Tiny Choices Survey: Beth Terry
By tinychoices | March 28, 2008
Vital statistics (name, age, location, link to website/blog)?
Beth Terry, 43, Oakland, CA, Fake Plastic Fish
How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)?
Rent the top flat in a two-flat house on a corner with sunlight from all 4 directions. With husband Michael, aka Terrible Person and 2 poopy kittens, Soots and Arya.
Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
We’d like to buy our own house some day, but since we’re not willing to leave the beautiful Bay Area to find one we can afford, we rent this flat and enjoy it. Our priorities are nearness to great public transit, a walkable neighborhood with small local businesses and farmer’s markets, and lots of sunlight. Oh, and a gas stove.
How do you travel (transit, car, etc)?Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I answered part of this in the above question. We walk as much as possible locally: to stores, farmer’s market, to visit friends, even taking the cat(s) to the vet. Michael rides a bike around town but I’m afraid of bikes and haven’t gone there yet. Getting a nice used bike and learning to maintain it is a goal for this year. We take public transportation to work: train or bus. And for trips out of town and for large shopping trips, we have a Zip Car membership. We use Zip Car about once a month. Choice or necessity? DEFINITELY CHOICE. We choose our housing location so we never need to own a car because we really, really don’t want one!
Tell us about a Tiny Choice you?ve made in your life.
Giving up plastic. Okay, it’s not a tiny choice. It’s affected nearly every aspect of my life. But actually, once I got over the initial psychological hurdle of not being able to eat convenience foods anymore (energy bars, frozen dinners, pudding cups, etc.) it wasn’t hard. We have great resources in the Bay Area for buying foods in bulk with zero packaging, filling up our own containers. I think that giving up plastic has meant that I eat better since I can’t do as much fast food and other junk foods. I guess the plastic-free life involves lots of tiny choices every day.
What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?
Saving hot water. That’s the hardest thing for me because I am always cold and love a long, hot shower. Every morning, when I’m in the shower using my solid bar shampoo (to avoid plastic bottle) and metal safety razor (to avoid plastic cartridges) I’m feeling guilty about the amount of water going down the drain. But I just can’t bring myself to lather up in the cold or finish the shower before I’m good and warm.
What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?
Michael turned the thermostat down on the water heater yesterday. It won’t save water, but it will save energy. Another tiny choice I could make would be to put a bucket in the shower to catch water for my plants. I’ve tried this before. Not sure why I stopped except for laziness. Okay, you’ve motivated me to start doing it again.
What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you make that people question (in either a positive educational or a negative hassle way) you the most about?
At work I get hassled for using my own dishes and utensils instead of the disposable stuff that everyone else is using. We have group lunches once or twice a month. I try not to make a big deal about it because I’ve already found that the folks in my office are not interested in hearing about environmental issues or changing their habits. Most of them won’t even bother to put recycling in the correct bin. But sometimes I still get hassled when I bring my own dish and fork into the lunch room when they’ve already set the table with disposables for everyone.
What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
Give up bottled water. It should be a no-brainer. It’s good for the environment AND your wallet. Why pay for bottled tap water when you can use your own container and bottle it yourself?
Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
Cheese. Cheese. Cheese. Where I live, I can’t get organic cheese that’s not wrapped in plastic. I could go to the deli at Safeway and ask for cheese wrapped in paper. But it would be cheese from factory-farmed cows. How is that environmentally-friendly? So I’ve basically given up having cheese at home, although I do sometimes order dishes with cheese when I’m in a restaurant.
Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
I try not to think too much about the future but to live in the present. I have no idea whether our efforts will be enough in the long run. I know that living sustainably Now feels good. To me, caring for the planet is an approach to life, not simply a way to reach a goal. You know how they say that diets don’t work? Well, I think that Yo-Yo environmentalism doesn’t work either. We’ve got to be in this for now and for the long haul. So, once my intention is set in the present, I pretty much let the future take care of itself.
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Great survey! Beth, I share your co-worker harassment with the real-dishes/tableware issue. I bring my lunch most days, and always use the dishes and tableware I keep in my cube, and I do get comments. I won’t eat from most of the quick-service restaurants near the office, because the meals come in plastic packaging, so it limits my choices to about 3-4 options. Folks think I’m too picky, but truly it is an easy choice. And besides - much of the time co-workers look longingly at my fresh, healthy homeade lunches!
Beth, you are a total inspiration. While I don’t know if I have it in me to go to zero plastic just yet, with blogs like yours and tiny choices, I am thinking about each purchase I make to avoid plastic. Way to go!
I don’t think I could go plastic-free either. It’s everywhere! It is possible to make your own cottage cheese.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36973,00.html