and in everything. But I’m trying more with every purchase, making the less convenient/more expensive choice. Covid is no doubt making this harder – Starbucks not letting me use my reusable mug, for example. It’s understandable. The other day I got bagels and the owner said they have to give it in a plastic bag but then said OK she can leave the paper bags and schmear at the counter and I can put it in my own Baggu. Little victories.
Okay. Thank you all for indulging me on this rant. I know it’s a rant. But sometimes you just have to share what’s in your heart. I’m hoping all the rest of you in Oregon, California, Washington State, Vancouver are OK. I hope you are all happy, and healthy wherever you are in the world. Go outside and breathe some fresh air for me (if you can!). Because I miss it so much.
39 Comments
Anna
September 14, 2020 at 8:59 amOh Kate, my heart goes out to you on the west coast managing through the raging fire on top of everything else that’s going on. And yes, I’ve got a few books on zero waste home to start practicing zero waste more seriously. Thanks for linking the npr article. Here in nova a few counties even stopped recycling glass, sigh… our short-termness in calculating what costs more…
Kat
September 14, 2020 at 10:53 amNo glass? So only paper? I was really surprised to hear that some parts of Nova collect garbage twice a week too!
Anna
September 14, 2020 at 5:12 pmYes, only paper. I did a bit of digging on the reason glass was no longer accepted in NOVA. It turned out it’s happening in many parts of the country! And the reason was that China used to be the biggest importer of U.S. recycled glass materials and two years ago China raised its standards on what it accepts. And we’ve since given up recycling glass because we can’t export them to China anymore!
And yes, there used to be garbage collection twice a week, but my trash collection company has since decided that’s less profitable for them and has reduced the service to once a week.
Gayathri
September 14, 2020 at 10:20 amCheck out Blueland for plastic free products. I have really liked their hand soap and cleaning products but their dish soap sometimes leaves a film.
Sharon
September 14, 2020 at 1:08 pmI switched out to Blueland hand soap in all of my bathrooms and the kitchen. I feel a teeny bit better not buying all of those hand soaps in plastic bottles…
Liz | wannabeliz.com
September 14, 2020 at 10:29 amThe Bible says to Love your neighbor as yourself. That would take care of racism!
As for recycling, I try to recycle everything! Especially plastic. I believe the plastic that covers new toilet paper and paper towels is recyclable. Nike recycles old tennis shoes. I’m going to send Nike my old ones ( too old to donate) as soon as the pandemic is over. I have them stored in a box. I think some styrofoam is recyclable as well. I save my glass and give it to people who recycle. It is hard to find places that recycle glass. I recycle tin cans too. Shampoo bottles, etc…
Sharon
September 14, 2020 at 1:11 pmLiz…the problem is people don’t do what the Bible says…also, not everyone shares the same religion. Racism has to be overcome with more than the Bible.
Liz
September 14, 2020 at 1:56 pmSharon, I agree. Most people don’t do what The Bible says. I , myself, am a work in progress.
GS
September 14, 2020 at 1:35 pmWith all due respect, what Sharon said. And also, read the piece that Kat linked—the point of it is that plastic actually isn’t TRULY recyclable and we’ve all been fed a lie since the 70s by these giant corporations who were interested in making money at the expense of the environment. It’s really hard to read that. And plastic is everywhere! But we all have to use less of it and buy alternatives to it whenever we can.
M
September 14, 2020 at 11:21 amThank you for your “rant”! You wrote the words I’ve been feeling lately. I live in the Bay Area too, and every day I wake up panicking that future generations will think this bizarre, hazy, smoky, orange sky is NORMAL. I feel crazy that I’m worried about these things and that people out there are still denying climate change, covid, and racism. Or worse, that people think all 3 of these problems can’t exist simultaneously (which they do!). So glad to know I’m not alone in my thoughts. 🙂
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:30 amYou are not alone! And thank goodness for improving air this week 🙂
Amy
September 14, 2020 at 12:46 pmDue to covid school
Buses are limited and every kid I know is being driven to school. Not helping emissions. But our young kids need in person education, online doesn’t cut it.
