how green is my life?

Claire's recent post about the green-ness of her workplace made me think about how green I am at work, and how green I am in general. The thinking process was good, the result was bad:

UNGREEN

- I print numerous emails, and hang on to the digital copy as well. My manager is a "paper person" so there is no way around this.
- My water at lunch is always served in a styrofoam cup.
- The pitcher of water that is kept in the fridge tastes bad, so I get mine from the tap... I run the tap for about 45 seconds before it is cold. That, I can fix.
- My printer frequently malfunctions, spewing sheets of paper and envelopes with one single character on them.
- I drive 32kms to work in my car alone, then another 32kms back at the end of the day.
- I specifically use an incandescent desk lamp - the fluorescents hurt my eyes.
- I pack my lunch in a plastic bag every day, and throw it away when I am done.
- I use two caustic chemicals in my bathroom - the biodegradable ones don't work well enough, and I am lazy, so I use the nasty stuff instead.

GREEN

- When shopping for a new car for my 64km/daily commute, I got the most fuel efficient car I could afford.
- I do all of my errands on the way to/from work, so that I am combining trips.
- I signed up for SPUD.ca to have vegetables delivered to my door every week in a reusable container. The veggies all come from with 800kms of here, so they are relatively local.
- I use biodegradable cleaners when I can.
- My lights at home are all low-energy fixtures.
- I only launder once a week, and only with full loads, and a biodegradable soap.
- I try not to buy individually-packaged things like yogurt.
- I am very conscientious of recycling. Paper, plastic, glass, all that is recycled, both at home and at work.
- I take short showers.

I am sure that this is nowhere near a comprehensive list. I know there I things that I have forgotten from both sides. I applaud any and all efforts to minimize ones impact on the earth.

And Claire, as far as New Year's Resolutions go, I applaud that you make any, even if you do feel like you do not accomplish them. I don't even try. Maybe I'll see what I can do this year. Maybe 2008 will be different.

and I'm out.