Tiny Choices Survey: Marleah
By tinychoices | May 2, 2008
Vital statistics (name, age, location, link to website/blog)?
Marleah, 23, western Kansas. My (semi-new!) blog is at http://marleah.wordpress.com
How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)?
My husband and I live together in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house along with two cats and one dog.
Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
Mostly by necessity. Most apartments around here will not accept pets, so that was not an option for us. But also by choice, because we definitely do not want anything bigger than what we have - if anything, if we move to a city in the future where pet-friendly apartments are more common, we will get something smaller.
How do you travel (transit, car, etc)? Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
Mostly by car, and again mostly by necessity. We live 15 miles from the town where we work and go to school, so driving is really our only option (public transportation is nonexistent between the towns). However, if we are at home and just need to run to the post office or do something local (and if it is also decent weather out), we will walk.
Tell us about a Tiny Choice you’ve made in your life.
Using more reusable items. We invested in a couple of good water bottles (I got a Sigg, Ryan got a Klean Kanteen), and I have changed my grocery shopping schedule to going a few times a week so that I get fewer things and can use the self-checkout and my own bags (you get funny looks if you bring your own bags through the checkout here). And we have reusable containers that we use to take leftovers to work with us - although they are plastic! Right now it is the best we can do.
The following choice is a female-only issue, and it might seem intimidating or weird to some, but I use reusable cloth pads when I have my period. Going through so much waste every month was really depressing, and that is no good for the environment either. Check out http://www.lunapads.com for more information!
What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?
The transportation issue is really difficult, and I feel really spoiled when we visit San Francisco and get to use BART! But I also struggle with energy use - our house is old and not well insulated.
What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?
For transportation, I can walk more whether I am in the town where I live or the town where I go to school, and I hope to do that now that we are done with winter (I hope). As for energy use, we are in the process of renovating, so slowly but surely we hope to replace our windows and seal up any leaks that we have.
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?
Being vegan is a choice that I first made for ethical reasons, but it soon became key to my environmental beliefs as well. It is the choice in my life that probably makes me the happiest, but I also find myself having to defend it at all times, especially since I live in cattle country.
What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
Eat less meat! Not only is it really easy to do to just eat less of it, it’s healthier for you too! That means fewer medications in the long run that end up in the water supply.
Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
I do not feel like I am making sacrifices for environmentalism - rather, I feel that I am making positive choices for environmentalism. “Sacrifice” sounds like it’s not in my control, but to me “choices” means that I am taking responsibility.
Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
There are days when I get really down about things, when people just don’t seem like they are ever going to change. But for the most part I am hopeful, and I do feel that even one person can make a difference.
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Girl, I hate to say it but i think you have to practially own your own house before finding a pet friendly place. I have cats and even that has been nearly impossible to rent with everywhere i move to. There are some places, but it just narrows your search a great deal. Somehow it is done- here in Asheville everyone has a dog, but no one rents to people with dogs ??? hmm. But pets make people so happy, and happy people make good tenants :)
Thank you for this post.