No easy answers here. I am pledging to get an electric car next though.
I’m privileged to say that I can do that because they cost more and tend to break more. Shrug
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:30 amVery good point about lack of public transport, and the cutbacks are devastating
Grace
September 18, 2020 at 12:23 pmAmy, I really love my electric car that I bought in January (Kia Soul EV). There are definitely cars available at all price points, not just Teslas. A good rule of thumb is to buy a car with 3x the mileage of your daily commute for peace of mind. I definitely won’t buy a gas car ever again. Selling my older one very soon.
Leslie
September 14, 2020 at 1:30 pmKat, I’m right there with you, and appreciate you using your blog to speak this, especially when it would be so alluring to post about anything else that offers distraction. We need each other to move through this so we can reimagine and recreate a different world for the generations to come. We each have such deeply ingrained patterns throughout our lives that contribute to the destruction, most of them we’ve been unaware of until recently, and some of us still grasping denial as hard as we can. As we begin to see these patterns more clearly, it requires us to be courageous in talking with each other about how we feel, what we want to change, and to support each other as we do change, and especially when we slip back into our old habits because we’re trying to hold on to systems and ways of living that are no longer sustainable. A shift from the individualistic ways we’ve been educated and socialized to recognize our deep interconnectedness and need for community.
Sending you continued wishes for health and safety during this time.
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:30 amDENIAL is the perfect word. Thank you.
GS
September 14, 2020 at 1:44 pmThank you for this rant, Kat! I too live in the Bay Area, moved here from NYC nine years ago and in that time the weather has definitely changed. I’m scared for my son, now 14, and all the kids who are having to grow up in this mess—environmental, racial, political, you name it! We have to change so much, and it’s really hard. But we can’t give up. Glad you and your husband are taking steps to change your habits, we are too. Small changes can make a difference! I really believe that! Also, I’ve really taken to heart the saying that lasting change begins with local government so we all need to study up on our local politics before we vote. The DA, the judge, the councilman, the school board—all the smaller people we might have not known much about before—we need to know and educate ourselves! Because it matters! Hang in there, we will get through this!
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:31 amYou are so right about local politics. Thank you for the inspiration!
mtl2010
September 14, 2020 at 7:03 pmI love this rant Kat and it inspires and moves me to look deeper for even more change. I did already pledge to buy an electric car next, which is an imminent decision for us. I also want to compost and re-focus my efforts to buy less plastic. I also want to do better to talk to my children about all these issues. It’s all really hard.
My heart goes out to everyone on the west coast struggling with these crazy fires right now. It’s so much on top of all that is already too much. I lived in the Bay Area for 10 years up until recently and I really noticed the weather and patterns change over the time I was there. It’s scary to think about what this means for the next few years, for our children’s generation, and beyond. We MUST change and I am so thankful you are using your platform to talk about this. Bravo!!!
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:32 amMe too…have noticed the change over the years. It is scary and it will happen everywhere.
Lindsay
September 14, 2020 at 7:44 pmI’ve read a couple pieces about how in addition to being major polluters larger SUVs/trucks have made accidents with bikes and pedestrians even deadlier https://www.outsideonline.com/2411345/suvs-trucks-deadly-cyclist-crashes There is also an interesting podcast “The War on Cars” (don’t be put off by the name, it’s a great resource on bike policy and safer streets) that did an interview with one of the co-hosts of “Car Talk” it was fascinating https://thewaroncars.org/2019/07/22/twoc-extra-the-war-on-cars-meets-car-talk-the-full-interview/
The air here in Oregon is AWFUL, the sanity saver through COVID has been playing in the backyard, which I recognize as a tremendous privilege, so we’ve been inside a lot. My heart just breaks and it feels like getting other people to care about each other, let alone the planet just seems further and further out of reach. It’s disheartening.
