Catching up

I've been lazy in my posting duties as of late. I traveled quite extensively this summer visiting family on opposite sides of the country. And when I say that I do mean it quite literally. My husband, daughter and I flew from our home in southern CA to visit family in North Carolina. After my husband returned to CA for work, the little one and I went to Oregon to visit more family. Thankfully, other family members who lived in the regions we were traveling to were willing to come to us so that we could see them. My aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin's wife and their two children drove to NC from the Atlanta area to see us. My brother flew to Oregon from Wyoming to spend a few days with us. It was a long trip, including a lot of flying and driving and we're all exhausted. I just checked on www.terrapass.com and it will cost $41.65 to offset our carbon emissions for the airline portion of the trip. Terra Pass is a company that calculates the amount of carbon emissions you are generating and translates that into a dollar amount. You can then purchase a carbon offset. The money goes to producing green energy and helping farmers and landfills to capture (and in some cases use) the greenhouse gases that their operations generate. I'm not sure how long this type of operation is feasible and to me it sounds like by purchasing the carbon offset, you can buy your way out of being green. If used in combination with making changes in your everyday like, I think the Terra Pass is a good idea. I hope it is understood that throwing money at the environmental issues can help, but only action will solve the problem. To that end, I am working on building up my stamina so that I can cut down considerably on my driving. I bike daily and try to get a little bit further everyday. Once I can foresee that I will make it out of my neighborhood, I will invest in a trailer for my daughter and start running my local errands by bike. I know that sounds pathetic, but I live at the bottom of a pretty steep hill. I've considered driving my bike to the top of the hill and then running my errands from there. At least it would cut down on some of the driving. I was catching up on my television watching this week while I wait for some work to begin at some local theatres next week and I started watching one of my favorite "green" shows, Greensburg. The show profiles the town of Greensburg, KS that was almost completely wiped off the map by a large tornado in May of 2007. They are attempting to build the town back in a sustainable manner and be the greenest city in America. They've faced a bunch of huge obstacles, but they keep perservering. They are a real inspiration. Many of the residents are still living and working in FEMA trailers over a year after the storm, patiently waiting for their town to rise from the rubble. When you consider what they are going through, it makes it seem really silly to complain about sorting your recycling from the trash or cutting a minute or two off your shower. I am confused by two actions taken by the city of Greensburg. One episode centered on the redevelopment of both a GM and a John Deere dealership. I understand the businesses are owned by citizens of Greensburg and they want to rebuild for their livelihood. I understand that Kansas is a largely agricultural state. I also understand that GM is a sponsor of the show. My question is why would you want to rebuild a business in a "green" city that sells a product that runs on gasoline??