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Years ago I read a book that opened my eyes to the local differences of a green lifestyle. The book was called "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists," available here, along with great information.
The section that helped shape my thinking that day was about disposable diapers versus cloth. The Scientists said that the choice between the two was dependent on the local scarcity of resources. Which means: if you live where there's lots of water, use cloth because you can launder; and if you live where there's open space--and often less water--use disposable because landfill space is less difficult to find.
In the years since I read that book, both water and land scarcity have gotten worse, with western aquifers drying up at an alarming rate and bursting landfills closing at a rate of one per day in America, but the general truth still stands: conservation is as local as it is global, and to do the best for your area, you need to look around you and see what actions on your part will have the best effect.
If you live in Seattle, you don't need to worry as much about water waste as you do in Arizona, where they've been stealing water from California rivers for decades already, causing, among other things, Glen Canyon to finally rear its gorgeous head above the foolish waste that was lake Powell on the dammed Colorado River [eventually Mother Nature will always win].
If you live in New York, you need to think about the huge distances garbage needs to travel these days, as most of the local landfills have long since filled to capacity and closed.
So, I applaud and respect everyone's desire to green up their way of life. But before you start blindly on some greening regimen, take a moment with your family or community and think about the environment in which you live, and try to define the best ways to help it, and the best ways to let it help you. For example, the folks in Seattle should invest in rain barrels, and the folks in Arizona should get some solar devices.
Think globally, act locally. Makes sense, huh?