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:33 amTake care of yourself in Oregon, I hope it improves soon (looks like it is, a little?)
revanche @ a gai shan life
September 14, 2020 at 9:23 pmWe’re both committed to trying our best to do our part and also to pushing on the political side of things because honestly, just individual actions cannot move the needle sufficiently. We have got to make large scale changes for this not to be a permanent hellscape in a very few short years. That just can’t happen without the force of government level support behind it.
I did see some research on plastic ingesting fungi, recently, and while it’s enraging that the plastic recycling hasn’t been happening, I do hope that the research there continues to progress to a useful point soon!
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:33 amI saw the fungi too. I hope it works!
drifter
September 15, 2020 at 7:27 amIt’s been challenging where I live too – lockdown, water disruption for 7 days because some factory dumped pollutants into the main water source, flash floods about 2 days after the water supply resumed, which left me stuck in the office for hours and numerous political manoeuvres by factions trying to topple governments…..sigh…….thankfully there were no forest fires from our neighbouring country this year. I guess we’re all merely surviving, not thriving this year. It will be good enough to survive. On a more positive note, single use plastic is being phased out where I live and people have embraced it surprisingly well. Most people carry reusable shopping bags and stainless steel straws with them now.
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:34 amWhere do you live??
Anonymous
September 17, 2020 at 4:50 amKuala Lumpur
Kat
September 17, 2020 at 8:52 pmThank you! and side note but I’d love to go to Malaysia one day, I went once but it was only for work and didn’t get to see much. The food alone would be worth it.
A.S.
September 15, 2020 at 9:33 amI was SO much better about plastic when I was a childless medical student and went to the grocery store on my bike ride home from the hospital with all of my reusable bags — so much better about so many things! Now that I’m a resident working ridiculous hours, and expecting my first baby in a mere few weeks, and walk to the hospital without passing a grocery store, I order groceries. They arrive encased in plastic. I feel bad about it every time, but it would take me more hours in an often 70+ hour work week to do my own shopping with my own bags. Those are hours I just don’t feel like I can spare at the moment. And (and!) I would love to use cloth diapers when the baby comes, but I don’t have a laundry machine. Sending out soiled diapers vs using the communal laundry machines every 2 weeks seems less than ideal… so that will be even more plastic. All to say, while I try, I am so much better when I have more time in my day, and my life setup is more conducive to environmental stewardship. I think there are a lot of people like me out there who want to do better, but we fail to make it happen without adequate support (or enforcement) from government or industry.
Florence
September 16, 2020 at 4:04 amI’m in a very similar situation! Also a resident, just had my second baby. No car since we live next to the hospital, daycare and other essential services. But no laundry machine, just a shared one that costs $4 per load to operate, so cloth diapers not doable. No thrift store near by and can’t go pick up secondhand items easily in another neighborhood with the kids. So we mostly buy new. No kids clothing store or Walmart-like store nearby so we buy off Amazon a lot…so lots of packaging. We also order groceries online and get takeout when we don’t have time to cook or need a break… more packaging. We produce so much trash, I feel so guilty. But it would take fewer working hours to produce less trash and a car, which would undo the benefit of producing less trash. It’s frustrating. I’d like to at least buy carbon offsets this year.
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:35 amJust like my comment to AS – you are doing a lot just given your job. And with the second baby, you are underwater. You’ll have time later and just being aware I’m sure you will find ways to conserve over time. Stay sane and safe!
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:34 amOh A.S, I think you are already doing your share by virtue of your job alone. Wishing you a healthy rest of your pregnancy and congratulations again!!
A.S.
September 16, 2020 at 10:59 amOh, Kat, thank you. And Florence–it’s always so good to hear that there are other people out there having babies in residency! Gives me hope. Thank you to you both.
Amy
September 15, 2020 at 9:34 amI think there are more to the fires than meets the eye. Yes climate change is part of it, but it’s also the laws that have changed preventing removal of dead trees, brush etc. that makes it a tinder box. Here’s an article in Forbes that discusses it:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2019/02/25/wildfires-caused-by-bad-environmental-policy-are-causing-california-forests-to-be-net-co2-emitters/#672907485e30
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 8:36 amYes, this is true! I hope we can both be less wasteful and find ways to mitigate the wildfire risk each year. Thanks for sharing!
Winnie
September 16, 2020 at 2:04 pmLess waste has been on my mind as well. I made a commitment to myself earlier this year that I would make a more conscious effort to recycle more and reduce my impact. Did you know that they won’t recycle anything that has been food contaminated? I think about how much of my food is packaged and how many people don’t know that they actually need to wash their containers before recycling. It’s a pain in the ass, but one small thing I decided I could do to at least be better.
I also found Stasher bags last year, silicone bags that can replace your Ziploc/tupperware and love them. Pricey but I get them on sale and it helps me reduce how much I’m using one-time use plastic baggies.
Kat
September 16, 2020 at 4:17 pmThank you for the Stasher bag rec!! Do you ever have any paper that is food contaminated (like pizza box, etc)? That can be put in the compost bin in my city.
Anonymous
September 16, 2020 at 4:43 pmYes I do! Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex so we don’t have any compost bins available but that’s something I’ll keep in mind for the future if we move.
Helen
September 18, 2020 at 5:37 amKat, can i say a big THANK YOU for this post? i’ve had so many controversial thoughts these days, but i can’t talk to people. The homogeneity of thought, the cancel culture, and the virtual signaling has been so oppressive. I’m bursting at the seams. When I try to say something, I’m either met with irritation // you do you // flat out “let’s talk about the weather.”
So part of my obligatory disclaimer … bc that’s the only way you can talk these days. I voted for Obama back in the day. Proud of it. Was and am a Michelle Obama groupie. Ok, now my rant.
#BLM: Rioting is not acceptable. 20-something yoga instructors do *not* know what’s better for black people, despite all their instastories (which by the way have fully returned to their regularly scheduled vinyasa flow programming). Destroying pharmacies in poor black neighborhoods only hurts the people who live there. Now Grandma has to pay the $2.50 (she doesn’t have) for the subway ride (she shouldn’t have to risk during COVID). And they want to defund the police, so she’s afraid that no one’s going to show when she call’s 911 for a break-in. If you’re white, pissed off that you’re poor because of a college degree you shouldn’t be forced to get (due to society’s inane prejudices against becoming a good plumber!), stop using black people as your pawn. All those quiet elites, they don’t want to live in a war zone. Quietly but surely they’re packing their bags and leaving the cities, taking the tax base with them. Who will subsidize the public services (like transportation), the schools, the arts? It’s easy to “viva la revolucion!” but when it comes to drafting effective, thoughtful policy, not one of these 20-somethings have a plan. I’m tired of the AOC politics. Since when did it become crime to be a moderate and an advocate for a multi-dimensional approach to a problem?
#Climate change: Plastic bags, fair enough. Can we please focus on the bigger picture though? Electric cars – I bought two Teslas at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s just a superior product, and car emissions are significant. See Bill Gates’ push for nuclear energy and how that can replace coal-emissions. But don’t be deluded that sucking on a lousy paper straw is a) making a dent in more frightening issues like rising seawaters b) that you’re holier than tho for your sacrifice. As to the fires, I have friends in the Bay Area who are saying enough is enough. Why pay the sunshine tax if I can’t actually go outside for the sun 1-2 months a year (Cali burns every year!). Maybe it’s time to move elsewhere. Let nature reclaim what’s rightfully hers. Or make your peace that the price of sunny Cali is that your house will burn someday … and stop griping. It’s a free and physically very big country. You have a choice.
Whew. Got that out of my system. The bigger question is whether I’m the only screaming lady in the closet? What are other people’s positions (not platitudes) and plans?